WINNIPEG – Winnipeg Jets forward Blake Wheeler will dress for Saturday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes despite taking a puck to the head the previous day.
Wheeler left Friday’s practice after a Dustin Byfuglien shot struck him on the right side of his face. Wheeler admits he was pretty concerned as he skated off the ice under his own power.
“It was pretty painful,” Wheeler told Jets TV following Saturday’s morning skate. “A puck right to the head is pretty painful. It was initially pretty bad. Luckily it hit me in a spot with a lot of bone.”
Wheeler currently leads Winnipeg with 21 points in 20 games. He’s been one of the Jets’ most durable players the past four seasons, missing just five games over that span. Wheeler has given Byfuglien some grief for hitting him with a puck.
“He’s been shooting at my head for five years now,” said Wheeler tongue-in-cheek. “It’s kind of amazing it took him that long to hit me. I’m 6’5″. It’s kind of a long way to shoot up and hit somebody in the head but Byfuglien is pretty incredible.”
The Jets will try to string together their first win streak tonight since the end of October as they a Coyotes’ crew that has won four of its last six games.
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