Blue Jackets keep on rolling with the playoff punches

It's become the same question -- and John Tortorella has the same answer.

How do the Blue Jackets just seem to roll with the punches when the punches are Mike Tyson uppercuts?

The NHL-most 419 man-games lost to injury. The lost 3-0 lead in the final four minutes of Game 4 vs. Toronto. The five-overtime loss to Tampa Bay in Game 1.

The theory is those setbacks would kill a lesser team, so how do the Blue Jackets keep moving past them?

"That's what we do," Tortorella said after Thursday afternoon's 3-1 victory in Game 2 that was the latest bounce back. "You guys keep on asking me that question. It's what we do. It's what pros are supposed to do. I don't think it's anything special. I think it's the proper way of going about our business. We've had a lot of opportunities with the ups and downs, especially in the past couple of weeks, to work at that. So yeah, we just get ready for Game 3."

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It sounds simple, doesn't it? That's just how the world works. No one asks most of us how we plan to get past a bad day at the office -- we just wake up the next day, go back to work and try to do a good job.

But things are a bit different in the world of professional sports, where everything is supposed to have an answer and the struggles with adversity are a parable for the real world. How does a team suffer two of the most disappointing and historic losses in NHL history -- only two teams ever had lost a playoff game by giving up a three-goal lead in the last four minutes, and only two teams had lost in five overtimes since 1937 -- and bounce back two days later to buck momentum and end up in the win column?

Again, it's what they're supposed to do, as Tortorella says. But one could also argue it's a learned skill, a mind-set that can actually be built. It can come through experience -- the Blue Jackets have plenty of that at this point -- and it can come through just having the proper approach.

"I think there's a belief," captain Nick Foligno said. "Things are going to go wrong in games. I think we all realize it's how we respond to it that's going to eventually give us our outcome. We want to have the best response. Whether that's in between the ears or physically, we are going to do whatever it takes to be ready for the next game and the next shift.

"You look around and I see that in every guy. That's where I know, whether we falter one game or have success the next, the guys are going to be ready to go the next step of the way. That's been built by the group here and by the older guys and the younger guys following along and wanting to be a part of that."

One point Foligno makes that holds water is that this Blue Jackets team has a strong core that has been together long enough to feel comfortable leaning on one another when the adversity strikes. Cam Atkinson and David Savard are each in their ninth seasons with the team, while Foligno is in season No. 8 in Columbus. Boone Jenner and Ryan Murray have been Blue Jackets since 2014, giving them seven seasons in union blue.

All five of those players have been part of building a winner, as the Blue Jackets have five postseason appearances in the past seven years. The franchise is just one of three to make it to the final 16 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs each of the last four seasons.

Tortorella has talked about how that experience has helped build a team that knows how to handle the specific ups and downs that are part and parcel of a postseason run. But that familiarity is also how the Blue Jackets have built a trust that allows the team to stay together when things go wrong.

"This is a five-man unit out there on the ice supporting each other," Murray said. "I think when you do that, you learn to trust each other, and the coaches can see that on the bench. You have that good feeling going, everyone can feel it if you're coaching or playing, so we want to keep that going."

"I think this group, this core group especially, has been together a while here," Foligno said. "We just have a belief in each other and a trust, and I think you can see that. … That's the brotherhood that we talk about in here. That's why we're able to overcome so much. The belief we have in this room is incredible, and nothing is going to deter us from that because of the things we've faced over the years."

Tortorella has spoken multiple times over the past few seasons how much he enjoys coaching this particular group and how he has watched it grow over his tenure.

"I've been with them so long, I think I have a much better understanding about the players. In the bubble, we're here with each other all the time," Tortorella said. "The coaching staff here is nothing but impressed with our group, how they handle themselves here in the bubble and how they just get ready to play each and every game."