Three days after an outing head coach John Tortorella dubbed as "embarrassing" against division rival New Jersey, the Columbus Blue Jackets were given another crack at the Devils on Friday night.
It didn't really start out well, with the home team taking a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, but Columbus rallied behind a franchise record-tying five assists form Artemi Panarin to earn a 5-3 win vs. the Devils.
The locker room was a lot happier after the win than it would have been a loss, as you can tell in today's edition of Quotebook.
John Tortorella
On the difference between the first and second periods: "I thought we started banging. We certainly played much better with our reloads as far as having people come across the ice and try to slow them down through the neutral zone. That's the two most important things. We made them earn their ice, where in the first period ... I just don't know what to say. But it was a good response in the second period and we find a way to keep going and find a way to win."
On the team's PK: "Obviously a big kill with the four-minute penalty (in the third). I just think we got a lot more active and had a lot more energy away from the puck because they were just piercing through us the first period. We turn the puck over, so yeah, we ended up playing better and just trying to carry the momentum as best we could."
On the play of Artemi Panarin: "I don't know how he sees some of the guys on those weakside plays that he makes, but right now he is one of the strongest guys on the puck for us. He had a little bit of a dip for a few games, and he's answered. That line plays really well."
On which of Panarin's five assists was most important: "The biggest play was the first one because it gave us some life. I thought we were working hard, but (Cory Schneider) has played really well. just to get us to cut that in half right away when it's 2-0, if they go up 3-0 who knows where it goes?"
On getting goals from Alexander Wennberg and Lukas Sedlak: "I thought Wenny played a little bit more consistent. He took a step in the right direction as being hard on the puck a few times here tonight. Sedsy, I don't think Sedsy has played well. He has been told he hasn't played well for the past few games. I thought he started getting physical, ends up with a great pass and scores a goal. It's good we get some guys chipping in and trying to find ways to win."
Artemi Panarin
On his five-assist showing: "I'm very happy. However, I am trying to keep my emotions in check. Tomorrow is another game. I'm just trying to keep remembering that it's a sport and sometimes you do the same assist and it doesn't result in a goal. Sometimes you do those assists and they become a goal."
On whether he felt he had to put the team on his back: "No question about it, yes. In the second period we knew we had to step it up, and we were able to score and we found confidence and then everything got a little bit easier."
Alexander Wennberg
On getting a big win: "It's really important for us. We started really tough. We didn't play the way we wanted. We heard it from Torts in the first intermission. You just have to find a way to bounce back, and I feel like we responded to it."
On him scoring the game-winning, power-play goal: "Absolutely. For me to get a goal to go in, absolutely, and for the power play. Special teams are important. To get this one today, it changed the game a little bit. It's something to build on."
Scott Harrington
On his goal: "It's always nice to score for sure, especially the first of the year. I had a couple of good looks in some of the games I've played that didn't go in. More than anything, it's nice to get that off your mind and it came at a good time for us."
On what was said between the first and second periods: "We talked the last couple of days after the last game against New Jersey about some changes we needed to make, and obviously we wanted to have a better start than we did. They came out like they ended the last game. We knew we had to be better in certain areas, and we talked about that after the first period and addressed some issues and obviously came out with a better performance to start the second period and then finished it off in the third."
