Josh Morrissey was still out of the Winnipeg Jets morning lineup Tuesday, leaving his status unresolved only hours before the team finished its homestand against the Minnesota Wild. He had been described as day-to-day with an injury, but his absence in the morning skate suggested Winnipeg was not ready to count on him yet.
That matters because the Jets were set to close a game built around a quick reset after Friday night’s first regulation loss of the season, and this one came against a Wild team that was playing the second night of a back-to-back. The Wild arrived after beating the Golden Knights 4-2 in St. Paul, a result that came after they built a 3-0 lead and then had Nico Sturm lost when he was struck in the head by a puck.
Nino Niederreiter was back in the Jets line combinations and added size to the second line, while Brad Lambert skated as the 13th forward. Tyler Pitlick was recalled from AHL Iowa earlier in the day, another sign that Winnipeg was keeping its options open as it sorted through the lineup ahead of puck drop.
The wrinkle is that Morrissey had skated ahead of the main group the day before, a step that can look like progress without guaranteeing a return. Winnipeg had the pieces to keep moving, but the defensive setup still depended on whether its top blue-liner could answer in time. Calvin Pickard was expected to start in goal for the Wild, and with puck drop set for 7:15 PM CT, the final read on Morrissey was the one that still mattered most.
If he is cleared, the Jets get the defense they were hoping for. If he is not, they will have to finish a homestand-ending Central Division game without the player whose availability had been the biggest question from the start.
