Blue Jackets' season is on the line
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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Every playoff series is a journey of self-discovery on some level, but it is even more so for young teams navigating playoff waters for the first time.
And so it was that the Columbus Blue Jackets wandered into Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Sunday morning for what was an optional on-ice workout and to meet with a small gaggle of reporters, the players confronting the reality of peering into the playoff abyss, most for the first time.
A to-and-fro series that has featured a bevy of blown leads and emotional charges on both sides was tilted once again in favor of the Pittsburgh Penguins after their 3-1 victory in Game 5 Saturday night in Pittsburgh.
It was a statement game for the Penguins, whose work ethic and compete level had been questioned by coach Dan Bylsma leading into the game. The Penguins put on a clinic at both ends of the ice, keeping the Blue Jackets from jamming the front of their net and launching 51 shots at Columbus' goal.
Now, no one is questioning the Blue Jackets' compete level. That has been at the heart of their success in this series and in a second-half charge to the team's second playoff berth in franchise history.
But what is at question is whether there is more for this young team to give in Game 6 or, more to the point, enough to give to force a Game 7 Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.
"To me, being better is just taking your game to another level," coach Todd Richards said Sunday. "And really all it is is a focus and an intensity. I don't think it's about X's and O's and changing that up and being better there. It's about being better and having an intensity and a focus that allows you to come out and execute and skate and play at another level. We've got to find that. I think we do have it. And we need it in Game 6."
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