WINNIPEG – When it comes to this battle of attrition, losing a No. 1 defenceman ranks near the top of the list of suboptimal outcomes.
Not only are the Winnipeg Jets down 2-1 in this best-of-seven with the Vegas Golden Knights after a heartbreaking 5-4 double-overtime loss in Game 3 on Saturday, they’re going to be without minute-muncher Josh Morrissey for at least the rest of the series with a lower-body issue that appeared to be related to his right knee.
On his first shift of the contest, Morrissey locked knees with Golden Knights blue-liner Zach Whitecloud, then also took a slapper off the right knee at the end of his first shift.
It’s the time of the year when it’s often difficult to determine either the nature or full severity of many ailments, but what was apparent was that Morrissey was in some discomfort as he made his way to the bench at the end of his 34-second shift.
When he came out for his next shift on the power play a few minutes later, Morrissey only lasted 34 seconds before making his way to the bench and ultimately down the tunnel, as it was evident his skating was impeded by the injury.
With all of the questions surrounding the health of Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers (who missed a fourth consecutive game and has yet to receive medical clearance to return from an undisclosed upper-body injury), Jets head coach Rick Bowness was quick to make the declaration about Morrissey’s status when he stepped to the podium after double overtime.
“Those five guys did a phenomenal job for us. Our forwards did everything they could to help them. But yeah, very unfortunate to lose (Josh Morrissey),” said Bowness, praising the work of the five D-men that finished the contest. “He’s got a lower-body and he’s done for the series, so we don’t have to talk about that every day.”
Not only is Morrissey an All-Star, he’s a member of the leadership core, he leads the team in ice time and is an offensive play driver who also quarterbacks the power play.
So, this loss will be difficult to overcome, whether it’s Kyle Capobianco, Logan Stanley or a call-up from the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League like Ville Heinola who slides into the lineup.
But the Jets will have Saturday’s gutsy effort as something to draw on as a blueprint for life without Morrissey.
That included Neal Pionk taking a game-high 48 shifts and 41:08 of ice time and produced three third-period assists, which helped the Jets overcome a three-goal deficit to force the first overtime of this highly-entertaining series. His impressive performance also included seven hits, four shots on goal and five blocked shots.
Pionk was on an IV after the contest and the chances are good that he’ll continue to take on a heavy load with Morrissey out, as he will be running the top power play to go along with his duties at even strength and on the penalty kill.
“Neal’s looking for a new set of legs right now, as we speak. Among other things,” said Jets defenceman Brenden Dillon, who played 30:30. “For a lot of us, we’re all gassed. But we had so much confidence, we could have played another three overtimes, with how good we felt. That’s a good thing. It’s not like we’re losing a game like that and sulking around here. We’re ready for Game 4 already and we’ve got to take that confidence with how that game ended.”
Prior to the game ending, the Jets provided a stirring comeback, which included an even-strength marker from Nino Niederreiter, a power-play goal from Mark Scheifele and an extra-attacker goal from Adam Lowry, who converted a rebound after tipping the initial shot by Pionk with 21.9 seconds to go in regulation time.
Jets defenceman Dylan Samberg has been very good in this series, but was the victim of an unfortunate bounce early in the second overtime.
With Brett Howden applying pressure on Dylan DeMelo on the forecheck, Samberg picked up the puck in the corner and his breakout pass caromed off the shin pad of Golden Knights forward Ivan Barbashev and landed on the tape of Michael Amadio, who ended the game at 3:40 of the second overtime period.
Samberg was distraught by the turn of events, placing his gloves on his helmet in disbelief before several of his teammates came over to give him a tap on the shin pads.
“It’s tough. We play again in two days so you’ve got to erase it and look forward to that next game,” said Dillon. “He’s a young defenceman, which usually when we make a mistake, (it) gets magnified. We’re the last line of defence. He’s played so great all year and he’s earned a big part of double overtime.
“Some guys in his shoes might not even be getting a sniff out there and he’s out there in key situations and doing great. We feel for him, but we’re a confident group. We feel for him but we’ve got to kind of erase this and get ready for the next one.”
Bowness was quick to offer words of encouragement for Samberg after the game, knowing the contribution he’s made.
“I talked to him right after. I said ‘Dylan, we’re where we are because of you. You helped us get here. You helped us get to double overtime,’” said Bowness. “That’s usually what happens. You get in those situations and the puck takes a bounce off a skate or a stick and it goes to them. That’s usually how overtime games are ended. I talked to him right away. He’s a big part of why we’re here. We’ll keep playing him.”
Dillon got the crowd into an early lather by dropping the gloves with Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar just 49 seconds into the contest.
Kolesar delivered a solid body check on Lowry and Dillon was quick to answer the bell in what was a spirited tilt.
“Get things going,” said Dillon. “(Lowry) sticks up for everybody on this team, so it was just an opportunity to be my turn and got to get the place rocking, too, get some momentum going. We just played a great game. I can’t say enough about it.
“Yeah, of course. We’re a physical team and so are they, all over the ice. That’s part of playoff hockey is the physicality and, obviously, you want to be smart about it, not taking penalties.”
Kyle Connor had the other goal for the Jets, while Jack Eichel had two goals and an assist for the Golden Knights (giving him three goals and four points in the series), who also got singles from Chandler Stephenson and Kolesar.
Lowry explained what it was like to pounce on the loose puck and score his team-leading fourth goal of the series, then weighed in with the other end of the spectrum of this roller-coaster of emotions while looking ahead to Game 4, which goes Monday night.
“I’ll tell you what, I was pretty fired up. To kind of enter the third where we were at and get the building rocking and have a chance to win in overtime, it’s a pretty big high emotionally. It was nice to get the building back and tie the game for the guys. It’s too bad we couldn’t finish,” said Lowry, who jumped into the glass during his celebration. “It’s a test. You want to respond. We’ve kind of been running through the gauntlet the last month and a half. We’ve had some big wins followed by tough losses. You look at how we responded after the Calgary game.
“This is another kind of tough loss. We gave ourselves a good chance to win (by) tying the game, but like I said, it’s our job now to be ready for Game 4. We’re excited for the opportunity, and there’s a lot of belief in this group that we can get it done and even the series.”
