Lifeless was a good way to describe the Jackets efforts in Game 4. They had no energy; you have to think the effects of three straight overtimes games weighed in on them just a bit.

Something needs to change. Alexander Wennberg practiced with the team yesterday which is a huge step in the right direction for him, and getting him back, which sounds like it might be a possibility, will be huge for the team.

Strong indications this morning that #CBJ C Alexander Wennberg will return to the lineup today vs. Washington. Club has not made an official announcement yet. Tortorella will chat with media around 1:30 p.m.

Wennberg has been out with an upper-body injury since Game 1.
#ALLCaps

— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) April 21, 2018

There are a couple players on the team who John Tortorella is refusing to use or who have played poorly that could be coming out of the line-up. Sonny Milano played 11:09 in Game 4, but a lot of that was garbage time in the third period. In the two prior games he played under 10 minutes total. Best guess would be he comes out of the line-up for Wennberg.

Another option would be to sit Brandon Dubinsky. He’s been invisible; he has no points, just three shots and has been one of the worst possession players on the team at 42.57%. I would take Dubinsky out and honestly think about putting Jack Johnson in the line-up.

Johnson would not replace one of the current defencemen, rather he would be an extra defencemen. He could be someone who could fill in on the penalty kill and provide a spark on the fourth line at 5 on 5. Johnson in a limited role could be what the Jackets need. He’s plays physical, something the Jackets lacked in Game 4. He didn’t get the name PLAYOFF JACK for nothing; he has 21 points in 23 playoff games. Perhaps he has a little bit of magic left in him. If nothing else he has fresh legs and is someone Torts trusts (though not in the usage being suggested).

It also might not be a bad idea to look at swapping the defence pairs. Zach Weresnki didn’t look good last game. It might be time to split him and Seth Jones. Jones could play with Markus Nutivaara and Werenski with Ryan Murray. This allows the Jackets to split up the offense a little bit and give them a different look as the attack the Capitals.

With a critical game 5 coming up the Jackets need to be ready. The road team has won every game this series and if the Jackets want to move on they need that to continue. They are going to have to win at least one game in Washington to do this; they should be trying everything they can to win game 5. That game goes today at 3pm.

You can follow me on Twitter @PaulBerthelot

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