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Jets defenseman Byfuglien to miss 2-4 weeks

Friday, 03.06.2015 / 3:56 PM / News

By Patrick Williams - NHL.com Correspondent

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Jets defenseman Byfuglien to miss 2-4 weeks
Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien will miss 2-4 weeks because of an upper-body injury

WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Jets face a four-game road trip and a fight for the Stanley Cup Playoffs without defenseman Dustin Byfuglien and center Bryan Little.

Just before departing for Nashville on Friday, the Jets announced Byfuglien will miss 2-4 weeks because of an upper-body injury sustained Wednesday in a 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators.

Little sustained an undisclosed injury against Ottawa. Coach Paul Maurice said he will miss the first half of the trip that begins Saturday against the Nashville Predators.

The Jets recalled center Eric O'Dell from St. John's of the American Hockey League to replace Little.

"It may be longer than this trip," Maurice said of Little, who will make the road trip. "There's a chance he plays toward the end of it. There is a chance we'll know more in 5-7 days on that."

Defenseman Mark Stuart was hit in the face by a puck in practice Friday. Maurice said Stuart was being evaluated and his status had not been determined.

Little's 24 goals lead the Jets, and his 51 points rank second behind captain Andrew Ladd. Little has not missed a game since the 2011-12 season.

"We've gotten comfortable that [Little] and [Ladd] are just in our lineup all the time, and that becomes a bigger problem in terms of what it does and what you look like up front, who fills that hole, your options at center ice," Maurice said.

Byfuglien ranks fourth on Winnipeg in scoring with 15 goals and 27 assists for 42 points. Even though Byfuglien has spent much of the season as a forward, his 22:45 average ice time per game is fourth-most among Winnipeg players. Even with his significant workload each season, Byfuglien has missed nine games since the start of the 2012-13 season.

"We'll miss [Byfuglien]," Maurice said. "He is a force back there, for sure. We've dealt with a number of injuries on our back end. We have good people to put in the lineup, and they've played well and won games.

"[Byfuglien] is in the top end [among NHL defensemen], both what he can do physically and what he can do with the puck."

The injury crush is familiar ground for the Jets. Winnipeg lost its top four defensemen in a two-week span in December. Those injuries pushed Byfuglien back to his natural position after he began the season as a forward.

Winnipeg is also without injured forwards Mathieu Perreault (lower body) and Matt Halischuk (lower body). Defenseman Grant Clitsome had back surgery earlier in the season and is out for the season, and rookie defenseman Ben Chiarot is injured.

"It's almost weird when we're all healthy," right wing Blake Wheeler said.

After visiting Nashville, the trip continues with games against the St. Louis Blues, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, teams that are pushing for spots in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Minnesota Wild edged past the Jets into the Western Conference's first wild card with a 2-1 win at the Washington Capitals on Thursday. Minnesota is 15-2-1 since Jan. 27.

Winnipeg holds the second wild card but faces pursuit from the Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks for the spot. Each team other than the Sharks has a game in hand on the Jets.

Maurice will lean on defensemen Tyler Myers and Jacob Trouba to absorb some of Byfuglien's minutes. Myers, acquired in a trade from the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 11, has averaged 23:07 this season, and Trouba, in his second season, has a 23:17 average.

"I think we all have to be ready," Myers said. "Those are key pieces missing, and we're all going to have to be ready to step up and carry the load here. Tight race, and we need some wins."

After Byfuglien left midway through the game Wednesday, Myers helped to take some of Byfuglien's minutes and skated 24:34. Maurice said Trouba is ready for a bigger workload.

"If I get a couple extra minutes, I'll make the most of it and try to help the team out the best I can," Trouba said.

Defensemen Adam Pardy and Paul Postma are candidates to move into the lineup. Pardy has rotated between roles as a forward and on the blue line recently. Postma has not dressed for a game since Jan. 8.

"There is an awareness that a big piece is out," Maurice said. "You have to understand that in some ways you have 23 small businesses in [the dressing room], so somebody is going to get a bit of a chance to play, so that player comes in and is excited."

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