After getting a pair of key players back from injured reserve over the past week in center Bryan Little and right winger Drew Stafford, the Jets appear to be set to receive some more good news on the injury front as center Mathieu Perreault is nearing a return to the lineup, notes Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press. Perreault believes he’s ready to play as soon as tonight against the Oilers but head coach Paul Maurice isn’t ready to say he’s definitely in the lineup:
“We’ll let him get through another day and into the morning. So he has a good skate today and (has) gone full contact for a few days and if he declares himself ready to play, we’ll meet with the medical staff and make a decision.”
If Perreault does return to the lineup, Sawatzky adds that it will likely be on the wing as the team is happy with their four centers at the moment, Mark Scheifele, Little, Adam Lowry, and Andrew Copp. Perreault has played in 11 games for the Jets this season, picking up three points (1-2-3). He has three straight 40+ point campaigns heading into this one so he should give them another offensive boost.
[Related: Jets Depth Chart]
Maurice also stated that Marko Dano, who took a high stick to the face that caused some serious swelling, is likely to play tonight barring any setbacks. He’ll likely have a full cage on his helmet for a little bit though.
More injury news from around the league:
- Sabres goalie Robin Lehner estimates that his hip is about 90 percent but he won’t play tonight against the Rangers, he told John Vogl of the Buffalo News. Lehner left Tuesday’s game against Ottawa in the first period after experiencing some discomfort while playing a dump-in. He’s targeting Saturday against the Bruins as a return date.
- Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara skated with the team today but will not play tonight, the team announced via their Twitter page. Chara has missed the last four games with a lower body injury and while his offensive numbers are down this season (six points in 19 games), he still leads the team in ice time per game, averaging 22:41 per game.
- Chicago center Jonathan Toews, who has missed the last week with a back injury, will not play tonight and is doubtful to play Saturday, reports CSN Chicago’s Tracey Myers (Twitter link). Head coach Joel Quenneville is hopeful that the captain will skate over the weekend and his status will be assessed from there.