It might have surprised Blue Jackets fans when Scott Harrington and Gabriel Carlsson took the ice in Game 1, but head coach John Tortorella said Thursday he doesn't expect many changes going into Game 2.
That third pairing saw each defenseman – Harrington, a healthy scratch for much of the year, and Carlsoon, a 20-year-old rookie – play less than 10 minutes. Carlsson was minus-1 in 7:57 while Harrington was on the ice for just 8:28, but Tortorella said he doesn't expect to turn to fellow blueliners Kyle Quincey or Markus Nutivaara yet.
"I was happy with it," Tortorella said of the third pair. "I gave them not a whole bunch of minutes. We're going to monitor that. (Pittsburgh is) a team that is pretty deep through their forwards. We're monitoring what we're doing there. We think our top four can handle the minutes this time of year.
"We'll play – it's going to be the same lineup. I was happy with the kid. Harry is just a competitive guy and has grown on us as the year has gone on. Game 2, we'll probably stick with those guys."
Tortorella said he still expects Quincey, who has played 54 playoff games in his career, and Nutivaara, who dressed 66 games in his rookie season, to play a part this playoff run. But with a solid defensive performance in Game 1 and with the Penguins boasting a fast team, Tortorella sees no reason to change yet.
"I'm just worried about the speed," he said when asked about Quincey, a 31-year-old who has played in 12 NHL seasons. "I'm looking for a little bit more mobility back there. But Q has played well for us. This isn't anything he's done wrong. I have to make a decision. We have eight (defensemen) and we only can play six. We started the series with these six here.
"I don't think we gave up much defensively 5-on-5, other than five or six scoring chances ... so I'm not changing just for the sake of changing. In the playoffs, a lot of things come into play and a lot of people get involved, so (Quincey and Nutivaara) will be a part of it."
Up front, Tortorella addressed the absence of Brandon Saad, who played just two shifts in the third period and was not on the ice for the last 14 minutes. Similar to what happened with Cam Atkinson the last weekend vs. Philadelphia, Tortorella saw more out of other players, particularly Oliver Bjorkstrand, and went that direction; Atkinson responded with a goal in the next game vs. Toronto.
"I just thought other guys were going at certain times," Tortorella said. "Saader needs to be a big part of this. I thought that line (Saad, Nick Foligno and Alex Wennberg), their first period was their best period and it started to deteriorate a little bit from there. I was going with our thought at that particular time in the third period who was going."
The only Blue Jacket not on the ice for practice today was Zach Werenski, who had an impressive playoff debut, but Tortorella said he expects the rookie to be ready to go for Game 2.
On the other side, Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan said he expects Marc-Andre Fleury to return to the net after his surprise start in Game 1 after a warmups injury suffered by Matt Murray. Murray did not practice today, with Fleury the No. 1 goalie and rookie Tristan Jarry backing him up.
#Pens coach Sullivan said Murray will not play Game 2. "Flower is going to play tomorrow and Tristan is going to back up." -MC
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) April 13, 2017
Bryan Rust, who scored the opening goal for the Pens, and defenseman Trevor Daley did not practice today, but Sullivan said each was facing a maintenance day. Rust took a hard hit in the second period and left for a short time before returning.
