SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Only two games into the season, Blue Jackets center Derick Brassard is getting a breather.

When the Blue Jackets face the San Jose Sharks at 10:30 tonight in HP Pavilion, Brassard's previously held spot on the No. 1 line between wingers Rick Nash and Kristian Huselius will be filled by veteran center Antoine Vermette, while Brassard will slide to the No. 2 line with wingers Nikita Filatov and Jake Voracek.

Brassard, 22, is the oldest member of his new line, which he dubbed the "Young Guns." He, Voracek (20) and Filatov (19) represent three of the organization's past four first-round draft picks.

"When you look at the Sharks first line, (center Joe) Thornton is huge, and they're going to match against Nasher's line," he said. "Vermy is a really strong player.

"This might give me a little break to get my legs going and get my game going."

In previous Blue Jackets' seasons, a 2-0 start would have precluded even minor lineup tinkering.

But expectations are higher this season, and Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock expected significantly more puck possession and scoring chances from the Huselius-Brassard-Nash line than he saw in the first two games, which were victories over Minnesota and Vancouver.

Instead, Hitchcock noted, "the difference between exhibition play and league play has hit us hard between the eyes in the first two games."

"We haven't had any sustained pressure from our No. 1 line during in-zone play. We need more weight for that line to play the way they need to play to be successful."

Hitchcock went out of his way yesterday to say that this should not be seen as a failing on Brassard's part. To the contrary.

"We're asking a lot of Derick Brassard to say, 'Listen, you missed three quarters of last season (with an injury), but come on back and play on the No. 1 line, quarterback the top power-play unit, and play a lead role in every situation,'  " Hitchcock said. "That's really unfair to him. He's going to be able to do it, but we need to be smart about this and just go at it a little slower with it.

"You're talking about a player who, for all intents and purposes, is still a first-year player. To put him up against the big dogs every night, it's a little bit of man overload."

Brassard's spot on the point of the No. 1 power-play unit might be in jeopardy, too. Recently acquired defenseman Anton Stralman practiced next to Fedor Tyutin on the point yesterday, although Stralman is not certain to play tonight.

Brassard seemed to be taking the moves in stride. In two games, he has no points, a minus-1 rating and two shots on goal while averaging 17 minutes, 34 seconds. He won 42.3 percent (11 of 26) of faceoffs.

"When you play against the best players and best defensemen, they're trying to push me out of the game," Brassard said. "That's why the change right now, to give me a couple of games to adjust. Everything is going to be fine after a couple of games."

Vermette played on the No. 1 line sparingly last season, but he knows he's stepping into a good situation.

"Obviously, those two guys (Huselius and Nash) bring a lot of offense," Vermette said. "But with our team right now, it doesn't matter who you're playing with, because we have really good players on every line."

aportzline@dispatch.com