Coming off the best season of his career, Winnipeg Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi will return from a monthlong absence and play in Game 5 of the first round of the playoffs against the visiting St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.
Vilardi, 25, who suffered an upper-body injury in a March 23 game against the Buffalo Sabres, practiced on the top line with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele on Tuesday and also on the first power-play unit. He practiced in a regular jersey for the fourth consecutive day.
Winnipeg opened the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series with a pair of home wins, but lost the next two games on the road, setting up a pivotal Game 5.
In his second season with the Jets following a trade from the Los Angeles Kings in June 2023, Vilardi set career highs in goals (27), assists (34) and points (61) in 71 games before the injury. He was a key cog in the club’s Presidents’ Trophy-winning regular season in which Winnipeg finished with the most points in the NHL.
In 270 games over six seasons with the Kings and Jets, Vilardi has compiled 175 points (90 goals, 85 assists) since debuting in the 2019-20 season. In 12 playoff games, he has two goalis and eight points.
Los Angeles selected Vilardi with the 11th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
Information from Field Level Media was used in this report.
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