Up 4-2 in the third period, the Blue Jackets were left to rue what might have been following Wednesday night's shootout loss at Metro Division rival Pittsburgh in each team's return to the ice post-Christmas.
Of particular lament was Jake Guentzel's goal in the final two minutes that tied the score at 4. The Blue Jackets collapsed on Patric Hornqvist, who passed to the Jackets-killing Guentzel for the slam-dunk tying goal.
Columbus was able to use a successful offside challenge to push the game to a shootout, but goals by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin plus two saves by Matt Murray doomed the Buckeye Staters.
Here's what was said in the CBJ locker room after the game.
John Tortorella
On the Pens' tying goal: "You end up with three guys behind the net, so obviously it's a bad coverage. ... I liked our third period, quite honestly. But we ended up gravitating, chasing the puck, and we end up with two D and our support forward behind the net. We just have to hold the front of the net. That's where they're going to score their goal if they're going to score. We just leave that area open, so we chased the puck."
On his successful challenge in OT that overturned a Penguins goal: "I didn't realize – it happened so quickly during the game – but once you saw the replay, I don't know what the hell they were arguing about after. It's goalie interference. So we get a chance, we get a power play, have a couple of looks, but we don't get it done."
On whether the Pens used their veteran nature to come back to win: "Nah, because the mistakes weren't made by young players on our team. That coverage wasn't made by younger players on our team. You're not going to get us to talk about being young and injured and stuff like that. We played well enough to win tonight, but we did not make the final plays of the game."
On the disappointment level afterward: "We're OK. Get ready to play our next game."
On if he was surprised by how big a mistake was made on the tying goal: "Yeah, I don't think it's really a difficult coverage, but it happens. There's pressure in the game. It's easy for us to look at tape and break it down and ask why, but these guys are making split-second decisions. We'll take our point and we'll get ready for our next game."
On the play of Artemi Panarin, who had two goals, in big games: "That's a big part of what he is, and he certainly has done that. He had another good game tonight, scored a couple of big goals for us. We couldn't hold on, but there's no sense in hanging our heads."
Sonny Milano
On the loss: "It's disappointing. Two-goal lead late in the third, but that's the way it goes sometimes. We had some chances to finish it off there. We didn't. It's disappointing, but we have to get back to it and play the next game."
On his first-period goal, his first in more than two months: "It was kind of wide open. All I had to do was just put it in. Linemates made a nice play. Jonesy just missed the net, but it landed on my stick. It was nice."
On how Pittsburgh got back into the game: "A couple of penalties never helps us. Capitalize on the power play, and obviously they have some really good players. If they get a chance, they might score. It's a couple of things. It's on us. We just have to defend better."
Matt Calvert
On the loss: "Too many breakdowns. We had too many opportunities in the third to close it out, penalty kill and 5-on-5, and we didn't do it. Obviously you go back to the drawing board and move on from there."
On the overall effort: "We are missing a lot of guys, and I thought we played a really good game. That's a 4-2 hockey game until we have the power-play goal they score, and then the 5-on-5 breakdown we have. There's opportunities out there. We have veteran guys that are used to being in those situations, and we just have to find a way to be better."
On struggling to find wins in Pittsburgh: "I've been knocked out of the playoffs twice here. It's a hurdle we're going to have to get over. I think in pro sports you have those. There's that team you might not be able to beat. There's the team that beats you twice in a row. It's happened to me in junior hockey, too. You have to find a way, and you have to keep battling. We're going to use all season to be there because they're a probable opponent in the playoffs, and nothing will be sweeter than when we do find a way."
Jack Johnson
On what happened in the loss: "Just some breakdowns in our end that were uncharacteristic, and it's disappointing. I know we got one point, but we should have walked out of here with two."
On the late Pittsburgh goals: "There was just a breakdown on the fourth goal. We had too many guys floating on one side of the rink, and we had a guy wide open on the backside. When you're in situations like that and you're protecting a lead that late in the game, that's kind of the natural flow."
On some of the successes of the game: "I think our first period was really good. Then I think that we did a good job responding after they would score. It was just a couple of breakdowns there that they made us pay for, and they get a lot of talented guys out there that are going to find that breakdown."
