Mike Sullivan Clears The Air While Providing A Very Detailed Reason Behind Healthy Scratching Two Players

coach Mike Sullivan on Matthew Robertson scratching tonight:

«We feel like we have seven defensemen that are very capable. We thought Robo was playing extremely well, bringing an element of physicality, playing with confidence, playing on his toes. He was defending rush well. He had a good stick. He was making good decisions, when to pinch, when not to pinch, good decisions with the puck. There was a simplicity to his game. There was a physical edge to his game that we felt was deserving of him being in the lineup. As a young player, for me, the biggest thing is trying to bring that consistently. We felt that the last couple of games that his game hasn't been up to that level. We'll work with him. Quinnie sits with with those guys almost dailyVaaks is another guy that that is very capable also. These are competitive guys that all want to be in the lineup every night. We're trying to make the best decisions for the team to give us the best chance to win. There's a process that we go through after every game and evaluating and assessing what we have, and we make decisions from there.»

Sullivan on the decision to scratch Othmann. He pointed to a couple of defensive lapses, the most glaring coming on the Sharangovich goal.

"I think the most important element of it is just attention to detail, reliability, knowing your job, doing your job, play away from the puck. That was where his focus, I think, needed to be. We're looking for that element as an important aspect of him earning a roster spot. I thought in the game the other night, there were some good things that he did. There were also some moments where attention to detail could have helped us keep the puck out of the net. Things of that nature. We'll continue to work with Otter with respect to those details and what those mean."