The Winnipeg Jets could again be without center Mark Scheifele and right wing Patrik Laine against the Calgary Flames in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Thursday.
The Flames would advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and eliminate the Jets with a win.
Scheifele and Laine did not play in Game 2 on Monday, a 3-2 Winnipeg win, or Game 3 on Tuesday, a 6-2 Calgary victory, each in Edmonton, the Western Conference hub city. Scheifele sustained a lower-body injury 5:39 into Game 1, a 4-1 loss Aug. 1. Laine left at 5:44 of the third period with an apparent upper-body injury.
Scheifele, Laine and forward Mason Appleton were unfit to practice Thursday. As part of the NHL Return to Play Plan, a team is not permitted to disclose player injury or illness information.
"It wouldn't surprise me to see them back," Flames coach Geoff Ward said Wednesday. "But we're worried about our own preparation. The most important thing is where we're at in terms of preparing for Game 4. Our sole focus is on ourselves and nothing else."
Teams that win Game 3 after a series is tied 1-1 are 21-7 (75 percent) winning a best-of-5 NHL series (14-2 when last used from 1980-86).
Here are 3 Keys to Game 4:
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1. No fear
The Jets, who have scored first in each game of the series, can't be hesitant despite facing elimination.
"What you want to do in any elimination game is play without that fear, so you can mentally free yourself up," coach Paul Maurice said. "You almost play with -- looseness isn't the right word because you think of casualness -- it's playing without fear, and that can drive you."
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2. Sharper Hellebuyck
Connor Hellebuyck, a finalist in voting for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the top goalie in the NHL, will carry Winnipeg's hopes of pushing the series to Game 5. He led the NHL with six shutouts and finished second in wins (31) and seventh in save percentage (.922) among goalies to play at least 20 games this season. But he has an .892 save percentage in the series after allowing five goals on 31 shots in Game 3.
"It's going to be everything for me," he said after Game 3. "I've got to use this, and I plan on using this. This was an upset for me tonight. I don't see it being easy for them at all for the rest of the series. So they better scratch and claw for everything that they get."
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3. Special-teams battle
The Flames are tied with the Edmonton Oilers for most power-play goals in the postseason (five). The Jets, who are averaging 8:02 of power-play time during the series, have scored twice with the man-advantage and allowed one shorthanded goal.
"Special teams is usually what determines hockey games," Calgary defenseman Mark Giordano said. "Teams are so evenly matched 5-on-5 that special teams plays a big part of it."
