Would he, or wouldn’t he?
He didn’t.
Cal Clutterbuck was not in the Islanders’ lineup for Thursday night’s Game 5 of their best-of-seven series against the Capitals at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto after exiting Tuesday’s 3-2 loss in Game 4 at 15:25 of the second period after being upended on a low check from defenseman Radko Gudas.
Then again, neither was third-liner Derick Brassard as Islanders coach Barry Trotz inserted both burly Ross Johnston, who made his NHL playoff debut, and Michael Dal Colle, who played in his second career playoff game, on Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s line while putting Leo Komarov in Clutterbuck’s spot on the fourth line.