WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Jets received a double dose of bad news Friday that could make it harder for them to hold on to a playoff spot.
Head coach Paul Maurice said following practice that versatile defenceman Dustin Byfuglien and top-line centre Bryan Little are out with injuries. Little could miss a couple of games while Byfuglien will be sidelined two-to-four weeks.
But Maurice noted it’s a chance for other players to yet again pick up the slack.
"You are the sum of your parts," Maurice said. "So your parts aren’t maybe not as talented as they were, but that doesn’t mean the sum can’t be as good."
Byfuglien left Wednesday night’s 3-1 loss to Ottawa in the second period with an upper-body injury.
Little played through an upper-body injury also suffered in the game. The good news is Little will be with the club when it begins a four-game road trip Saturday night against Nashville (41-18-7).
But replacing the pair won’t be easy for the Jets (32-21-12), who hold the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot with 76 points, one behind seventh-place Minnesota.
The Calgary Flames (35-25-4, 74 points) and Los Angeles Kings (31-21-12, 74 points) were tied for ninth heading into Friday’s action.
Byfuglien has 15 goals and 42 points this season, helping Winnipeg weather its other injuries by being able to play both forward and defence.
"I won’t give you the exact poundage," Maurice quipped when asked how big a loss it will be not having the six-foot-five, 260-pound Byfuglien in the lineup. "We’ll miss him.
"He’s a force back there for sure. We’ve dealt with a number of these injuries on our back end. We have good people to put in the lineup and they’ve played well and won games."
Little is Winnipeg’s top goalscorer (24) and stands second in points (51).
Maurice said Little was quite sore Thursday, which was an off-day for the Jets, but will accompany the team on its road trip.
"There’s a chance he plays toward the end of it and there’s a chance that he doesn’t," Maurice said. "We’ll know more in probably five-to-seven days on that."
Winnipeg also got another scare at practice when defenceman Mark Stuart left after taking a puck in his face. Maurice said he thought Stuart was OK but he’d know better once the player had been checked out.
Captain Andrew Ladd, the team’s scoring leader with 52 points, didn’t practise but Maurice said it was a maintenance issue and Ladd is fine.
Maurice will be juggling his lines to make up for the injuries. On Friday, centre Eric O’Dell was recalled from the AHL St. John’s IceCaps.
Winnipeg is still missing winger Mathieu Perreault, who’s out until early April with a lower-body injury. Defenceman Ben Chiarot has a broken hand and is gone for about the same length of time. Winger Matt Halischuk practised again Friday but won’t be ready to play for another week or two.
"It’s almost weird when we’re all healthy," winger Blake Wheeler said. "It’s almost like an adjustment when we have to deal with a full lineup."
But the Jets have overcome injury woes before and Wheeler said they’re capable of doing so again.
"In the past, we’ve shown that some of our best hockey follows when we have these tough games in front of us," Wheeler said.
That will be necessary against the Predators, who lead the Central Division but have lost five straight. Winnipeg is 2-1-2 in its last five contests.
After facing Nashville, Winnipeg will take on St. Louis, Florida and Tampa.
"We expect four really hard games and we need our best hockey," said defenceman Jay Harrison, who was paired with Byfuglien. "It doesn’t matter who’s in the lineup.
"We need our best game."
