Nino is back. Nino Niederreiter will be back in the Winnipeg Jets lineup tomorrow night, barring any setbacks, when they take on Seattle Kraken. Niederreiter says that he’s been medically cleared to play, and will be a certainly be a welcome addition back to the team, who is looking to secure second place in the central division with a win over Seattle. Niederreiter spoke with the media post-practice today, giving an update on his status.

Niederreiter is returning from what was initially deemed a “leg laceration” which he suffered on the night of April 1st against the Los Angeles Kings. It was a scary incident for the Jets forward, who appears to have narrowly avoided what could have been a season-ending injury. The injury was one of those cases where Niederreiter was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, the cut protection socks could have been the difference between this injury going from bad to way worse.

Luckily, Niederreiter is stitch-free now and feels ready to get back into the lineup. The Swiss forward is expected to slot back into a familiar spot in the lineup, with Mason Appleton and Adam Lowry. David Gustafsson was filling Niederreiter’s role on this line during his absence. The 24-year-old Swede did his job on this shut-down line and was able to do what was asked of him. Rick Bowness also had a word on Nino Niederreiter’s status after practice.

What this means for the Jets is that they will be getting back their two-way forward just in time to get two games in before the playoffs get underway. The 31-year old is sitting on 18 goals and 15 assists this season through 75 games. Perhaps most importantly of all, the Jets will be getting back the player on their team with the second most playoff experience. Niederreiter has played in 87 playoff games, split between the Minnesota Wild, Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets, and is second only to newly acquired Tyler Toffoli’s 88 playoff games.