First-Round practice notes: Enough watching for Foligno and Nutivaara

While he was out, recovering from a lower-body injury, Nick Foligno experienced what life is like for Blue Jackets fans.
Foligno will return for Game 1 of an Eastern Conference First Round series against the Washington Capitals on Thursday at Capital One Arena (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Ohio, 97.1 FM), but there were a few tense moments for him as he watched the stretch run of the regular season unfold.
Resigned to watching his teammates earn Columbus a spot in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Blue Jackets' captain learned how nerve-wracking it can be as a coach or fan.
"A couple of those games, especially the first one of that [Western Canadian] road trip, when they went to Edmonton, it was 3-0 [Oilers] within however many minutes, and I'm like, 'What is going on?'" Foligno said. "And then, 'Boom, boom, boom [three Blue Jackets goals].' So, I now know what it feels like to watch games, and maybe I have a little more sympathy for the coaches - although not much more sympathy for them. But it's a big credit to the guys. Obviously, they played great."

VISIT THE BLUE JACKETS STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB
Foligno, who was injured Feb. 24 against the St. Louis Blues, missed the final six games of the regular season. He will be joined in returning to the lineup by defenseman Markus Nutivaara, who also practiced Monday.
Nutivaara, who missed the final three games with an upper-body injury, and Foligno will restore the Jackets' lineup to what it was in the later stages of their season-high, 10-game winning streak (Mar. 4-22). The only difference is the addition of forward Josh Anderson, who missed 17 games with a knee sprain and returned in time to play the last two games of the regular season.
"I was really concerned when we lost Nick," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "That was a big hole. He was playing really well. I thought the guys found a way without him there [down the stretch], so hopefully he can come back and play at the level he was playing at [before]. 'Nuti,' us getting [into the playoffs] with one game left, if we'd needed him then [Saturday in Nashville] he probably could've played, but we want to make sure with him. He's played very well, so it was good to get [them back] at a couple key positions, center ice and defense."
Rookie forward Sonny Milano, who had 14 goals and 22 points in 55 games, will be scratched for Game 1 to make room for Foligno's return.
"That's just to open," Tortorella said. "He'll sit out the first one, but he's another guy that is a dynamic guy. But I've got to make decisions on where he fits in lines. That's just for Game 1, and we'll see where it goes. Hopefully, it's going to be a long series. I think a lot of people will get involved in this that don't start the first game."
Jack Johnson, an alternate captain and veteran defenseman who's been a lineup staple for most of the season, appears to be another who will watch Game 1 instead of play. Tortorella wasn't asked who would come out of the lineup to make room for Nutivaara, but Johnson - who'd been scratched in five games prior to Nutivaara's injury - worked outside the top six defensemen at practice, skating with rookie Dean Kukan.
Defensemen Taylor Chorney and Scott Harrington, the ninth and 10th in a deep group of NHL-caliber defensemen, skated after practice.
Foligno said he's just happy to have more games to play this season, after missing time with his second lower-body injury of the season.
"I'm just glad it's worked out this way, where I get a chance to play in the postseason," he said. "I give a lot of credit to the guys for getting us there. It was an awful feeling sitting out those last few games, watching, but as much as it's awful, I had full confidence we were going to get there. So, I'm pretty excited about the opportunity ahead of us."
NEWS & NOTES
-- Seth Jones' presence a practice Monday was also noteworthy, after the Jackets' top defenseman missed a handful of practices the past three weeks as maintenance days.
Jones played the final eight games with an upper-body injury that happened when he was cross-checked by Colorado Avalanche forward Carl Soderberg on Mar. 8, a second after scoring the game-winning goal 59 seconds into overtime. The injury caused him to miss four games in March and several practices, trying to give the injury some added time to heal.
That included the regular-season finale Saturday night in Nashville, when he and several other lineup regulars were scratched.
"It's been awhile," Jones said of joining a full practice. "It's good to get out there skating. I haven't played since Thursday, so I skated Saturday in a pregame skate, but I definitely need to get on the ice this week."
Heading into the series with the Capitals, Jones knows he and defense partner Zach Werenski - who's played most of this season with an upper-body injury - will likely be targeted for hits. Washington is expected to dump some pucks into the corners of the Columbus zone, then chase after the puck to put hits on Werenski and Jones.
"It's part of it, right?" Jones said. "I think it depends on the team you're playing, as well. I think Washington has that physical side to their game. [Alex Ovechkin's] not always physical, but he can be. He's a big body and I know we're going to do the same thing to them. It's back and forth, and that's what playoff hockey's about."
Jones said the Blue Jackets are ready for the postseason's increased intensity, regardless of ongoing health issues.
"We know it's going to be a physical battle," he said. "I think it's just going to be a complete series, when it comes to goal-scoring, goaltending and physicality."
-- Foligno will return to the lineup playing center, which he was playing at the time he was injured. He's oscillated between center and playing spots on either wing all season, which was a change for him this season. Previously, Foligno played almost exclusively on the wing, preferably the right side.
After losing William Karlsson to the Vegas Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft and losing former veteran center Sam Gagner in free agency, the Blue Jackets came into the season a little short on centers. Tortorella told Foligno in the offseason that he'd like to try him in that role and the captain willing accepted the challenge.
It hasn't always been great for Foligno in that role, but he's picked up a few tricks and lessons about playing in the middle during the course of the season. He's learned the value of winning key defensive-zone face-offs, knows how important it is for the center to a full 200-foot game and has learned how to create offensively - despite often trailing a play up the ice.
Most importantly, he's learned how to adapt to the position overall.
"I've just got to make sure I play my game," Foligno said. "That's the biggest thing I take away from it too. As much as I was bouncing around, there's a way I've got to play, and I feel like I've been able to do that the past couple months here - and that's what's going to help this team."
-- Foligno is one of 10 guys still on the roster who helped the Blue Jackets push the Pittsburgh Penguins to six games before losing in the first round of the 2014 playoffs.
Four seasons later, he said that contingent of guys are happy to get another chance to see if they can help Columbus make a deep postseason run together.
"You take pride in the fact that you can keep your group together and try to have success, because you go through the battles all these years and you want to see some sort of satisfaction at the end of it," Foligno said. "We're excited about the opportunity we have to continue to play together. You never know what the future holds, so this is as great an opportunity as any to continue to do what we feel like we've been trying to do since we got here and started this whole thing. I'm excited about what's ahead and I think everybody is, and just the opportunity we have."
-- Jones said it was "cool" to finish the regular season tied with Werenski with 16 goals each, which set a franchise record for goals in a single season by a Blue Jackets defenseman.
The two are good friends and have played together almost exclusively since last season, when Werenski set a franchise rookie record with 47 points - a mark that was topped by rookie center Pierre-Luc Dubois (48 points) this season.
"We're going into next year and we're going to battle it out again," Jones said of the goals record. "We didn't have a bet, or anything like that, going but I would've made him buy me dinner, for sure, if I'd beaten him. Now, we've just got to go [goals in the] playoffs maybe. We haven't talked about it, but that's an idea."