'Sigh of relief:' Jets defenceman Dillon day-to-day after suffering ...
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Published Apr 27, 2024 • Last updated 15 hours ago • 4 minute read
Not much has gone right for the Winnipeg Jets in the last couple games of their playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche, but they may have at least dodged a bullet when it comes to the hand injury suffered by defenceman Brenden Dillon on Friday night.
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Dillon had his left hand cut by a skate during a post-game scuffle with Brandon Duhaime of the Avalanche and he left the ice surface bleeding profusely.
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There was certainly concern from his teammates after the game, but there was relief along with much better news on Saturday when the Jets practised in Denver.
Head coach Rick Bowness told reporters that Dillon is day-to-day and that there was no structural damage to his hand. Doctors were able to get the cut stitched up and while Dillon didn’t practice on Saturday, he hasn’t been ruled out of the best-of-seven series, which resumes Sunday afternoon at Ball Arena.
“We know the gash was there but our doctors did a fantastic job of stitching him up and there’s no damage and that’s the most important thing,” Bowness said. “So, we’ll keep him as day to day.
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“It didn’t look good so it’s a big sigh of relief that there wasn’t any damage done. Give our doctors credit. They got right at it and did a great job stitching him up.”
Colorado leads the series 2-1 after winning 6-2 on Friday night.
The veteran Dillon is a very important player for the Jets, a steady presence on the second defence pairing who is one of the most physical and physically tough players on the team.
“He’s huge,” Dillon’s defence partner Neal Pionk told reporters in Denver.
“He’s often the heartbeat of the team. He’s throwing his body around, stirring the pot out there and blocking a lot of shots and doing the little things that might not end up on the scoresheet, so he’s a big part of the team.”
This is the second straight year the Jets doctors have had to perform a major stitch job during the first round of the playoffs.
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Last season, winger Morgan Barron was cut for 75 stitches on his face but was able to return to the same game.
Asked if Dillon could possibly play in Game 4 on Sunday, Bowness again said “He’s day-to-day.”
If Dillon does have to sit out, the Jets will sorely miss the 33-year-old, who has three assists and is a plus-1 in the series so far. He’s averaging 21:04 of ice time per game and has six blocked shots and four penalty minutes.
“He’s one of our toughest competitors, tremendous teammate and he gives you 100% every shift out there,” Bowness said. “He’s tough as nails, he battles everybody, he blocks shots. I mean, he does everything you want your veteran D to do and he’s a great leader on the ice and in the room. He brings a lot to the table for us.”
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Dillon and the Jets are fortunate things weren’t worse. The defenceman didn’t even seem to realize he was cut while lying underneath Duhaime during the scuffle. When he finally did realize it, he quickly skated off, leaving both the ice surface and Duhaime’s jersey covered in blood.
“He was on the ground there and you never really want to be on the ground in scrums like that,” Duhaime told reporters. “Ref was telling us to cool it and we kind of just parted ways there. And he had that cut, so that’s unfortunate.
“He’s really tough. He’s really hard to play against. I’ve been playing against him for years. He’s a great defenseman, plays a really hard game. He’s really physical.”
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While an injury like that just illustrates how silly post-game scrums like that can be, Duhaime said people getting hurt, even cut, are part of the game.
“I think those scrums are part of the game as well,” he said. “It’s a hard game. We were pressing in the right direction there.”
“I think it’s just one of those things,” Jets captain Adam Lowry added. “There’s a lot of battles in the series. You don’t want to back down. It’s disappointing with how the game ended but I think it’s just making sure they know that we’re not just going to roll over. We’re going to be ready for Game 4. We’re going to push this thing and try to get back in the series.”
Bowness didn’t tip his hand as to who might replace Dillon if he is out on Sunday, but 6-foot-7 Logan Stanley might be best suited to do so as he is the only player who can bring that type of physicality and toughness.
Stanley played the first two games of the series on the third defence pairing but was replaced by Nate Schmidt for Game 3.
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