Injured Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien took another step forward in his recovery on Monday.
Byfuglien skated with the rest of his teammates wearing a non-contact jersey during their game-day morning skate.
“He’s been able to do quite a bit off ice, which has been good, so he doesn’t feel far off it,” head coach Paul Maurice told reporters. “Dustin is one of those guys, for the most part, that could miss a couple of weeks, throw his gear on and you can’t tell.”
Out with a lower-body injury, Byfuglien has missed 33 of the Jets’ previous 38 games, including their last 18 in a row.
“There’s a certain timeline for the doctors to say: ‘OK, there’s the appropriate amount of healing. If he feels good, he can go,’ and this is the week, this past week, where he’s starting to come into the rink saying: ‘I feel pretty darn good,'” Maurice added.
The plan is for Byfuglien to practice in full on Wednesday.
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According to the head coach, injured defenceman Josh Morrissey and backup goalie Laurent Brossoit are also still on track to get back on the ice. After suffering an upper-body injury on Feb. 24, Morrissey’s original timeline put his return around the start of April. He’s missed the Jets’ last 14 games.
“Josh has a window,” Maurice said. “He’s right where he’s supposed to be.”
Brossoit pulled himself from the game in last Thursday’s loss to the Vegas Golden Knights after a lower-body injury, and he could rejoin the team as early as Thursday.
“We’ll consider Laurent for the full skate in a couple of days,” Maurice said. “He’s not far off getting back into the full rhythm.”
“Whether we have him back up for the Island (New York Islanders), I’m not sure yet.”
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The Jets are in the midst of their final homestand of the regular season.
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