Vilardi continues injury rehab progress; skates in non-contact jersey with Jets
Published
The Winnipeg Jets continue to receive positive updates on the status of forward Gabriel Vilardi as he works back from an upper-body injury.
As TSN's John Lu reports, Vilardi skated with the team in a non-contact jersey on Sunday.
Vilardi suffered an upper-body injury on March 23 and has not played since. The 27-year-old finished fifth on the team in scoring with 61 points.
Winnipeg beat the St. Louis Blues 5-3 to open their first-round series on Saturday, with a couple major offensive weapons missing from the lineup - including Vilardi and Nikolaj Ehlers, who finished with 24 goals and 63 points in the regular season.
"So if we look at Ehlers here, let's talk about how unlucky, how fluky this was on the weekend as he collides with an on-ice official and you can immediately see that this guy is in pain and this injury is going to be significant. That's the way it's turned out," TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger said on Insider Trading earlier this week.
"Better news for Vilardi. He is skating, so he remains a possibility to start round one of the playoffs or participate at some point. Maybe is the the middle part of round one, but what it also means is that the Jets are going to have to lean on some other guys like Alex Iafallo, Cole Perfetti are going to have to shoulder more of the load."
Vilardi participated in a personal skate earlier in the week, and the fact that he skated with teammates marks another step toward a return to the lineup.
Winnipeg earned the Presidents' Trophy this season and will host every series up to and including the Stanley Cup Final behind a 56-22-4 record.