"He's back moving pretty darn well, which is a positive for us," said Head Coach Paul Maurice. "He's on track, but he will stay where he is (in the non-contact jersey) for at least another week before we start banging him around a little bit."

For the first time since suffering an upper-body injury against the Edmonton Oilers back on Dec. 27, the Jets' No. 1 centre joined his teammates for practice Wednesday at Bell MTS Place.

For the Winnipeg Jets, having Mark Scheifele on the ice in that bright, impossible-to-miss uniform was a welcome sight.

Video: PRACTICE | Paul Maurice

Scheifele did not speak with the media but was very talkative on the ice with his teammates, and was shooting and stick handling the puck with his usual power and ease.

"He seems like he's healing fast and it's definitely a good sign when he's out there skating with the team," said Bryan Little. "I think the next step is contact. I'm not sure what his timeline is, but it's definitely a good sign."

Video: SIGHTS & SOUNDS | Scheifele Joins Practice

The Jets got some more good news on the injury front Wednesday as Dmitry Kulikov was back in a regular jersey after sporting the yellow, non-contact garb for the past two days. Kulikov suffered a concussion prior to the All-Star Break after being run from behind by San Jose forward Tomas Hertl. While he's now cleared for full contact, Maurice was hesitant to say the Russian would be good to go Thursday as the Jets continue their franchise-record 10-game home stand against the Vegas Golden Knights.

With Kulikov back in the fold and Toby Enstrom taking a maintenance day, the Jets' line rushes and defence pairings looked like this:

Laine - Wheeler - Roslovic

Perreault - Little - Ehlers

Copp - Lowry - Armia

Connor - Hendricks - Tanev

Dano

Morrissey - Myers

Kulikov - Byfuglien

Chiarot - Poolman

Hellebuyck

Hutchinson

Tuesday's 3-1 win over the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning was just another example of the Jets' ability to overcome injuries to key players on their roster and stay with the next-man-up mentality to remain successful.

"I thought we played great against them," said defenceman Ben Chiarot, who played 11:43 and had two hits vs. the Lightning. "They're quick, but when we're tight defensively and have the tight gaps like we want to, it takes away a team's speed. I thought we did a great job of that last night."

Video: PRACTICE | Ben Chiarot

Little, who scored his 11th goal of the season in the victory over Tampa, said the Jets' defensive game has been improving steadily over the last month or so.

"We've been involved in a lot of tight games," he said. "That's just the level of play going up. Guys are going harder. This is the time of year that teams are battling for spots in the playoffs, battling for positioning in the standings, and teams are preparing for playoff runs."

Video: PRACTICE | Bryan Little

The Jets held the Lightning to only 24 shots and shut down the league's fourth-ranked power play, which led to a compliment from Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper following the game.

"I know everybody talks about Winnipeg being a big, physical team," Cooper told the Tampa Bay Times. "Really, in the end, that's not their trademark anymore. They're a fast, up-and-down team that plays with skill."

- Jamie Thomas, WinnipegJets.com