Winnipeg Jets Expected to Be Shorthanded For Game 1 vs. Edmonton Oilers

The Winnipeg Jets are expected to be without some key forwards for Game 1 on Wednesday night versus the Edmonton Oilers.

The Jets are a team who has been very banged up lately, as players like Andrew Copp and Paul Stastny have been seen in non-contact jerseys during team practices in recent days. Thankfully, both are expected to be ready to go for Game 1. The same cannot be said for forwards Nikolaj Ehlers and Pierre-Luc Dubois, however, as head coach Paul Maurice said both will be game-time decisions for tomorrow, while Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe suggested on his Twitter feed he thinks they are in the “doubtful” category.

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If Wiebe does end up being correct, that’s a huge blow to the Jets for Game 1 as both are key players for their forward group. Ehlers was fantastic this season with 21 goals and 46 points in 47 games, which was good enough for third in team scoring. He hasn’t played since suffering an upper-body injury on April 24 versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Dubois on the other hand had some struggles in his first stint with the Jets since being acquired early in the season from the Columbus Blue Jackets. In 41 games with the Jets, he scored just eight goals and 20 points, far below what he is capable of. Ironically, he too was hurt versus the Leafs, although it came in the Jets very last game of the season. Hopefully for the Jets sake he is able to get healthy soon and play like the player they thought they were acquiring at the time they made the trade.

Oilers Getting Healthy

While the Jets have some question marks health wise heading in, the Oilers appear to be ready to go. Zack Kassian, who hasn’t played in nearly a month, was a full participant in Tuesday’s practice and is expected to play, as is Kailer Yamamoto who was forced to miss the final two games of the season due to an undisclosed injury.

With the Oilers appearing to be healthy, they have a great chance to take an early series lead against the banged up Jets. Also working in their favor was their regular season success against Winnipeg, as they had a record of 7-2-0 in the nine games they played. While they certainly aren’t a team to look past, Edmonton is considered heavy favorites in this series for a reason.

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