The Winnipeg Jets won't have star forward Mark Scheifele for Thursday's Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights, but they could have forward Nikolaj Ehlers for the first time in the opening-round series.

Scheifele left in the first period of Monday's Game 4 with an upper-body injury, and Jets coach Rick Bowness said Wednesday he's not improved enough to take the ice in Las Vegas on Thursday night.

If the series continues -- Vegas leads 3-1 -- Bowness said there's a chance Scheifele could be back for Game 6 on Saturday.

Scheifele led the Jets in the regular season with a career-high 42 goals plus 26 assists in 81 games. He had one goal in the series against Vegas before the injury.

Ehlers, meanwhile, is expected to be a game-time call after having been sidelined with an upper-body injury since April 11. He practiced again Wednesday and will need medical clearance ahead of Game 5 in order to play.

"He'll be reevaluated in the morning," Bowness said, according to NHL.com. "He got through practice fine. We had him do some pushing and shoving. We'll see how he handles this and see how he feels tomorrow morning, and we'll make the call tomorrow."

Ehlers had 12 goals and 26 assists during the regular season.