WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele left Monday’s 4-2 loss in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Scheifele, 30, a first-line center who has one goal this series, suffered an upper-body injury in the first period.
“We’ll reevaluate him [Tuesday],” Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said after the game, adding he is not ruling him out for the series just yet.
The veteran Scheifele is coming off a standout regular season in which he scored 42 goals and finished with 68 points as the Jets secured the final postseason berth in the Western Conference. And his absence was felt Monday night.
William Karlsson and Ivan Barbashev scored 47 seconds apart in the second period as Golden Knights skated off with a 3-1 series lead. Brett Howden scored twice for the Golden Knights, including one into an empty net. And Chandler Stephenson and Shea Theodore each had two assists.
Vegas can eliminate short-handed Winnipeg on Thursday night. Teams that take a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series hold a series record of 299-31.
Scheifele joins a growing list of injured teammates that includes all-star defenseman Josh Morrissey (injured in Game 3) and speedy forward Nikolaj Ehlers, who hasn’t competed in the playoffs.
On a breakaway about two and a half minutes into the game, Scheifele took a close shot that Laurent Brossoit stopped, and then got tripped up and crashed into the end boards on his left side. He got up and continued skating and was on the ice for a Winnipeg power play. When he tried to fire a shot from inside the circle, it didn’t have a lot of power behind it and he appeared to immediately clutch his right arm. He skated to the bench and left the game at 5:11.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
