The Columbus Blue Jackets came from behind in dramatic fashion to beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-4, in overtime. They didn't clinch a playoff spot, but the atmosphere sure felt like it after the comeback was completed.
Here's the reaction from John Tortorella and company following the game.
John Tortorella
On the game: "I thought we started good, coming off a west-coast trip, I thought we started really good. Couple of fluky goals puts us behind the eight-ball. I don't think we play a bad first period. Second period we absolutely dominate, I think we hit six posts throughout the game. I give our guys a lot of credit, they just stayed with it. The only thing we ask them to do is to try to do too much, and open ourselves up. We had plenty of game left, and I thought our guys kept banging away."
On his top line: "When we're down, we like to try to play that line, with Z (Zach Werenski) and Jonesy, when we can. They're just together a lot. Together on the power play and in those crucial situations. I think I played Bread (Artemi Panarin) 25 minutes tonight. Same thing with Jonesy. It's their responsibility. They're our top players. They're accepting that responsibility and coming through. So it's good to see."
On the play of Pierre-Luc Dubois: "We got two games left. We wouldn't have the opportunity to keep on fighting to get in (to the playoffs) if that doesn't work for us - him in the middle of the ice. I look at that as one of the keys to our season, that we're still battling, and I look at how the team handled themselves when we had all those injuries. Those were two very important moments for this club. Luc - he's not afraid of anything. He has just handled that situation, and again played against the top line tonight, and now we use him killing penalties. He's really grown and been a huge part of us having an opportunity here."
Pierre Luc-Dubois
On the team's resilience: "We lost a point in Vancouver, and we came back and it was pretty big to get the one point, but we still lost the point. So tonight to get that point back, I think it's amazing. Three out of four games where we go down and we come back. Obviously it's not a situation we want to be in, but it gives a lot of confidence, and we stay calm and I think that's a really good trait to have."
On the poise on the bench: "I think we learned a lot from the start of the season. We stay calm. I think the guys that we got at the trade deadline helped with that, too. You look on the bench and nobody is panicking even when we're down two, three goals. Cam scored a big goal for us to help get the momentum back, and from there you never know what can happen."
On Panarin's record-breaking goal: "When he got the puck, he was full speed. Their guy came on me, and it opened up the middle for him. In my mind, I was drawing it up, imagining something that was going to happen, and it looked exactly like the goal he scored. So fast, head up, feet moving, hands moving, nice shot and gets his own rebound. It's pretty amazing to be able to see that every night."
Cam Atkinson
On how the game progressed: "I thought, first period, it was one of those periods where I thought we played okay, second period we took over and started playing more of our style, playing a north game. It really shows, it really allows us to get the puck in (the zone) and make plays coming with speed into the offensive zone."
On the attitude the team's shown in recent games: "Last year, it was one of those season's where everything was going our way. This year, obviously expectations were a little higher, and we expect to win every night. And that's what we've been doing."
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