It’s next D-man up, with Myers sidelined

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This article was published 11/01/2019 (2430 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets hit another wave of the injury bug, this time losing Tyler Myers. The veteran defenceman is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury and will miss tonight’s home game against the Detroit Red Wings.

Myers appeared to take a slash from Zach Parise on his right hand early in the third period of Thursday’s 3-2 road loss to the Minnesota Wild, but he also seemed to collide awkwardly with the boards shortly thereafter. He was in some major discomfort following the play and immediately made his way to the Jets locker room.

Jets head coach Paul Maurice provided few other details about Myers following a team meeting Friday, but did confirm rookie blue-liner Sami Niku was being inserted into the lineup. Niku was recalled from the Manitoba Moose on Dec. 31 but had been a healthy scratch in the five games since. With the Jets already without Dustin Byfuglien – who is sidelined with a suspected ankle injury and won’t be back for at least another couple weeks — all members of the defence will be leaned on heavily to make up for their absence, including the 22-year-old Niku.

“It’s a whole lot easier to go in the lineup and play. Because all these guys who come up are playing big minutes for their American League teams, and they come up here and get shifted to a different role,” Maurice said. “You were the A-guy. So it’s easier if we can get them out there more. But they’ve got to do enough good things to make that happen.”

Myers’ injury is a big loss for Winnipeg, as Myers was averaging around 23 minutes per game with Byfuglien out. Just once, in the previous 13 games before Byfuglien’s injury on Dec. 29, had Myers reached 23 minutes of ice time.

Maurice didn’t divulge his defensive pairings but Niku is expected to play with Ben Chiarot on the second pairing, while the other two pairings remain the same, with Josh Morrissey and Jacob Trouba being the No. 1 group and Dmitry Kulikov and Joe Morrow rounding out the third pairing.

Kulikov had only seen a slight increase in his minutes recently, even with Byfuglien out, but is encouraged by the chance to get more. He’s currently averaging 12:41.

“Twenty minutes is an ideal range; 20-22 minutes is an ideal range,” he said. “Because you’re in the game, you’re keeping yourself in the game. You don’t sit on the bench and wait for your shift, it makes it easier to anticipate plays and reading where the puck is going to be or where the play is going to develop.”

The Jets (27-14-2) will look to rebound from Thursday’s loss, their first defeat in the last three games. Winnipeg has been steady on home ice, with a record of 15-6-2, and has won its last two games at Bell MTS Place, outscoring their opponents 12-5.

Detroit (16-22-7) is in the midst of a serious slump, with losses in eight of its last nine games (1-6-2). Of those eight losses, five have been by one goal, including a 3-2 loss at home to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.

The Red Wings should be rested, though, as they’ve had the last two days off and arrived in Winnipeg Thursday, while the Jets travelled immediately after the loss to Minnesota and didn’t get home until late.

“They’re a quick team that play with lots of pace,” Jets forward Kyle Connor said. “Teams in the East play a different style… Minnesota kind of kept it tight and packed it in defensively. They’re a good team, though, the Red Wings, so it will be an exciting game.”

Laurent Brossoit will get the start in net for Winnipeg, making his first appearance between the pipes since registering a 1-0 shutout over the Vancouver Canucks Dec. 22. Brossoit has been stellar for the Jets this year, boasting an 8-1-1 record in nine starts, with a 2.11 goals-against average and .939 save percentage.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.catwitter: @jeffkhamilton