Snapshots: Matthias, Western Playoff Race, Jagr

The Winnipeg Jets will be without forward Shawn Matthias for the remainder of the season, the team announced Saturday.

The first sign of trouble was on Wednesday, when Matthias missed practice. He was held out of the Jets’ last game with an upper-body injury. Matthias has eight goals and 12 points in 45 games this season, his first in Winnipeg after signing a two-year, $4.25MM contract in free agency. He split last season between Toronto and Colorado.

Detroit’s second round pick in 2006 has played 524 NHL games, scoring 171 points with Florida, Vancouver, Toronto, Colorado, and Winnipeg.

• With just 11 or 12 games remaining, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector broke down the schedules for the Western Conference teams involved in a tight playoff race. Anaheim, Calgary, and Edmonton are within two points of each other, and will likely finish two-through-four in the Pacific Division. The Oilers have a game in hand on both teams, and play the Canucks tonight. Spector gives Edmonton the advantage in home games, strength of opponent, and ease of the final week of the season. Calgary gets the nod for having back-to-backs and getting tired opponents. Anaheim’s biggest advantage comes during a home-and-home series with the Flames in early April; Calgary hasn’t won in Anaheim since January 2004. The next team in the Pacific, Los Angeles, is four points behind St. Louis for the second wildcard spot. At eight points back, they have a slim chance at catching the next three teams, but do get Edmonton and Calgary three times each.
• With two assists last night, NHL legend and Panthers winger Jaromir Jagr passed Gordie Howe for most points scored by a player in his 40s, with 269. The 45-year-old told Harvey Fialkov of the Sun Sentinel that he’s “going to pass [Howe] for most points after 50.” For the record, Howe had 41 points in 1979-80 a 51-year-old in his return to the NHL after six years in the WHA.