Bryan Little will have to watch the remainder of Winnipeg's season from the sideline.
The Jets center will not return to the lineup this season due to a fractured vertebra, coach Paul Maurice confirmed Thursday.
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“(He) sustained a compression fracture of his T6 vertebra. It is mid-to-lower back,” Maurice said, via the team's website. “It was a significant amount of force that caused the compression fracture. We’re going to miss him greatly.”
Little initially sustained the injury in last Thursday's 6-5 shootout loss to the Lightning in Tampa Bay when he was hit by defenseman Anton Stralman in the second period, forcing him out of the game.