Centers Logan Couture and Joe Thornton have now both returned to the ice in the first round against the Edmonton Oilers, to varying degrees of effectiveness. Thornton looked closer to his usual self last night than Couture has this series, and that likely comes down to usage.
Take a look at these usage charts from the regular season and playoffs, respectively, courtesy of Corsica. The farther each player’s dot is to the right of the graph, the more zone starts outside of the defensive zone. The farther up along the y-axis, the better competition the player is facing.