Jets’ Brenden Dillon has hand injury, unsure of status vs. Avs

DENVER — Winnipeg Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon is day-to-day and his Game 4 status is unclear after he lacerated his hand on the finish of Game 3 towards the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.

Jets coach Rick Bowness stated after follow Saturday that Dillon’s hand required a number of stitches after it appeared to have been reduce by a skate blade.

“It didn’t look good,” Bowness stated. “So, it was 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.”

Dillon’s harm got here on the finish of a 3rd interval that noticed the Jets give up a 2-1 lead and permit 5 unanswered targets in a 6-2 loss, which gave the Avs a 2-1 sequence lead.

Several gamers had been concerned within the scrum earlier than Dillon skated off the ice towards the Jets’ bench clutching his bloodied, lacerated hand.

While there have been replays of the incident, there are nonetheless questions on what particular occasions led to Dillon’s hand being reduce.

Dillon’s protection companion, Neal Pionk, stated he didn’t know one thing occurred to his teammate till he skated again to the bench. Pionk stated he has additionally watched replays of the scrum and nonetheless didn’t know the specifics of what led to Dillon’s lacerated hand.

“You get mayhem in there and all those bodies in there, it’s tough to figure it out,” Bowness stated. “But, it’s obviously a skate blade got in there somewhere.”

His potential return or his potential absence comes at a time when the Jets are attempting to unravel their defensive points whereas night the sequence or they threat returning to Winnipeg dealing with potential elimination.

The Jets opened with a 7-6 win solely to permit 5 targets within the three-goal loss in Game 2 that noticed the Avalanche tie the sequence.

After permitting simply 4 targets in three regular-season video games towards the Avs, the Jets have allowed 17 targets in three playoff video games.

“He’s one of our toughest competitors and a tremendous teammate,” Bowness stated of Dillon. “He gives you 100 percent every shift out there. He’s tough as nails, he battles everybody, he blocks shots. He does everything you want your veteran D to do. He’s a great leader on the ice and in the room too. He brings a lot to our team.”