Detroit Red Wings at Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets Head Coach Ken Hitchcock

Commenting on the game …
"We worked, we battled - they are not an easy team to play right now because they are getting ready for a Stanley Cup run. These types of games really challenge you and find out where your players are competitive-wise."

"We were our own worst enemy and got away with it today. It's an area we've got to clean up."

Commenting on playing Detroit…
"You build a rivalry in the playoffs, so if we ever played them in the playoffs – that's where rivalries are built. The goal for every team in the Western Conference is to have a .500 record against Detroit. Detroit is a measuring stick for all of us."

Commenting on Fredrik Norrena …
"The goalie was great. Freddy was able to play the last game, so that helped (after Leclaire was hit in the head with a puck in pre-game)."

"He was good – our goaltender bailed us out (when we turned the puck over)."

Visiting Head Coach Quotes

Detroit Red Wings Head Coach Mike Babcock

Commenting on the difference in tonight's game…
"The puck went in our net and didn't go in their net. We're so bad defensively we gave up seventeen shots, and we're playing on the road. Did we make some mistakes? Yeah, it's a game of mistakes but they capitalized on every opportunity and obviously we had every opportunity to score a bunch but they found a way to get some saves."

Commenting on battling back from a 3-goal deficit…
"You say that like we weren't prepared. That's not what I watched. After the first period the shots on goal were (12-4), after two periods they had ten or something. I'm not trying to take anything away from them. I don't think it was lack of preparation or urgency, the puck just went in the net."

Commenting on the team's attitude…
"I thought we were determined. I thought we stayed on it, tried to keep pushing. The puck didn't want to stay out of our net."

Player Quotes

Columbus Blue Jackets Center Dan Fritsche

Commenting on the efficiency of the offense…
"We had good goals. A lot of them, we basically got the puck on the net. That's all we did and it paid off. We had the guys there whacking the second rebounds. Those are the kinds of goals we need to score."

Commenting on the defensive play…
"We were a thousand times better defensively."

Columbus Blue Jackets Left Wing Rick Nash

Commenting on goaltender Fredrik Norrena's performance…
"He was our MVP last year. He came in when (we had) injuries, when Pazzy (Pascal Leclaire) got hurt. He really took control of the team. It was his team last year. He's had a tough go but he was unbelievable. Tonight, he was the reason we won the game."

Columbus Blue Jackets Goaltender Fredrik Norrena

Commenting on tonight's game…
"I hadn't played for a month before that. I needed some game time and that probably helped me get some momentum tonight. You can't practice and be 100 percent game ready, so we always need a little bit of game time."

Commenting on when he got news of starting…
"About seven and a half minutes before the game. I would prefer to know the day before, but those are the things you have to get used to if you're a backup goalie. I did my preparation like a normal game day so that helped me a little bit. But most of all, of course, the guys in front of me helped out tonight."

Columbus Blue Jackets Center Manny Malhotra

Commenting on tonight's game…
"That's more or less the effort we were looking for against Chicago, we just weren't able to come out with that intensity and that kind of execution. I've said this over and over, it's kind of been our gift and our curse through the whole year is that against top teams in the league, we always bring our 'A' performance, and we play really hard and we play the style that we're expected to play. When we're playing against teams that we're battling for points or perhaps are below us in the standings, that go get'em type attitude isn't quite there. We knew what was expected of us tonight. With our season on the line right now, we're going to have to play like that through the stretch."

Commenting on colliding with defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen…
"I'm happy I got up from that hit. That's hands down, the hardest hit I've ever had in pro hockey."