When Zach Werenski left the lineup due to injury, John Tortorella and his staff had a difficult decision to make.
With Ryan Murray already out and Gabriel Carlsson and Scott Harrington playing fine but not great, Markus Nutivaara was given a crack to play on the top pairing alongside Seth Jones.
The thinking behind it was simple: keeping the familiar (yet underwhelming) pairing of Jack Johnson and David Savard together made sense, and Nutivaara – though not nearly as skilled as Werenski (not a slight on him, rather an acknowledgment of Werenski's ability) – plays a similar brand of hockey.
In the two games since, vs. Toronto and in Pittsburgh, Jones has taken his game to another level. It's almost as if he needed to prove to himself that he wasn't just Werenski's defensive partner, but a bona fide star in the NHL. In doing so, he's looked like a player with Norris Trophy aspirations.
"@seth_jones3 was a beast out there." #NHLOnTheFly @LindsayBHockey @JamieHersch pic.twitter.com/9GD4TIQkP4
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) December 21, 2017
But those who watch regularly have come to expect that from Jones. We've not, however, come to expect brilliance from Nutivaara, but in these two games, his promotion has proven to be a shrewd move.
From the eye test, he's played a simple, efficient game. He's spent time on the second power play unit, and has looked comfortable playing against high-end competition.
But even more impressive has been his underlying possession statistics. Per Natural Stat Trick, Nutivaara has led all Blue Jackets skaters in CF% (51.39%) in the prior two games. He's been the only Blue Jackets defensemen over 50%, and his numbers stand in stark contrast to the Johnson/Savard pairing's 30.67% (each).
John Tortorella made sure that his play hasn't gone unnoticed.
"It's his turn."
— FOX Sports Ohio (@FOXSportsOH) December 21, 2017
Markus Nutivaara has taken advantage of every opportunity given to him, and the @BlueJacketsNHL boss is speaking his praises. pic.twitter.com/TMDlIqF7Xs
When Werenski and Murray return from injury, the Blue Jackets will have difficult decisions to make. Tortorella has been adamant that he wants to keep Jones and Werenski together, and this particular article isn't going to debate that strategy (hint: more on that later). But if Nutivaara and Jones keep playing at this level while paired together, it could have a domino effect on the other pairings, which only makes the team stronger.
Nutivaara is still relatively unknown to many NHL fans, but he's doing his best to change that, and quickly.
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