BILLECK: Morrissey stakes Norris claim after comeback Jets win

Josh Morrissey may not wear the ‘C’ on his sweater, but he had one tattooed on his chest in the late stages of Thursday night’s game.

Article content

Morrissey was in one of his “moods” where he seemed a tad pissed off and decided it was his turn to put the team on his shoulders and lead them to victory.

Article content

Along with a performance worthy of the captaincy from the skipper himself, Adam Lowry, the Jets, who had trailed the game for more than 50 minutes against the Chicago Blackhawks, engineered a pair of goals in the final 3:29 of regulation to win a franchise-record eighth straight game 2-1.

That’s leadership, especially after an admitted terrible second period, one that began with Mark Scheifele picking up a non-contact injury that forced him from the rest of the game.

“They put the team on their backs,” head coach Rick Bowness said post-game.

“How many 2-on-1s did (Morrissey) break up? We talk about what an elite offensive player he is, and he is. But he must have broken up three 2-on-1s. We’re going to have to take a look at that, why we’re giving those up. (But Morrissey) played an outstanding game. As did Adam. That’s why they’re leaders on the team. They put the team on their back and took control of the game.”

Article content

Morrissey was a different player in the third period having identified that the team wasn’t playing what’s become their patented, suffocating brand of hockey.

Bowness kept riding him, playing him nearly 10 minutes across 11 shifts in the third, leaving him four seconds shy of 27 in the game overall.

And a seemingly perturbed Morrissey made the most of it, engineering rush after rush, and drawing a tripping penalty that served as the genesis of Chicago’s demise.

The Jets weren’t particularly great with the man advantage in the game, firing just two shots and going 0-for-4 on the night, but their best work came on their last opportunity, retaining the momentum they’d created for themselves in the final frame.

Not long after, Lowry fed Gabriel Vilardi the tying goal. Not long after that, he provided Ehlers with the game-winner.

Article content

Article content

“I felt we did a pretty good job at keeping that ice tilted toward their end from that power play on out in that game and found a way to get a big two points in regulation,” Morrissey said.

All of Winnipeg’s streaks remained intact, as did their position atop the NHL standings.

It’s unlikely that Morrissey will be in Toronto next month at the NHL All-Star game.

In some ways, I’d imagine he’s OK with that in the sense he’ll get some time to rest for the 30-odd games remaining on Winnipeg’s regular-season docket.

But at the same time, it’s performances like Thursday’s that shouldn’t go unnoticed.

He falls into this strange category of defenceman. He’s elite in every sense of the game, but he’s not flashy about it.

I’ve said this before, but I believe Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin is one of the league’s top-three best defencemen.

Article content

Slavin falls into the same category as Morrissey. An elite blue-liner that just doesn’t play with the same panache that some of the league’s other rearguards do.

Morrissey and Slavin have been to the All-Star Game once each, with Morrissey getting the nod last year and Slavin in 2020.

Both should be perennials at the yearly event.

All-Star or not, Morrissey put on another performance on Thursday worthy of something bigger — the Norris Trophy.

• In case you missed it: Scheifele is slated to be re-evaluated on Friday. Bowness wasn’t able to pinpoint where the injury happened, but it was Scheifele’s first shift of the second period. We’ll save the, ‘How will the Jets overcome Scheifele’s loss’ until we know more.

• Kyle Connor continues to look great as he rehabs from his knee injury. Winnipeg’s lightened schedule coming up may keep him out of the lineup until after the All-Star break. There’s a big difference between skating and taking bumps in an NHL game and a morning skate.

Article content

• Connor took a little bit of contact on Thursday morning, all part of the recovery effort. Despite wearing a brace, he looks just as quick as before the injury.

• Also: his long, flowing locks have been sheered.

• It feels like there’s this love-hate relationship with parts of Winnipeg’s fan base and Nikolaj Ehlers.

Some even suggest the Jets should trade their second-leading goal-scorer. The idea always seems insane. Sure, Ehlers hasn’t played his finest hockey this year, but he did also miss all of training camp and played catch-up for the first month or so.

Now? How about 15 goals and 33 points in 41 games? He’s on a six-game point streak and has scored three in his past four games, including Thursday’s game-winner.

Article content

This team would greatly miss Ehlers. Yeah, he makes some head-scratching passes from time to time, but he more than makes up for that everywhere else.

• I thought Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff gave one of his more passionate interviews on Thursday morning. Was there a lot of news out of it? No. There often isn’t. That said, there were a few snippets.

• One that stood out was there’s been contact between the team and defencemen Dylan DeMelo and Brenden Dillon regarding contract extensions. Negotiations, he said, aren’t ongoing at the moment, but I suspect both sides would like to make something work.

That said, can they?

• DeMelo makes the most sense if I had to choose between the two simply because he’s a perfect partner for Morrissey. Long-term, I think the Jets see Elias Salomonsson moving into that role, but he’s going to need a year or two in the AHL before that happens.

Article content

• Dillon brings with him something a lot of teams covet: size and snarl. Winnipeg’s blue-line is better with Dillon than without him. Dillon should have his pick of the litter if he gets to unrestricted free agency. He’d be a big loss for the Jets and, selfishly, for us in the media. He’s a top-notch human.

• I don’t think all is lost there, but the Jets need to figure out what they’re doing with some of their prospects. Chief among them is Ville Heinola. He’s healthy again after his busted ankle and he’s heading to the Manitoba Moose to play some games. Heinola’s waiver-exempt status continues to hurt him. There’s nothing he can do about that though.

• If the Jets are going to make a splash at the trade deadline in two months, Heinola will be among those other teams are asking for. There’s a tough decision to be made there. Some clarity on Dillon and DeMelo may help steer that determination.

[email protected]

X: @scottbilleck

Article content