John Tortorella
John Tortorella
John Robert Tortorellais the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Tortorella has held the position of head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, the New York Rangersand the Tampa Bay Lightning. He led Tampa Bay to the 2004 Stanley Cup championship...
anybody best bit certainly couple game league middle past played players single step time
You look at a lot of the other studs in the league this is the time when your best players need to step up and Marty, certainly the past couple of nights, he has been our best player offensively. I don't want to single anybody out because I think we have played well as a team, but you have to give him a little bit of credit. His game is different than it was in the middle of the year.
certain coaching few games matter points run situations stuff teach time worry
This time of year, with so few games left, I still think we need to do some coaching we can't just let them run and not teach in certain areas, but in these situations you need to get the points no matter how you do it. Then we'll worry about the other stuff after.
against apologize certainly crucial few finished found games holding liked points
It's one of those games where we were ugly, really ugly, and we found a way to get it done at a crucial time. They all come out in the wash, though. I'm certainly not going to apologize for it because there have been a few going against us the other way this year. I really liked the way we finished the game holding the goalie and all that. But it was ugly, we'll take the two points and get out of here.
bring certain create good guy player presence situations step stick teammates tough willing within
It's not a fighter. It's not a tough guy. It's not an idiot. It's a guy who is willing to bring a presence and in certain situations step up and stick up for his teammates and create room. But he also has to be a good player to play within a lineup.
alone certain leave revisit
It wasn't working. We may revisit it at a certain time, but we'll leave it alone right now.
appetite attack bit certainly challenge finally fun game guys playoffs taste three time understanding
I think some of our young guys who have been here for two or three years finally got a taste of the playoffs and a little bit of an understanding of where the fun in the game is. That's the time of year. It certainly whets your appetite and we have a new challenge this year, so we are going to attack it.
certain clear coaches focused heads job pick possibly sure talked tough
I think our job as coaches is to make sure their heads are as clear as they can possibly be because there are so many things being talked about certain players. It's tough for a player. It's their livelihood. Are they going to pick up and move? Our job is just to try to keep them focused on the job at hand.
amount anxiety certain game played practiced struggled team terrible
I don't think the team was distracted, there were a lot of things going on around the club, but I thought the team practiced very well and like I said this morning, I don't think there was a terrible amount of anxiety going on with our team. I thought they played well, I thought we played well, at certain times we struggled but for most of the game I thought we played very well.
facets point tried win
We tried to win it. So we'll take the point and go from there. In all facets of our game, I was pleased.
points win
We just wanted to get two points (for the win). But we wanted to win it in regulation.
atlanta change fortunate good last offensive people played
We just froze. Atlanta has some good offensive people and we couldn't change the momentum. The way we played the last two periods, we're fortunate to get two points.
looks power stagnant wants
We look so stagnant on our power play. It looks like no one wants the puck.
game guys main played respect stayed team three time together tough
We're going through a tough time here with injuries. This situation, things piled up. Three main guys on our team all together. I really respect how our team stayed together and played a game as a team.
arty book far few four goes hard hit possibly raw readiness remember tried weeks work worry
I've tried to work with him this year. I remember I told him a few weeks ago, I said, 'Arty, don't worry about anything, just go and hit as hard as you possibly can.' He proceeded to go out and take four penalties. So, it's kind of a give and take here. But we want him to play hard. And the book on Arty is that he goes up and down as far as his readiness to play. But remember, he is a raw talent. And still a very young man, and you have to live with some of those bumps.