Feb. 19 (UPI) — Winnipeg defenseman Dustin Byfuglien will miss at least three games for the Jets with a lower-body injury.
Jets head coach Paul Maurice provided an update on the star defenseman during a press conference Tuesday and said the injury is unrelated to a lower-body issue that caused Byfuglien to miss 15 games from Dec. 31 to Feb. 5.
Byfuglien will undergo further tests and won’t travel with the team on a three-game road swing that starts with a contest against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
“He’s got a new injury,” Maurice said. “He won’t make the trip and then over that five, six-day block we’ll evaluate it and hope it settles down and we get good news.”
Maurice said the Jets defenseman suffered the injury at the end of the team’s 4-1 win over the Avalanche on Feb. 14. Byfuglien missed Winnipeg’s next game against the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 16.
“He’s got to get more tests done so that we know exactly what we’re looking at,” Maurice said. “The right thing for me to do out of the coaches’ book is just cut it off because I’ve given you more information. … I’m hopeful it’s not [long-term]. I’m feeling pretty confident that it’s not, but the tests are going to tell us.”
Byfuglien has 30 points (four goals, 26 assists) in 37 games this season. He has 524 points (177 goals, 347 assists) in 864 career NHL games across 14 seasons.
Winnipeg recalled defenseman Tucker Poolman from Manitoba, the team’s AHL affiliate, in a corresponding move.
The Jets (36-19-4) are three points ahead of the Nashville Predators for first place in the Central Division.