Back-to-back losses are always tough to stomach. They're made even worse when the self-inflicted wounds are so widely present during the game – and when they happen on home ice.
Columbus Blue Jackets forward and alternate captain Cam Atkinson knows what it takes to win; he has been with the team through some good years and the really bad ones. He also knows that it will take the team getting back to basics for them to find their way after a 4-4-0 start to 2018-19.
"We're a team that might have a bit of skill, but we're a blue-collar team," said Atkinson. "Working hard is our No. 1 goal and then that's when the offense takes over. (We) can't tip-toe into these games...we started great and we took the foot off the gas pedal."
Trying to find a working unit after the opening goal from Pierre-Luc Dubois was hard. John Tortorella tried a few different combinations, but Atkinson knows sticking to the game plan will help them down the line.
"I thought we played a great first period for the most part," Atkinson said. "We controlled the play but got away from our game in the second. That's obviously when the lines start to get shuffled and whoever your out there with, you have to work hard. That's the one thing you can control."
Although the Blue Jackets are only eight games into the season, the points are just as important. Atkinson knows that and knows to accomplish their ultimate goal, the work starts now.
"We don't want to look back and say 'we should have won that game,'" Atkinson said. "I just think we have to take a long look in the mirror and figure out what we are as a group. Another day to get better tomorrow."
