"I think you think we need some therapy or something like that. We're fine."
So said Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella when asked this afternoon about his team as it tries to break a four-game losing streak tonight vs. Winnipeg.
"We just want to try to play the right way," he added, setting the stage for the team's home finale against the streaking Jets.
While the Jackets maintain the recent losing streak hasn't ruffled the locker room like it has the fan base, the team has continued to mess with lines ahead of the Jets game.
Part of that is because of injury. Standout young defenseman Zach Werenski will miss his second game in a row, leading to a reconfigured defense unit. Unlike vs. Pittsburgh when Tortorella tried to break up the tandem of Jack Johnson and David Savard, 7 and 58 will be together tonight, as they were reunited by the end of the 4-1 loss in the Steel City.
That leaves rookie Markus Nutivaara moving up to pair with Werenski's partner, Seth Jones, while Scott Harrington will work with veteran Kyle Quincey.
"We tried a lot of different things in Pittsburgh," Tortorella said. "We'll keep Jack and Savy together. I think we tried to balance it all our (vs. Pittsburgh), and it weakened us at certain times."
On the forward front, there was always going to be a shakeup with Sonny Milano's return to Cleveland, and the result is the team's longest serving player Matt Calvert returns to the lineup.
"I'll be ready to go," Calvert said.
Tortorella said Calvert sitting out with the Penguins wasn't as much because of any deficiency to the forward but a simple function of numbers given the recall of Milano, who will likely return for the weekend as well.
"Calvy sat out not for any particular reason as far as a flaw in his game," Tortorella said. "We have a young kid in Sonny who will be up this weekend in the last two games and play one of these, and he's played really well down int he minors. I had to take a player out, and Calvy was it. He's a guy that's one of our important penalty killers, a guy that I rely on after we score a goal and we need a good defensive or forechecking shift. I bounce him around in a lot of different situations.
"I don't want to misconstrue that he's out because he's been struggling. Would I like to see him score some more goals? Yeah. Would I like to see him win some more puck battles? Yeah, but I'd like that out of everybody."
Calvert will slot in with usual linemates William Karlsson at center and Josh Anderson at wing.
The top three lines have also been shaken up. The Nick Foligno-Brandon Dubinsky-Cam Atkinson trio remains the same but Sam Gagner moves up to pair with fellow winger Brandon Saad and center Alexander Wennberg, while Boone Jenner will center Scott Hartnell and Oliver Bjorkstrand.
Home finale tonight!@BlueTech_Inc projected #CBJ lineup pic.twitter.com/TeM1BEg8Mp
— ColumbusBlueJackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) April 6, 2017
