Scheifele appears set to play Game 1, but Arniel not tipping hand
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The Winnipeg Jets may be getting one key contributor back in the lineup for their series against the Dallas Stars, as Mark Scheifele skated in the top line during Wednesday's gameday skate.
Scheifele, Josh Morrissey and Logan Stanley were all on the ice in regular sweaters at the team's practice on Wednesday. Morrissey, though, skated as an extra, along with Stanley. In addition to working on the top line with Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi, Scheifele also worked on the team's top power play unit.
Head coach Scott Arniel declared all three players to be game-time decisions after the session, despite the fact that both Stanley and Morrissey stayed on late for extra work and neither participated in any line rushes.
Scheifele's health is one of the key storylines entering the second-round series between the Jets and Dallas Stars, which gets underway Wednesday night in Winnipeg.
The 32-year-old was held out of Games 6 and 7 against the St. Louis Blues in the first round with an undisclosed injury that forced him out of Game 5 earlier in the week.
Arniel designated Scheifele as a game-time decision on Saturday but ruled him out of Sunday's winner-take-all matchup early the following day.
Scheifele had two goals and four assists for six points through five games of the series before the injury.
Morrissey was forced out of Sunday's Game 7 with an upper-body injury. Arniel told reporters that he will be re-evaluated on Monday and is considered day-to-day for the time being. He played 2:09 before leaving in the opening period.
Lu also noted that Morrissey was skating alongside the lineup scratches even after the team finished their media availabilities, suggesting that the 10th-year player would not be in the lineup for Game 1.
The 30-year-old defenceman scored 14 goals and finished with 62 points in 80 games in the regular season with Winnipeg.
He had three assists in the series against the Blues.
Stars awaiting news on Robertson, Heiskanen
Meanwhile, the Stars may be getting reinforcements of their own, as top producers in forward Jason Robertson and defenceman Miro Heiskanen are approaching a return to action.
“He’s close. We’ll see tomorrow morning,” Stars head coach Pete DeBoer said of Robertson on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old skated alongside Mason Marchment and Wyatt Johnston during Tuesday's practice.
Robertson, who suffered a knee injury during the team's regular season finale on April 16, missed the entire seven games series against the Colorado Avalanche in the opening round. The native of California ranked second in team scoring this year, netting 35 goals and 45 assists across 82 games.
No. 1 defenceman Miro Heiskanen, who's been out since Jan. 28 with a knee injury, skated with Matt Dumba at practice on Tuesday, but DeBoer didn't indicate his availability for Game 1 against Winnipeg.
The 25-year-old native of Finland had five goals and 20 assists over 50 games with the Stars in 2024-25, his seventh year with the franchise.