Tortorella: No panic after blowout loss
BOSTON — Those who were hoping John Tortorella would blow a gasket when he met with the media following the Blue Jackets’ 7-2 loss to the Bruins on Monday were disappointed.
Tortorella didn’t rip his team to shreds, didn’t call out players by name — or even by position.
He didn’t even walk in, apologize for not answering questions and then scurry out as he did last week after a loss to Edmonton of a similar style and an identical score.
Instead, Tortorella was as calm, even reflective, as one could have expected him to be. Although some of his players used the word “quit,” following the lopsided loss, their coach refused to.
“If that’s what they want to call it,” he said, “that’s their call.”
Tortorella didn’t even skate his players hard in Tuesday’s scheduled practice — because he canceled it and gave them the day off.
Basically, while others are screaming that the roof is caving in on the Blue Jackets, Tortorella isn’t panicking.
“We need to use this as a chance to learn how to handle difficult situations as a young team,” Tortorella said Monday. “Really, we have to grow up a little bit and just try and get better.”
Tortorella doesn’t dodge the fact his team is struggling.
Atop the Metropolitan Division last week, Columbus has lost three of four and began Tuesday third in the division, behind Washington and New Jersey.
The Jackets have the opportunity to feel good about themselves again before the three-day Christmas break as they finish with three games — starting Wednesday at Nationwide Arena against the Toronto Maple Leafs — in four nights.
“I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘We’re going to do this and this; I’m going to take this guy out of the lineup. Bench him!’ That’s not going to happen,” Tortorella said.
“We have to grow together here through this.”
Nick Foligno, the team captain, had choice words following the loss and questioned his team’s resolve, at least for one night.
“The lack of emotion, the lack of care,” he said, “that’s disappointing. We don’t use those words with this team very often. It doesn’t sit well with me.”
Foligno, who is from the Boston area, was visibly upset with the performance and probably more than a little embarrassed with how things ended up.
Columbus trailed 3-1 in the third and still had a chance when Boston scored twice in a span of 36 seconds. At 5-1, the Bruins opened the floodgates and the rout was on.
“There are going to be some deep thoughts here moving forward,” Foligno said. “There has to be guys in here who have to understand the way we play, the emotion you need to play in the NHL; the care and the pride you need to have to play in the NHL. ... We got shown up by a team that was just way hungrier than we were.”
One problem that has dogged Columbus throughout the season is its power play. Had Seth Jones not scored a power-play goal with 13.8 seconds left, the Jackets would have gone 0 for 5 with the man advantage.
Tortorella refuses to talk about the powerplay problems anymore (the Jackets are at the bottom of the league, at 10.2 percent) and it isn’t a very popular topic of conversation in the locker room, either.
The Jackets are just 4 for 30 on the power play this month.
“I think it’s coming,” Josh Anderson said. “We’re starting to get shots, starting to get chances. We just need some to start going in for us.”
Motte shipped out
The Jackets sent Tyler Motte to minor-league Cleveland on Tuesday before the NHL’s Christmas roster freeze went into effect.
Motte, a healthy scratch on Monday, was recalled in October and played in 19 games. Sonny Milano, because he was recalled after Dec. 11, could still be sent back to Cleveland by Saturday.