Injury news: Dmitry Kulikov out at least a month

It has been a frustrating season for veteran defenceman Dmitry Kulikov who has been a healthy scratch a number of times this season as he recovered from his back issues last year.  In last night’s 1st period against the Avalanche he was actually looking good but he was hit against the boards and then when he hit the ice it was clear to those watching that he was in some discomfort.  He immediately left the ice for the Jets room and the team announced he would not return to the game.

Today he wasn’t on the ice for practice and Jets head coach Paul Maurice confirmed that Kulikov is “out at least a month and it may be longer than that.  That would be the first open window.  Probably the next time I give you an update it will be four weeks from now.”   When asked if surgery was an option the Jets bench boss said “No.  No it’s just gotta heal.”.

This means that an opportunity will be there for Sami Niku or Tucker Poolman to earn themselves a recall from the Manitoba Moose.  When asked about a recall all the Jets bench boss would say was “They play again tonight so we’ll bring up the guy whose going probably.”.

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