Brad Larsen keeps his hair close-cropped, which is all the better. If he had long, flowing locks, he likely would have been tearing them out at points of Saturday's 6-5 win over Edmonton.
It doesn't take much experience watching hockey to know that a game in which 11 goals are scored is a coach's nightmare, and the Blue Jackets certainly took a circuitous route to the victory. Columbus built a 4-0 lead just 26 minutes into the game, only to watch Edmonton erase it in the next nine minutes of play.
But with the score 4-4 going to the third and momentum wearing an Oilers sweater, the Blue Jackets battled back, getting a pair of goals from Jack Roslovic in the final frame and then withstanding a final onslaught from the visitors.
When asked afterward if he could sense the sold-out crowd on Kids Takeover Day having fun, Larsen answered like a coach.
"I was having a lot of fun," Larsen said. "And then the fun went away for a while, then I was having some more fun. I think you can probably pick those moments."
But all kidding aside, the Blue Jackets did a lot of things well, including standout days from Jack Roslovic (2-2-4), Patrik Laine (1-2-3), Kirill Marchenko (2-0-2) and Boone Jenner (1-1-2) plus 43 saves from Joonas Korpisalo. The Blue Jackets also handled the massive momentum swings against a good team like a squad beyond its years.
So in the end, it was fun. At least for some people.
"Yeah, probably for the fans," Laine deadpanned. "I'm sure the coaching staff didn't love the game, but it doesn't matter at the end of the day. We got two points, and it's the only thing that matters."
