Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey left Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday in the first period with an undisclosed injury and did not return. The Jets defeated the Blues 4-3 in double overtime to win the series.Morrissey sustained the injury after taking a hit from Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist along the boards at 4:59 of the opening period.He returned for one more shift at 7:06, during which he hit Blues forward Mathieu Joseph. Seconds later, Joseph picked up a puck and scored past Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck at 7:16, giving the Blues a 2-0 lead.That shift was Morrissey’s last. He went to the locker room shortly after the goal. The team announced at the start of the third period that he would not return to the contest.
Morrissey logged just 2:09 of ice time in Game 7 and was on the ice for both St. Louis goals in the first period. He had led the Jets in ice time during the postseason, averaging 23:30 per game entering Sunday.
The defenseman’s injury is the latest for the Jets, who were also without center Mark Scheifele for the previous two games. Morrissey had three assists in seven playoff games this season. He posted 62 points in 80 regular season games.
Jets coach Scott Arniel addressed Morrissey's status after the game.
"We’ll find out once we get through all this craziness, see where everybody’s at tomorrow," Arniel said. "We’ll do a roll call, check on him. Right now, obviously, he couldn’t play the rest of the game. We’ll just kind of move forward with him and everybody else."
