The Winnipeg Jets’ defense just can’t get healthy. During the same night that Zach Bogosian is making his season debut, valuable blueliner Tobias Enstrom left Friday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins and won’t return, according to the Winnipeg Sun’s Ken Wiebe.
No, it wasn’t because of a Matt Cooke hit, but it was another hit that seemed innocuous enough. It looks like Enstrom banged up his right arm after a Pascal Dupuis check.
The 28-year-old blueliner has been a little fragile lately. He missed 20 games last season and 10 contests in 2010-11 after playing all 82 games in the first three campaigns of his career.
Enstrom’s been one of the league’s most underrated defensemen for a few seasons, but he’s been even more productive than usual. He’s currently atop all blueliners in 2013 with 13 points in 12 games, seeing more ice time (25:51 minutes per game) than he’s ever received before.
Winnipeg was forced to play a handful of games without Dustin Byfuglien and just got Bogosian back tonight, so their blueline has faced some tough injury luck so far.
The Jets just hope that Enstrom catches a better break than Erik Karlsson and the Ottawa Senators.