The Winnipeg Jets are expected to be without Patrik Laine for up to two weeks as the star winger recovers from a foot injury.
Jets coach Paul Maurice told reporters Thursday that Laine only suffered a bruise, not a fracture, after blocking a shot in a Tuesday game against the Los Angeles Kings.
Maurice said the exact recovery timeline for Laine is unclear and that he doesn’t expect him to be ready to go by Sunday when the Jets host their division rival Nashville Predators.
“When he gets his foot in the boot and feels comfortable he’ll be back playing,” Maurice said. “Four days to 14 days is probably the range we’ve seen in the past. That has nothing to do Patty. We’ll see how he heals. Early on, I’d say it’s been very good. Quite a bit less swelling after day one and day two, so he’s motoring around on his own power.”
With the Jets eight points behind the Preds and eight points up on the Minnesota Wild with nine regular-season games remaining, Maurice and his staff are in no need of rushing the 19-year-old Finn back into the lineup.
“It’s not really about pain tolerance. We give it a few days. We want him to be able to skate, we want him to be able to play and in the situation we’re in we don’t want him hobbling around the ice,” Maurice said. “We want him to be able to move pretty comfortably so we’ll take as much time as we need to get to that point.”
Laine has 43 goals in 73 games, putting him one behind Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin for the league lead in that category.
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