If he’s ready, Nutivaara to play

Defenseman Markus Nutivaara, who has missed two games because of an upperbody injury, practiced with the Blue Jackets on Thursday at the Ice Haus and will be a game-time decision on Friday night at the New Jersey Devils.

If Nutivaara is ready to play, coach John Tortorella said, he will. The real question is who will come out.

“I don’t know what (Jack Johnson and David Savard) are. I can’t call them my No. 2 pair,” Tortorella said. “Quite honestly, we had a pair going (Seth Jones and Zach Werenski). I didn’t like the other four at all against Jersey, so I’m not sure what the No. 2 pair is. And then when we get healthy, I’m not sure what’s going to happen.

“Like I always say, they make the decisions for us. … If (Nutivaara is) ready, he is going in. I’m not sure who is going out. Flip a coin on all four of those guys.”

Tortorella said his decision of which forward will be scratched is simpler. It will comes down to Tyler Motte or Markus Hannikainen for the final spot on the fourth line.

After falling 4-1 to the Devils on Tuesday at Nationwide Arena, the Blue Jackets will have a chance to return the favor in Newark, New Jersey, with the lead in the Metro Division on the line.

Werenski said the loss left a sour taste.

“That’s the first time I’ve felt embarrassed at the end of a game in a while,” Werenski said. “We just didn’t play hard enough after the first 15 minutes of the game, which I thought we played really well. It was their game. They took over, just did what they wanted to do.

“We had 40 shots, but no one was netfront, (goaltender Cory Schneider) saw every one. You’re not going to win if a goalie, especially of that caliber, can see every shot. It hasn’t been good lately.”

Seeking revenge