Injuries knock Jets' Byfuglien, Little out of action

The Winnipeg Jets continue to be battered by injuries and have lost two of their best just as the playoff race tightens.

Dustin Byfuglien will be out two to four weeks and Bryan Little, their second-leading point-getter, is expected to miss at least the team's first two road games.

More is expected to be known on Little's status in a week.

Head coach Paul Maurice made the announcement on Friday, as the Jets prepare to hit the road and play Nashville — the second-best team in the NHL — on Saturday.

"We're going to miss a great player. He's the top in the league in terms of defencemen, both what he can do physically and what he can do with the puck," Maurice said of Byfuglien.

At the same time, the head coach is trying to stay positive despite Byfuglien's absence.

"We've got enough physicality where our game is not defined by one player," Maurice said.

In addition, defenceman Mark Stuart left practice on Friday after getting hit with a puck in the face. He is being assessed and the team had no word on whether he will miss any games.

The Jets are also without speedy forward Mathieu Perreault, who was hurt in mid-February and is not expected to return until close to the end of the regular season.

A few days later, they lost defenceman Ben Chiarot, who broke his hand during a fight in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He is also lost until April.

Another defenceman, Grant Clitsome, is gone for the year after undergoing back surgery. He was hurt in January.

And right winger Matt Halischuk has been out with a lower body injury since the end of January.

The Jets hold the last wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference, one point back of the Minnesota Wild, who bumped them out of the first spot with a win Thursday night.