Josh Morrissey Ruled Out Tonight, Leaving Jets Blue Line Scrambling

The Winnipeg Jets are going to have to navigate tonight's matchup against the Anaheim Ducks without the anchor of their blue line.

According to Elliotte Friedman, head coach Scott Arniel announced that star defenseman Josh Morrissey will not suit up tonight and is officially considered day-to-day.

"Winnipeg head coach Scott Arniel said Josh Morrissey won’t play tonight and is day-to-day."

Losing your top defenseman right before puck drop is the hockey equivalent of losing your wallet at the airport. You can probably still survive the trip, but the stress levels are going to be completely unnecessary.

The Jets have been grinding out results lately, riding a three-game winning streak where they beat Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Colorado by identical 3-2 scores. That kind of tight-rope hockey requires a flawless defensive structure, which gets a lot harder to maintain when your number one guy is wearing a suit in the press box.

Morrissey eats massive minutes and runs the power play, meaning his absence creates a domino effect down the entire lineup. Guys who usually play sheltered third-pairing minutes are about to get thrown into the deep end.

Anyone looking at the betting lines for tonight's game needs to factor in that missing piece. A team that has been living on one-goal margins suddenly has a lot less room for error.

For now, Winnipeg will have to patch together a defensive rotation against Anaheim and hope the day-to-day tag means Morrissey is back on the ice before the weekend is over.