Though the result of the 4-3 overtime loss was not preferable for the Columbus Blue Jackets, one of the team's young players had a benchmark performance.
Alexandre Texier, the 20 year-old Frenchman, scored two goals in his first regular season multi-goal performance. The "regular season" denotation is necessary as Texier had a two goal performance against the Tampa Bay Lightning in last year's game 4 of the Stanley Cup Playoff's first round.
The young forward had been struggling as of late, only having 1 goal in the previous 10 games, but Texier caught fire once paired with center, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and forward, Eric Robinson. Though the combination was created because of unfortunate forward injuries early in the game, the players immediately found chemistry, both two goals scored by Texier, primarily assisted by Dubois, and secondarily assisted by Robinson.
While the two goals provided a strong individual performance, the outing doesn't necessarily receive the attention it may deserve because of the losing result of the game. This attitude was present in Texier as he faced the media after the overtime loss.
When asked about how it felt to rally after a poor start, but ultimately fall flat, Texier said that those results are just an inevitable aspect of the game sometimes.
"It's part of hockey," said Texier. "It's just how it is."
Focusing on the improving play over the course of the night, Texier chose to focus on what the team must do in addition to playing well.
"We played better hockey tonight, but we have to find a way to win," he said.
Ultimately, Texier expressed that momentum can be a transient part of the game, something the Blue Jackets might not have ultimately had in the contest.
"But that's part of hockey game. It (momentum) can be on our side and tonight it wasn't on our side," Texier said.
Regardless of the result, in a season devoted to increase the roles and development of younger talent, it's great for the organization to see performances such as this. This fact is especially true when both goals were generated by a line with the average age of 21.5 years old.
Despite the bitter result for the team, any strong outing by its young players should be noted as an integral part of their development. Texier, now with 6 goals on the season, will look to capitalize on this performance as the season progresses. Perhaps, next time it may be rightfully celebrated as a contribution to a victory rather than a strong performance lost in a bitter defeat.
