Grabbing a point against arguably the NHL's best squad so far this season (after falling behind 4-2 on the road) shouldn't be overlooked. Getting that point in the bank could be important down the road. Here's the post-game reaction from head coach John Tortorella and a couple Blue Jackets players after the shootout loss.
John Tortorella
On defense activating offense in the third period: "We're trying to do that all the time. That's a big way to create offense. And in this league, you have to. It just can't be forwards."
On the fourth line: "I put my fourth line out there [for the first shift] not thinking [Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper] is putting [Steven] Stamkos in, he put Stamkos out there... we have three chances to get the puck out. And we tried to be too cute, not understanding who you're playing against, just get the puck in the neutral zone and change. We don't want to put them in those situations, and we get kicked in the teeth. So it's a good learning experience for those guys."
On Sergei Bobrovsky: "Bob was good, their goalie was really good, as advertised. They're two really good goalies."
On Brandon Dubinsky's first goal of the season: "One of the guys that needs to get going more consistently. That's a big goal."
On the game: "They're a good team, they got a good defense, and that's why they have the record they have. I thought we stood in there, and we just stayed with it. We're a fast team, and I think when both teams were going you could see the speed on both. I'm greedy. I think we have an opportunity on the 4-on-3, [Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy] makes just a great save on us... I think we have a chance to win the game."
Ryan Murray
On the third period turnaround: "It wasn't our best first two periods for sure. We kind of started going after them in the third, and we got a couple of ugly goals there at the end, with [Markus Hannikainen] just bangin' one in, that's kind of what it took to turn things around for us."
On an added emphasis on getting pucks deep in the zone: "I think a lot of guys started playing some real good offense for us there in the third period. [Pierre-Luc] Dubois was flyin' around out there, he was making things happen, and when you add another line like that to the mix, and they start playing really well, it can change the momentum of a game."
Seth Jones
On playing aggressive defense in the third: "I try to be aggressive every night. Sometimes I'm gonna make the right play, more often than not, and sometimes I'm not. It's just the way it goes. I thought tonight I played a pretty well-rounded game, and I was jumpin' on the play making things happen. I thought our whole [defensive] core was very active."
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