The Winnipeg Jets lost more than just a lead in their playoff series during Saturday’s loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Trailing 2-1 in the best-of-seven battle against the top seed in the Western Conference is a big enough hole to climb out of but they’ll have to do it without Josh Morrissey, their best defenceman and arguably their best player. That makes it an even taller, some might even say impossible, task.

The Jets don’t have time to feel sorry for themselves, not with a critical Game 4 to be played at home Monday night. With Morrissey out it’s on the rest of the team to make up for the loss.

“His mentality. His swagger. His vocal leadership on the bench and in the locker room. All that stuff will be missed,” said Jets defenceman Neal Pionk on Sunday. “It will be a next-man-up mentality, we’ll have to take a little bit more from everybody, because I don’t think one guy can fill those shoes. He’s been our best player all year, so we’ll have to pick up that slack.”

Morrissey appeared to injure his right knee when it hit the left knee of Vegas defenceman Zach Whitecloud just minutes into the game, on Morrissey’s first shift. He lasted 38 more seconds, playing briefly on Winnipeg’s first power play, before retreating to the locker room for good.

The Jets ruled him out of the game during the first intermission, and head coach Rick Bowness told reporters after the 5-4 double-overtime loss Morrissey would be gone for the series. Bowness visited with him after the game to offer support.

“I spoke with him a couple of times last night. I’ll touch base with him later today,” Bowness said. “I got a late text from him last night. He’s pretty bummed. He knows the importance of his presence on the ice and in the room and he’s a competitive guy. He wants to play, so he’s pretty bummed out right now.”

Bowness added: “The guys that are in the lineup, they’re going to play their games and whoever we put in (Monday), they’re going to play their game. They’re not Josh Morrissey, so we just expect them to play to their strengths. The other guys did that (Saturday) and it worked out, so we’ll expect the same thing for (Game 4).”

Morrissey will remain with the club throughout the opening round, and while it seems unlikely, at least at this point, he’ll be back in time for a potential second-round series, Bowness hasn’t ruled it out. As for who will draw into the lineup, Bowness was tight-lipped.

It will either be Logan Stanley or Kyle Capobianco, maybe even both if the Jets decide to dress seven defencemen and 11 forwards, which they’ve done a couple of times this season. Stanley, a big body at 6-7, 242 pounds, would add size and strength to the lineup, which could help against a fierce Vegas forecheck. Capobianco has a more well-rounded game and adds a bit more offence.

The Jets will also surely recall a defenceman from the Manitoba Moose, even if just to add further depth in case of more injuries, though who that might be is still to unclear. The only defenceman that has seen action with the Jets this year is Ville Heinola, who has played in 10 NHL games this season but none since Jan. 17.

“We’ll have to call somebody up for insurance,” Bowness said. “We’re certainly not going to call somebody up if they haven’t played in a long time and throw them into a Game 4 of a playoff series against the top team in the West. That would be a little bit unfair.”

Whatever direction they go, what’s clear is it will have to be a full effort from everybody on the blue line to fill the void. Morrissey leads the Jets in ice time, averaging 24:14 per game, and plays a critical role on both the power play and penalty kill.

Morrissey was also coming off a breakout season offensively, where he set personal highs in goals (16), assists (60) and points (76), while setting several franchise records along the way.

“It’s never easy to lose your difference maker. A guy that has been driving the bus for us all year,” Jets defenceman Nate Schmidt said. “We’ve had guys come in and out all year, guys that we’re confident can come in and get the job done for us. Our D, as the game went on (Saturday), was something that you can look at and be proud of. Our guys did a good job of stepping up with some of the times that guys played last night.”

How the Jets handled Morrissey’s absence in Game 3 is perhaps the silver lining in the otherwise disappointing loss. They leaned on Pionk, who played a career-high 41 minutes and eight seconds, while Dylan DeMelo (36:31), Brenden Dillon (30:30) and Schmidt (28:42) all saw their minutes increase.

The Jets managed to erase a 4-1 third-period lead for the Golden Knights to force overtime. A giveaway in the defensive zone by rookie defenceman Dylan Samberg, who played a career-high 22 minutes, ultimately led to the game-winning goal by Michael Amadio at the 3:40 mark of the second overtime period.

“It should give us motivation that we can come back from anything and that we can overcome any challenge,” Pionk said. “We didn’t finish the comeback but coming back down from three goals and tying the game should be a spark, or some motivation, for the rest of the series.”

It’s not lost on the Golden Knights that the Jets are without their top defenceman. Players noted after Saturday’s game that they had tried to increase pressure on the forecheck, to wear down Jets’ five remaining D-men.

That’s not likely to change in Game 4, even with the Jets having a full staff on the blue line. The series is ramping up, physically and emotionally, and it’s only going to get more intense with each game.

“It’s not going to change how we approach the game. I mean, tactically, yes, on the penalty kill, there are certain things in situational hockey that will change,” Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “They’re a good team. They’ll put in another good player. How they adapt to that, that’ll obviously be up to them, but it shouldn’t change our approach.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton