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The Winnipeg Jets are in trouble. After already losing Josh Morrissey, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Cole Perfetti, Jets leading scorer Mark Scheifele was injured and left Game 4 on Monday night.
Scheifele went hard into the boards early in the game after being stopped on a breakaway by Vegas goaltender Laurent Brossoit. It appeared that Scheifele caught his skate on Brossoit's stick, causing him to go flying shoulder-first into the endboards.
He did not leave the game, but a few minutes later, Scheifele attempted to take a slap shot while Winnipeg was on the power play, and this is what happened:
Scheifele got nothing on the shot, immediately left the game in obvious pain, and went straight down the tunnel to the Winnipeg dressing room. Jets coach Rick Bowness declared it an upper-body injury and stated that he would be re-evaluated on Tuesday.
What does this injury mean for the Jets?
At the moment, it means they are in serious jeopardy, behind the Golden Knights 3-1 in the series and heading back to the desert for a do-or-die Game 5.
Scheifele leads all Jets scorers with 42 goals during the regular season and is the team's leading scorer. With him, the Jets were able to win Game 1 before falling three straight. Without him, the series could come to an end.
For the future, this injury could mean a whole lot more.
The Winnipeg Jets are nearing the end of an era. Many players, including Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Ehlers, Nino Neiderreiter, and more, are nearing the end of their contracts. The team has only surpassed the first round twice since they re-joined the league in 2011-12. Their coaching staff is nearing retirement, and all rumors point toward the club looking very different next season.
If so, the last memory of this current Jets core could be Scheifele skating off holding his arm.
However, Mark Scheifele could play, since the Jets have yet to rule him out for Game 5 or the rest of the series.
If not, Game 4 in Winnipeg could have been the final time fans saw this edition of the Jets, who appear to have been together forever.
