WINNIPEG 鈥� Mark Scheifele brought some hope with him when he arrived with the Jets at the Winnipeg airport for their Tuesday flight to Las Vegas.
But the team's top goal-scorer, who left Monday鈥檚 4-2 playoff loss to the Golden Knights with an upper-body injury, still remains a question mark for Thursday鈥檚 critical Game 5 with Vegas up 3-1 in the best-of-seven, first-round series.
鈥淚 just talked to Mark and he is feeling better than he did (Monday) night, so he鈥檚 definitely on the day-to-day (list),鈥� Jets head coach Rick Bowness told reporters at the airport.
鈥淟et鈥檚 put him in the hopeful category for Thursday.鈥�
Odds favour the Golden Knights to eliminate the injury-riddled Jets in Nevada鈥檚 gambling mecca. Teams that take a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven NHL series hold a series record of 299-31.
Bowness wasn鈥檛 bowing to the historical results.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no choice. We have to be confident. We have to be. And we will be,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l be a very confident group going into that game.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have a swagger to us that says if we go out, it鈥檚 going to be one tough fight. When we play with that attitude, then I like our chances.鈥�
Scheifele, who scored a career-best 42 goals in the regular season and had one in the playoffs, didn鈥檛 show any visible signs of injury at the airport. He pulled two rolling suitcases with each hand and had a backpack strap slung over his right shoulder.
The veteran centre had a breakaway about two-and-a-half minutes into the first period of Monday鈥檚 game, took a close shot that Vegas goalie Laurent Brossoit stopped, and then got tripped up and crashed into the end boards on his left side.
He got up and continued skating and was on the ice for a Winnipeg power play. After trying to fire a shot, he appeared to immediately clutch his right arm. He skated to the bench and went down the tunnel at 5:11 and didn't return.
Scheifele was the latest of some key Jets who have been injured as the eighth-seeded club tries to topple the conference鈥檚 top team.
Jets all-star defenceman Josh Morrissey suffered a lower-body injury in Game 3 and was ruled out of the rest of the series. The alternate captain travelled with the team to add his expertise and support.
Speedy forward Nikolaj Ehlers, who鈥檚 awaiting medical clearance on a late-season upper-body injury that has sidelined him for the four playoff games, will skate with the team and 鈥渨e鈥檒l see where he is,鈥� Bowness said.
Backup goaltender David Rittich, who missed Monday鈥檚 game (lower body), also headed to Nevada. He was replaced in Monday鈥檚 game with AHL call-up Arvid Holm, who also made the trip with netminder Oskari Salminen because 鈥測ou just never know,鈥� Bowman said.
Rookie forward Cole Perfetti has been out for months and wasn鈥檛 expected to play in the first round, but he also joined the team. He鈥檚 been skating wearing a no-contact jersey.
Before boarding the flight, Jets starting goalie Connor Hellebuyck told reporters it鈥檚 been tough to watch so many 鈥渉eart-and-soul guys鈥� get hit by injuries.
鈥淲e haven't had good luck so far,鈥� the former V茅zina Trophy winner said. 鈥淲e've been playing pretty good though, despite all of our adversity.
鈥淣ow we have to make sure our heads are right and know we're in for the grind and we're not out yet.鈥�
Hellebuyck took it as a good sign that the Jets did win the first game in Vegas 5-1.
鈥淎t this point, you just take it one game at a time,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e don't need three. We need one and we'll go from there.
鈥淚 like our team. I like how we're playing. A bounce here, a bounce there and things can go well."
He was also confident about the way he鈥檚 manning the crease.
鈥淲ith how my game's been and how I feel, I would not expect the results to be the way they are,鈥� Hellebuyck said. 鈥淭hat being said, we're inches away from really flipping the script on this."
PLAYING THE ODDS
Brett Howden, who scored Vegas鈥檚 first goal and last one into an empty net in Monday鈥檚 victory, liked his team鈥檚 odds to win the series in the desert but didn鈥檛 view them as a sure bet.
鈥淲e know where we鈥檙e at, but we don鈥檛 want to just rely on that, rely on the odds,鈥� Howden, a product of Oakbank, Man., said after notching his first playoff goals.
鈥淲e know what we鈥檝e got to do. We鈥檝e got to put in the work. It鈥檚 going to be a really big game. Obviously, that鈥檚 going to be the hardest one to win so we鈥檙e going to be dialed in and ready to go.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2023.
Judy Owen, The Canadian Press
