ANAHEIM -- Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault said he will be a game-time decision for Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVA Sports, SN, PRIME).
Perreault said he is progressing from a lower-body injury sustained at the end of the regular season. He took part in Winnipeg's morning skate but sounded questionable.
"Today felt the best I felt in past days, for sure," Perreault said. "A week ago it was pretty bad. Now it's starting to feel better. We can just be hopeful that within the next couple of games I'll be back.
"It's getting better every day and today was better than yesterday. I don't know if I'll be able to play or not. But if I don't, I’m sure tomorrow will be even better and we'll go from there."
Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said he wouldn't use Perreault only for situational purposes, such as the power play.
When Perreault does return, he will go against his former team. Perreault was an offensive cog for the Ducks last season with 18 goals, 25 assists and a plus-13 rating playing for Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, who coached Perreault with the Washington Capitals.
"It's a first for me," Perreault said of playing against Boudreau. "I don't know. I'll see when I get out there. But there's no friends on the ice; it's going to be all business. It's playoff hockey."
Perreault said his desire to play was elevated after he watched the Jets lose 4-2 in Game 1. They're seeking a win in Game 2 so they can take a split of the best-of-7 series with them to Winnipeg.
Maurice didn't think there was more pressure on Anaheim to defend home ice.
"Pressure changes in the series on home losses," Maurice said. "You're supposed to win your games at home, and then as a first-place team you've got yourself a guaranteed series … there didn't seem to be on the ice one team looking like they were under more pressure than the other [in Game 1]. The puck's going to drop and away we go. I don't think that will be a factor in the series."
Here are the projected lineups:
JETS
Andrew Ladd - Bryan Little - Michael Frolik
Drew Stafford - Mark Scheifele - Blake Wheeler
Jiri Tlusty - Adam Lowry - Lee Stempniak
Chris Thorburn - Jim Slater - Matt Halischuk
Ben Chiarot - Dustin Byfuglien
Scratched: Jay Harrison, Adam Pardy, Eric O'Dell, Keaton Ellerby, Anthony Peluso, TJ Galiardi, Andrew Copp
Injured: Mathieu Perreault (lower body), Grant Clitsome (upper body), Paul Postma (lower body)
DUCKS
Patrick Maroon - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry
Matt Beleskey - Ryan Kesler - Kyle Palmieri
Andrew Cogliano - Rickard Rakell - Jakob Silfverberg
Emerson Etem - Chris Wagner - Tim Jackman
Hampus Lindholm - Francois Beauchemin
Scratched: James Wisniewski, Korbinian Holzer, Jiri Sekac, Tomas Fleischmann
Injured: Nate Thompson (upper body), John Gibson (upper body)
Status report: Ladd did not skate but is expected in the lineup for Game 2.
Who's hot: Stafford and Lowry each had a goal in Game 1. … Stuart had an assist, eight hits and three blocked shots.
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