Encouraging news after Perreault leaves practice injured

It was a stressful day for the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday as forward Mathieu Perreault left practice with a lower-body injury. However on Wednesday morning, ahead of the Jets' titl against the Washington Capitals, head coach Paul Maurice had some encouraging news about his forward. 

Coach Maurice has reported that Perreault will be in the lineup tonight against the Caps. According to Jets insider Mitchell Clinton, the veteran forward was back on the ice Wednesday morning, 10 minutes ahead of his teammates, after suffering an injury following an on-ice collision during practice on Tuesday. Coach Maurice revealed that defenseman Dustin Byfuglien would also be in uniform tonight as he simply underwent a maintenance day on Tuesday. 

In 16 games this season, Perreault has tallied three goals and one assist. He scored a goal in his last outing on Nov. 11 against the New Jersey Devils in a game in which he recorded 14:29 of ice time. The Jets went on to win that matchup 5-2 to move to 10-5-1 on the season. 

Perreault is in his fifth season with the Jets after coming into the league during the 2009-10 season with the Capitals. 

He will be in the lineup tonight to welcome the team that selected him in the sixth round, 177th overall, back in the 2006 NHL entry draft.