Having previously said he would be "good to go" for Game 1 of the Winnipeg Jets' opening round playoff series with the Vegas Golden Knights, and then proceeding to miss the next four games, injured forward Nikolaj Ehlers is once again proclaiming his 'readiness'.
On the receiving end of a suspendible Ryan Hartman interference check back on April 11 in a testy affair with the Minnesota Wild, Ehlers has yet to return to game action. Hartman, on the other hand, has two goals and five points in his four postseason games thus far.
Dealing with an undisclosed ailment, Ehlers told reporters in advance of Game 1 that he was "ready" for action.
It came as a shock when he missed warmups for the series-opener in Vegas. He then went on to attend some practices and morning skates, while missing others.
Head coach Rick Bowness never tipped his hand or swayed from his 'day-to-day' injury designation through the entire process.
For the first time since speaking to reporters prior to Game 1, Ehlers was available to the media after the Jets' practice on Wednesday.
"I don't think I was good enough to play the first few games," he said. "I know I said I was, but I hadn't really been on the ice, yet. And looking back now, that wouldn't have ended well. I feel a lot better now."
Facing elimination, Ehlers and the Jets find themselves down three-games-to-one at the hands of the No. 1 seed Golden Knights. Having won the opener, the team has since lost three straight, but would certainly benefit from an addition to the lineup, rather than the seemingly never-ending subtractions.
“I mean, I played 45 games this year," Ehlers added. "It’s been a tough year… a tough couple of years. And especially this year, where this group has been as tight as it has been.”
When grilled, coach Bowness doubled back on his word that his speedy winger just plain and simply wasn't ready to go.
“We had to get him physically involved, which we hadn’t done before,” head coach Rick Bowness said. “When we did push him a little bit, that’s when he knew he couldn’t play and he wasn’t ready to play. Today we pushed him hard and that’s why we have to wait and see how he feels.”
Ehlers skated in full-contact with Vladislav Namestnikov and Nino Niederreiter on Wednesday, as three of his team's centremen were missing from action. With Mark Scheifele injured in Game 4 and already ruled out for Thursday, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Kevin Stenlund also missed the team's 35-minute practice on Wednesday. But both are expected to suit up in Game 5.
Whether or not Ehlers will be able to crack that lineup will stem from his medical assessment on Thursday. Having failed four previous times, he certainly would like to find his way back into the mix, in hopes of helping bring the series back to Winnipeg.
"He was playing the best hockey he played all year before he went down," his coach said. "He's clearly one of our top-six guys. It feels a lot better putting him into that position. He'll handle it well. I'm not worried about that."
Speaking much more optimistically than in the lead up to past games, Bowness' favour may serve as an indication that the veteran bench boss believes that Ehlers will, in fact, make his way back in time for Thursday's tilt in Vegas.
"If you've seen him play, he can skate like the wind, controls the play, possession," Jets forward Kyle Connor said. "Obviously, he's been kind of on edge, whether he's going to play or not from the start of the series. Everybody is looking forward to getting him back. He's a hell of a player."
The Jets will look to stave off elimination when they hit the ice at T-Mobile Arena at 9:00 PM central time on Thursday. The game can be viewed live on Sportsnet.