WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Jets will lean on their most experienced players but have a nearly impossible task in trying to make up for the loss of center Mark Scheifele, who's out 6-8 weeks because of an upper-body injury.
Scheifele was checked by Edmonton Oilers defenseman Brandon Davidson and crashed into the boards at 7:07 of the second period during the Jets' 4-3 victory Wednesday. He was helped off the ice and did not return.
Scheifele has 38 points (15 goals, 23 assists) in 38 games this season, second on the Jets to Blake Wheeler's 42. Last season, Scheifele, 24, was seventh in the NHL with 82 points (32 goals, 50 assists) in 79 games.
Wheeler, Scheifele's regular linemate, was moved from right wing to center on the Jets' top line at practice Thursday. His linemates were left wing Kyle Connor and right wing Patrik Laine. That line likely will remain together when the Jets host the New York Islanders at Bell MTS Place on Friday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, MSG+2, NHL.TV).
Wheeler, 31, said Scheifele is irreplaceable.
Since Scheifele became the Jets' No. 1 center when Bryan Little sustained a season-ending neck injury Feb. 18, 2016, he has 154 points (64 goals, 90 assists) in 143 games, tied with Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning for third-most in the League. The only players with more are the Oilers' Connor McDavid (168 points in 143 games) and the Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (156 points in 139 games).
Wheeler said the Jets have no choice but to fill Scheifele's spot by committee as they try to continue their best start since the 2011 relocation to Winnipeg.
The Jets are second in the Central Division with 48 points (21-11-6), one behind the first-place Nashville Predators.
"There's still a lot of fight in our group, a lot of capable bodies in here to get a job done," Wheeler said. "That's the key for us. We want to keep this thing afloat so that when Mark comes back, we'll be even stronger for it."
Wheeler has played center during his 10 NHL seasons, at the start of his career with the Boston Bruins and more recently when Scheifele has missed games because of injury.
Veteran forward Mathieu Perreault, 29, will make the biggest move within the Winnipeg lineup, going from the fourth line to the second line to play left wing with Little and Nikolaj Ehlers, who moves from left wing to right wing.
In nine NHL seasons, Perreault has 260 points (100 goals, 160 assists) in 452 games and is skilled enough to handle the extra responsibility.
He has 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 12:23 of ice time in 26 games this season. That's 3.72 points per 60 minutes, sixth-most in the League among players who have played at least 25 games this season; Josh Bailey of the New York Islanders leads with 4.29 points per 60 minutes.
That said, the Jets will be challenged to maintain their scoring pace with Scheifele out. They have 124 goals, third-most in the League behind the Lightning and the Islanders, each with 131 entering Thursday.
"It's not good for us but now all the other guys must improve their game," Laine said. "I think we'll just need to play more and better in our own end. I think we're playing well right now so we can't let it affect our game."
Winnipeg's third line will stay the same, with Adam Lowry at center between left wing Andrew Copp and right wing Brandon Tanev.
Shawn Matthias, 29, is expected to play in Perreault's spot at left wing on the fourth line, with center Matt Hendricks and right wing Joel Armia. He skated there Thursday.
Matthias, in his 11th NHL season, hasn't played since Dec. 3 against the Ottawa Senators and has been scratched the past 11 games. He has two assists in 18 games this season.
But he'll likely play ahead of forward Marko Dano, 23. Dano has been scratched 29 consecutive games. He last played Oct. 27 at the Columbus Blue Jackets and has no points in six games.
If coach Paul Maurice's first iteration of adjustments is unsatisfactory, it's likely the Jets would recall a forward from Manitoba of the American Hockey League. A trade is possible, but it's unlikely anyone is available who could provide what Scheifele does when healthy.
Manitoba's leading scorer is center Jack Roslovic, who is tied for second in the AHL with 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists) in 31 games.
Roslovic, 20, has played one NHL game with Winnipeg, on April 6 last season. He was the No. 25 pick of the 2015 NHL Draft, taken after the Jets had selected Connor at No. 17.
Manitoba has another center, Nic Petan, who has 24 points (six goals, 18 assists) in 24 games.
Petan, 22, played six games with the Jets at the start of this season but didn't have a point. In 86 NHL games in three seasons, he has 19 points (three goals, 16 assists). He was a second-round pick (No. 43) in the 2013 NHL Draft.
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