The Winnipeg Jets have just confirmed some bad news.
According to an official announcement from Jets public relations, Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey will not return to Game 3 after he suffered an unspecified injury in the first period of today’s game.
It is unclear exactly how Morrissey was injured, but prior to leaving the ice he was involved in an awkward collision with Las Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud. Subsequently, Morrissey struggled to get off the ice before taking a seat on the Jets bench, but he would not return to the ice.
Morrissey was on the ice for just his second shift of the game when he suffered the injury.
The Las Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets are all tied up at one game a piece in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and it is perhaps for this reason that tensions were running high during Saturday’s Game 3.
Tempers flared just 49 seconds into the game after the Jets’ Brenden Dillon took exception to a hit from the Golden Knights’ Keegan Kolesar, a relatively harmless looking hit to the Jets’ Adam Lowry.
Dillon immediately went after and challenged Kolesar who appeared more than willing to engage with his opponent, and the two men squared off for what would prove to be a back and forth bout. Both men traded jabs and body shots with Dillon appearing to land the harder shots, and eventually it would be Kolesar that would tie Dillon up which in turned forced the officials to separate the two men.
It was a great showing from both combatants, one that surely set the tone for the remainder of today’s game.
The Boston Bruins have taken a 2-1 series lead over the Florida Panthers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and it sounds like that lead may have granted Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery some luxuries when it comes to his lineup.
On Saturday, Montgomery hinted at 2 possible changes to the Bruins lineup ahead of Game 4 when he provided updates on both goaltender Linus Ullmark and veteran forward David Krejci.
In the case of Ullmark, Montgomery admitted that he had given some thought to the idea of swapping in goaltender Jeremy Swayman for Game 4 in order to give Ullmark, who is dealing with a minor injury, some additional time to rest in the middle of the series.
“Yeah there is thoughts of going with Jeremy,” admitted Montgomery on Saturday. “Just because, one, Jeremy’s excellent, and two after tomorrow’s game there’s three days between the next one… game’s 4 and 5.”
Montgomery also indicated that David Krejci, who missed Game 3 of the series, could possibly return for Game 4 but he did not have any more to say regarding the status of the veteran Bruins forward.
“Krejci no,” responded Montgomery when asked if Krejci would skate on Saturday. “There’s no real update, I would just say he’s questionable for tomorrow.”
Montgomery was also able to confirm that Bergeron remained on track to return, not for Sunday’s Game 4, but for Game 5 this coming Wednesday.
Saturday night’s Game 3 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs was the site of something that has never before been seen in the history of the National Hockey League, a fight between a pair of 60 goal scorers.
It wasn’t very much of a fight at all though and in fact you could probably argue that it was more of an assault on the part of Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, who used a chaotic situation during the game to take a few shots at Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Auston Matthews.
The two men clashed after a scary-looking hit from Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly sent Lightning forward Brayden Point crashing head and shoulders first into the boards, with Stamkos delivering several unanswered punches to the face of Matthews while being restrained by the officials.
Following the conclusion of the game, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was asked about the incident and he used the opportunity to sound off on Stamkos, the Lightning, and even NHL referee Jake Brenk.
“The fight itself, that’s a classic example of a veteran championship team like Tampa Bay manipulating the officials and taking advantage of a situation, right?” said Keefe following Game 3. “I mean they know that we’re basically already going on the power play because of the Kucherov situation so it’s a free-for-all. They can do whatever they want and they just know that the way the games get called they’re not going to get another penalty. I mean you watch that sequence back and say that we shouldn’t get a 5-on-3. The officials literally holding Steven Stamkos with one arm and his other hand with no glove on is punching Auston Matthews. Not the linesman, the referee who calls the penalty was holding Stamkos while this was happening. Credit to Tampa for recognizing that situation, it’s a free pass to do what you want. Not only do they get out of it unscathed, but they take Matthews and O’Reilly with them to the box. Brilliant play by the Lightning there.”
The Colorado Avalanche picked up a big win in Game 3 of their opening round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Seattle Kraken, but perhaps the biggest news of the night would come following the conclusion of the game itself.
During his post-game comments, Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar would drop a bombshell as it pertains to veteran forward Valeri Nichushkin. Nichushkin, who was notably absent from Game 3 on Saturday night, sounds like he will be absent from the team for some time with Bednar revealing that he has left due to “personal reasons.”
Those comments on their own would come as a shock during a time like the Stanley Cup playoffs, but they were amplified several times over when Bednar revealed that he had no idea when the 28 year old winger might return. Bednar confirmed that Nichushkin is no longer in Seattle, but when asked about whether or not this could be a long term situation the Avalanche coach appeared to be at a loss.
“I have no idea,” admitted Bednar in his post-game comments.
Nichushkin has been a staple of the Avalanche’s forward group for several seasons now and appeared in 53 regular season games this season, recording 17 goals and adding 30 assists for a total of 47 points. This will be a huge loss for the Avalanche moving forward, especially if this does prove to be a long term absence from the Russian forward.
Things have turned ugly in Game 3 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
A heated exchange in the third period has resulted in several penalties, an injury to Lightning forward Brayden Point, and even something of a scrap between two superstars in Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews.
It was a hit from Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly that would draw the ire of the Lightning but, since he couldn’t get his hands on Rielly, Stamkos would go for the next best thing and instead targeted Auston Matthews.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are furious heading into the second intermission, this in spite of the fact that they currently boast a 3-2 lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs after 40 minutes of play.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper nearly blew a gasket on the Lightning bench after a mistake from the National Hockey League’s officials cost his team what would otherwise have been a sure goal.
In fact it appeared as though Lightning forward Brayden Point had scored a goal after Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov lost sight of the puck, but one of the officials on the ice prematurely blew his whistle. This resulted in the play being blown dead prior to the puck crossing the goal line, and even upon review the officials were forced to deprive both Point and the Lightning of a goal.
This resulted in Cooper snapping on the bench, launching a tirade at the officials that had just cost his team so dearly.
According to an official update from Jets head coach Rick Bowness, veteran defenseman Josh Morrissey will miss the remainder of the first round due to a “lower body injury” that he suffered in the opening moments of Game 3.
Morrissey was on the ice only briefly, less than a minute and a half of total ice time, before an awkward collision with Las Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud appeared to cause the injury. Morrissey could be seen struggling to get off the ice, but he would make it back to the Jets bench before eventually leaving the game for good.
It’s hard to oversell how devastating of a loss this is for the Jets on the blue line, especially considering the length of time that Morrissey is likely to be out with the team already ruling him out for the entire first round.
The first round series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs appeared to reach a boiling point on Saturday night at Amalie Arena, with the physicality between both teams taking a serious step up in intensity.
The game would feature a fight between a pair of 60 goal scorers in Leafs star forward Auston Matthews and Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, which itself was part of a larger scrum that ensued off the back of a hit from Morgan Rielly that left Lightning forward Brayden Point in considerable pain.
Things weren’t just intense on the ice though with the fans in the crowd also getting into the mix, even clashing with Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas at one point during the evening.
A Lightning fan has published a video on social media that he captured during Game 3 at Amalie Arena, one that shows Dubas getting into it with members of the crowd. Presumably Dubas is going back and forth with opposing fans during the course of the game, although it’s hard to tell exactly when this interaction occurred.
The fan who published the video claims that Dubas was “yelling” at Lightning fans in the crowd after the aforementioned hit on Brayden Point, which would certainly be a bad look for the Leafs GM. That being said, Dubas’ body language and demeanor in this clip certainly doesn’t appear to convey any anger or mean-spiritedness, but we don’t have the benefit of hearing what was actually being said.
The Boston Bruins are set to face off against the Florida Panthers on Sunday afternoon and based on the decision made by Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery it seems safe to suggest that he is hoping to see his team take a stranglehold on this series.
On Saturday, Montgomery hinted at the possibility that we could see backup goaltender Jeremy Swayman make an appearance in Game 4 but that will not be the case after all. Montgomery confirmed on Sunday that it will be Linus Ullmark who once again gets the start for the Bruins.
Here is the rest of your Boston Bruins lineup for Game 4: Forwards:
Brad Marchand-Charlie Coyle-Jake DeBrusk Tyler Bertuzzi-Pavel Zacha-David Pastrnak Nick Foligno-Trent Frederic-Taylor Hall Jakub Lauko–Tomas Nosek–Garnet Hathaway Defensemen:
Matt Grzelcyk-Charlie McAvoy Hampus Lindholm-Brandon Carlo Derek Forbort-Dmitry Orlov
