Being down 3-0 has done little to dull the sense of humor of Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella.
He's a man who previously was known (fairly or not) for playoff brusqueness, but with his team facing elimination tonight, Tortorella gave a blunt and funny assessment of his team heading into Game 4 tonight at Nationwide Arena against Pittsburgh.
"I just want for them to be able to put the goddamn radio on after tonight's game at 10 o'clock," he said of his team's postgame celebratory music, yet to be heard this series. "That's all we're concerned about is to feel good about ourselves tonight after this game. Then we'll worry about what the odds are after that. We're not even looking at 3-0. This team has played really well this year and has grown tremendously. I don't want them leaving tonight not enjoying a playoff win, and then we'll talk about what we have to do.
"They play this crap for music when you come in after the game. I want them to be able to put that on and just jam with it so they can feel good about themselves. Then we'll decide how we approach the rest of the series from there."
To accomplish that task, Tortorella said the squad will make four changes from the lineup that pushed Pittsburgh to overtime in Game 3. Two moves were obvious – Matt Calvert returns from suspension to replace Sonny Milano while Zach Werenski will miss the game with a facial fracture – but Tortorella also said the previously injured Lukas Sedlak will replace Scott Hartnell in the forward lineup.
Defensively, the question of whether veteran Kyle Quincey or rookie Markus Nutivaara would go in for Werenski turned out to be both, with Scott Harrington also taking a seat after playing the first three games.
Sedlak's return could give the Jackets more depth at center and push Sam Gagner, who has centered a line with Hartnell and Oliver Bjorkstrand, to wing. But Hartnell, the current team's leader in NHL games played with nearly 1,200, has been unable to help generate offense thus far in the postseason. Sedlak, meanwhile, will be making his playoff debut after posting a 7-6-13 line in 62 regular-season games as a 24-year-old rookie.
Harrington has been lauded for his effort this postseason but Tortorella will give both Quincey and Nutivaara their first appearances this postseason.
Quincey, a 31-year-old NHL vet, has played in 54 career playoff games and had two goals, a helper, a plus-minus of 0 and an even strength CF% of 44.7 percent in 20 games with the Jackets after coming over at the deadline. Nutivaara, a 22-year-old Finn, debuted this season and played 66 games with two goals, five assists, and a CF% of 48.4 percent.
Faceoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and much of the onus might be on goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who has allowed 11 goals so far this series. When asked about Bob to close his press conference today, Tortorella went back to what it's all about tonight – the music to his ears that would come with a Blue Jackets' win.
"You goaltender needs to be one of your best players," the head coach said. "If we're going to put on that (crap) for music, Bob needs to be our best player tonight."
