Jets hit with Trouba trouble

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This article was published 29/01/2018 (2804 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They were already in a difficult battle in the NHL’s most competitive division, but now the Winnipeg Jets will have to continue fighting for a playoff spot without one of their best young players.

Defenceman Jacob Trouba is expected to miss six to eight weeks with an ankle injury suffered in the final minutes of Thursday’s 4-3 shootout loss in Anaheim. Coach Paul Maurice confirmed the bad news Monday as Winnipeg (29-13-8) returned to practice following the all-star break as they get set to begin a 10-game homestand tonight by hosting the NHL’s No. 1 team, the Tampa Bay Lightning (34-12-3).

“A key piece, right? It’s not just losing the player, he’s also playing right at his peak. His game in Anaheim was outstanding. He was really good,” said Maurice. “If we have an area of depth, and we do, it’s right defence. So that’s the one place if we have a guy go down, that we have players there who want the minutes, that can handle the minutes.”

Tyler Myers looks to get the first shot to slide into Trouba’s right defence spot on the top pairing with Josh Morrissey. They will see big minutes and likely the top lines of their opponents. Dustin Byfuglien and Toby Enstrom are also expected to take on a bigger role. The third pairing, for now, will be Ben Chiarot and rookie Tucker Poolman. 

“Obviously (Trouba) is a big loss. We’ve dealt with injuries the past month here. For us as a group, it’s just focusing on the same thing we have,” Myers said Monday. 

Defenceman Dmitry Kulikov, who normally plays with Myers in the third pairing, remains day-to-day with an injury suffered last Tuesday in San Jose. Maurice hasn’t confirmed he suffered a concussion, and Kulikov did skate on his own Monday.

“We’re going to do what we can to hold down the fort while he’s gone,” Morrissey said of life without his regular partner. “It’ll be fun to play with (Myers). He’s a great player, too. You kinda can’t go wrong.”

Trouba, 23, is believed to have suffered a high-ankle sprain. He was trapped on the ice for close to three minutes in three-on-three overtime against the Ducks and got tangled up with several players along the boards.

“It was a pile on the wall right at the end. They got all twisted up,” said Maurice.

Trouba had points in two straight games and has three goals and 17 assists on the season. That’s second on the Jets among blue-liners (Myers leads with 25 points). Trouba’s 22:09 of average ice time is second only to Byfuglien’s 23:23.

“We’re going to miss him, there’s no doubt about that. But we have the personnel here to pick up the slack,” said Maurice. “You’re getting into four and five guys now out of your lineup. It’s a squeeze for sure. But everybody goes through it. (Trouba’s) going to be a while, but we’re hoping we’re getting a lot closer at least to the majority of these guys coming back.”

Winnipeg leads the Central Division by one point over the Nashville Predators, but they only have a nine-point cushion over the Minnesota Wild — who would not make the playoffs if they started today.

Maurice added he has plenty of confidence in Poolman, who has been back and forth between the Jets and the AHL’s Manitoba Moose this season.

“(Trouba) has been good for us all year. He plays big minutes against the top guys on the other team. So we’ve just to go step up and chip in here,” Poolman said Monday.

Winnipeg got some good news Monday on the injury front. Adam Lowry was skating in a regular practice jersey and is “probable” to return to the lineup tonight. The third-line centre has missed the past eight games with an upper-body injury. He looks to be on a line with Joel Armia and Andrew Copp.

“I felt good. It was nice to get back and do some contact and get some bumping. Obviously it’s taken a while for this thing to feel better but I’m looking forward to getting back in the lineup,” Lowry said following practice. “Other guys have done a remarkable job of filling in. I think it’s a real benefit to have such a deep group. I think it makes having these injuries a little less impactful.”

That would leave some combination of Matt Hendricks, Brandon Tanev, Kyle Connor and Marko Dano to play on the fourth line.

No. 1 centre Mark Scheifele skated before practice Monday and is getting closer to a return. He suffered a major shoulder injury on Dec. 27 that was expected to sideline him six to eight weeks. Today marks five weeks since he went down.

“I don’t know that we can tell you that right now based on where he’s at,” Maurice said in response to question about whether Scheifele could return to action by the end of next week. “There’s the six-to-eight window, we’re pretty comfortable it’s somewhere in there.”

Forward Shawn Matthias and goalie Steve Mason also remain out with injuries. Maurice said Monday both are “getting better” but neither has resumed skating, which will be the next step in their recovery.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @mikemcintyrewpg