Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele won't play in his team's do-or-die Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday due to an upper-body injury suffered in Game 4, head coach Rick Bowness announced, per TSN's John Lu.
Bowness added that the main issue with Scheifele's injury is his limited range of motion. However, he's not yet ruled out for Game 6 if the Jets can extend the series, which they currently trail 3-1.
Scheifele played just 1:40 in Game 4 before departing after a shot attempt on the power play.
Mark Scheifele went right down the tunnel and into the locker room after this shot on the power play#GoJetsGo pic.twitter.com/33NOC8qiMX
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) April 25, 2023
But earlier in the contest, he crashed hard into the boards after getting tripped by Vegas goalie Laurent Brossoit.
A massively blown tripping call against Brossoit on Mark Scheifele. Took out another key piece to the jets, i'm at a point where i despise my hometown team. #GoJetsGo pic.twitter.com/z6GEW2P8Oq
— x - JPet27 (@JPetschauer) April 25, 2023
Scheifele led the Jets with a career-high 42 goals during the regular season.
The Jets are already without top blue-liner Josh Morrissey, who was ruled out for the remainder of the series after getting hurt in Game 3. Winger Nikolaj Ehlers has yet to play this postseason, but he's a game-time decision for Game 5.
