Contrasting a blistering 5-0 opening win over the Islanders Friday was a 5-1 Saturday night loss to the Blackhawks for the Columbus Blue Jackets, who were down one Sergei Bobrovsky in Game 2.
The joyous feeling in the locker room Friday night was slightly more subdued tonight at the United Center, where the Blue Jackets discussed their tough start, their tentativeness and a need to get better than they were tonight.
John Tortorella and a handful of players spoke following the game.
Nick Foligno
On the way the Blackhawks played: "We got a taste of our own medicine tonight. It was two good teams playing against each other, they just instilled their game on us before we could [instill ours on them], and that's a tough team to try and get back on. They have potent offense and they made us pay on some plays that we just didn't execute. But that's a learning curve for us, we're a young team, it's not an excuse anymore and we expect to be better, but that's the battle we're gonna fight this year."
On playing tentative early: "Yeah [there was some tentativeness early]. Moreso we did the old 'wait and see what was gonna happen.' That's a team you can't do that [against]. You have to go after them. I thought we did at some points in the game, started handling them and started to dictate play, but that's a tough team to come back on."
Joonas Korpisalo
On the Blackhawks getting quality looks: "They are always making one pass more than the other teams [we play], so I don't think we were ready for it today."
On the team starting slow and playing tentatively: "I actually think we got a good start, but as the game continued, they had scoring chances and they buried them."
On whether he was distracted for the first goal because of a collision between Jack Johnson and Nick Schmaltz: "Not really, that was a good shot."
On his performance: "I was okay, but still five goals is five goals. The puck was buzzing today too much, so I just got to get better."
Artemi Panarin
On a return trip to Chicago and the early-season loss: "Yeah, I was nervous before the game. Even though it was the second game of the season it was still a team that I haven't quite forgotten, and so there was some emotions before the game and it's good to get that one behind us. Now we get the chance to re-group, to train, to get a little bit of rest, and look forward to the rest of the season."
John Tortorella
On getting down early: "We're gonna face teams like that. We've gotta find a way to stop the momentum and try to chip away. I thought for some minutes we started getting our game; the third goal knocked us down a bit, but we didn't have many people going tonight."
On playing tentative early: "I thought we had a good start. Jack [Johnson] just overplayed the 3-on-2, he goes for the big hit. But I thought our shifts early in the game were okay. They had some good sticks, we had problems getting the puck behind them. They always have their forwards high, you don't get the pucks behind their D...they're transitioning very quickly."
On whether the Blue Jackets had enough fight physically: "No, I've said this all along. We have to remember, we have to grind. I think taking hits is a part of being a good team, but you also have to understand when it's time to get back, too."
On goalie Joonas Korpisalo: "Made some good saves, but he's gonna have to be better also. It was not him, it was right through our lineup, and we just weren't sharp."
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