The Winnipeg Jets will be without their best defender for at least the next three games as it was announced Dustin Byfuglien will miss his teams upcoming road trip. Byfuglien has been out of the lineup since February 14th after initially returning to the Jets lineup on February 7th. He has been very productive when on the ice in 2018-19, registering 30 points in the 37 games he has played this season while logging 24:26 minutes of ice time.
In Byfuglien’s absence, Tucker Poolman has been recalled from the Manitoba Moose. Joe Morrow is already IR for the Jets after sustaining a lower-body injury last week.
It appears defender Dustin Byfuglien will miss the #NHLJets' upcoming three-game road trip.https://t.co/efSx1Oo1uc
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 19, 2019
Winnipeg Jets Dustin Byfuglien to Miss At Least Next Three Games
Byfuglien has already dealt with a number of injuries throughout the 2018-19 season. He has been held to just 37 games of action of a possible 59. He has also played in only five contests since the turn of the calendar year. After going out December 29th, Byfuglien missed 15 straight games with a lower-body injury. He appeared to roll his ankle against the Minnesota Wild. This was the second time he had been listed on the injured reserve. The first came after being diagnosed with a concussion due to a hit from then Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman, Jamie Oleksiak.
Byfuglien has been back to his normal self after a somewhat down 2017-18 but has failed to stay on the ice. This has hurt his overall production. He currently sits just one point behind Jacob Trouba for first in defensive scoring on the Jets despite playing 22 fewer games.
Last Word
The Jets have played so-so since Byfuglien’s injury in December. However, Winnipeg still sits first in the Central Division with 76 points. Winnipeg started the season leading the Western Conference in points but since Byfuglien went down December 29th, they’ve slightly slipped and are in danger of being caught by the Nashville Predators. The Preds sit just three points back of the Jets though the Jets have two games in hand.
It will be interesting to see how Byfuglien’s failure to stay healthy will affect the Jets plans going into the trade deadline.
