Game 1 of the qualifying round series between the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames started off with a bang on Saturday night.
Mark Scheifele, who was Winnipeg’s leading scorer during the regular season (tied with Kyle Connor), was taken out of the game not even six minutes into the first period. Scheifele went into the boards with Flames’ agitator Matthew Tkachuk and appeared to get his left leg locked into the ice. Scheifele was grimacing in pain as he fell to the ice.
Mark Scheifele to the locker room early in Game 1. Brutal looking leg injury pic.twitter.com/GsPJfs3qmU
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) August 2, 2020
Scheifele had to be helped off the ice following the injury. It wasn’t long before the Winnipeg Jets PR team announced that Scheifele would not return to the game.
INJURY UPDATE: Mark Scheifele will not return to tonight’s game. #NHLJets
— Winnipeg Jets PR (@WpgJetsPR) August 2, 2020
Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler didn’t think the Scheifele injury was an accident. Wheeler immediately went after Tkachuk and dropped the gloves with the Flames forward. Wheeler got the worst of the scrap, but you have to give him props for sticking up for his teammate.
Blake Wheeler doesn't think Mark Scheifele's injury was an accident. Come to the aid of his teammate and fights Matthew Tkachuk pic.twitter.com/7Aw5lZcL1S
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) August 2, 2020
We don’t know how severe the injury for Scheifele is right now, but it certainly doesn’t look good. It goes without saying that a long-term injury to one of Winnipeg’s best players would be a monumental loss.
