Little was injured with 2:56 left when he collided with Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman.

TAMPA -- Winnipeg Jets center Bryan Little left the game Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second period and did not return.

Little, who needed assistance to leave the ice and reach the locker room, had X-rays of his neck, Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said.

"You don't want to see that, right?" Jets captain Andrew Ladd said. "I understand [Little] is probably in a vulnerable spot and I think he's stumbled for 3-4 steps. As a [defenseman], you know he's in a vulnerable spot; do you need to try to take his head off? I don't think so."

Stralman was not penalized for the hit but received two minutes for roughing Blake Wheeler after Wheeler responded.

"I don't play the game to try to hurt anybody," Stralman said. "I tried to make a hit and he lost his edge, lost his balance, and I was in his way. There is really not much I can do to pull out of that one."

Little has 42 points (17 goals, 25 assists) in 57 games.