from Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch,
John Tortorella began practice Monday tossing pucks to kids seated in the Nationwide Arena stands only to lob stern words at his Blue Jackets’ players about 20 minutes later.
The coach halted the session and demanded they pick up their pace. Tortorella urged them not to “lose your practice habits.”
“I think in the last little bit our pace has dipped,” Tortorella said. “It hasn’t been as consistent through the game . . . I think it’s a mental thing about staying on top of yourself as far as playing faster. As I’ve said, the league is going to be better, the league is going to be faster.”
The Blue Jackets (29-9-4) were among the NHL’s best stories in the season’s first half -- complete with a 16-game win streak. But such production doesn’t give clubs the right to hang banners or guarantee them home-ice advantage in the playoffs’ first round.
Create an Account
In order to leave a comment, please create an account.