At what point must the Blue Jackets turn the page from Thursday night's hugely satisfying comeback, overtime win over Toronto to the task that remains at hand - Friday night's chance to finish off the Maple Leafs?
It's a hard line to define. John Tortorella might not even know exactly where it is.
But the Blue Jackets head coach does trust his team to find it amid the quick turnaround the greets the team.
"I want them to have a ball right now," he said in the late hours of Aug. 6, moments before another gameday greeted his team. "That's why we play. It was a really good game by both teams. … I want them to enjoy this right now in the proper way.
"I trust them. They'll be ready to go tomorrow. We have an 11:30 meeting tomorrow. They can get away from it and enjoy themselves right now. They'll be ready to play tomorrow."
Columbus must be, and if the Blue Jackets are looking for any reminder of why, it can be seen in Game 2.
After the Blue Jackets were able to pull away to a 2-0 victory in Game 1, many in the Toronto media and even the team's fan base wondered if Toronto would be able to handle the relentless work ethic and defensive intensity of Columbus. The Maple Leafs delivered a swift answer in Game 2, nearly doubling the Blue Jackets in shots and posting their own shutout win.
In other words, this is a team that has already proved it can respond, and Toronto will be staring its playoff life in the eyes come Friday night. On the other hand, the Blue Jackets are a grand total of 1-0 in franchise history when having the chance to close out a team after capturing last year's Game 4 in the sweep of Tampa Bay.
It's a lot to consider, but not a lot of time to consider it. The Blue Jackets say that will be just fine.
"It was a heck of a game for us and we'll enjoy this for a little bit, but the job isn't done yet," Cam Atkinson said.
Know the Foe
Sheldon Keefe, simply put, was an unhappy camper after Game 3.
While there was jubilation on the Columbus side, the Maple Leafs' head coach was left disappointed by his team's inability to shepherd home its 3-0 lead. That's to be expected, of course, but Keefe was most disappointed by his team's inability to play to the situation while seeing its lead evaporate, then disappear, then become upended.
"We got what we deserved," Keefe said. "We didn't have any purpose or plan to our game."
The setback puts one of the most intriguing teams in the NHL - one with plenty of offensive star power but that is yet to win a playoff series since 2004 - right back in the crosshairs of a fanbase and media that expects more.
It also puts the Maple Leafs on the brink of elimination, which would be another disappointing end for a team that has seemed to be on the cusp of big things for the past few seasons. To this point, Toronto's big guns - Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitchell Marner and William Nylander - have combined for three goals and four assists thus far, a total of seven points in 16 combined games. That's well below the 266 points in 260 games the four combined for in the regular season.
The Blue Jackets also finally pierced goalie Frederik Andersen for four goals in Game 3 after he had given up just one in the preceding two games.
The Maple Leafs now have their backs against the wall. How they handle that will perhaps be the biggest storyline in the NHL on Friday.
"We have to push forward now and understand what is in front of us and regroup and have a big one tomorrow," Tavares said.
3 Keys to the Game
Ride the wave: The Maple Leafs responded with force after their Game 1 loss, coming out flying to start Game 2 on the way to that win. But with Columbus holding the momentum after the Game 3 comeback win and the short turnaround, can the Blue Jackets jump on a Toronto team that is facing a big hill to climb?
Keep scoring: Pierre-Luc Dubois got all the headlines, but the Blue Jackets got key contributions from other offensive talent like Atkinson, Seth Jones and Alexandre Texier in Game 2. The team's top scorers are finding their footing, and that must continue.
Win special teams: OK, it's been one of our keys for pretty much every game, but it remains relevant. Toronto got a shorthanded goal and a power-play goal Thursday, and the CBJ power play has been outscored 1-0 thus far. The Blue Jackets have to do better here.
Of Note
So far in the series, the Blue Jackets have the first-ever shutout (Joonas Korpisalo in Game 1) and hat trick (Dubois in Game 3) in franchise postseason history … Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins are the first two goalies in franchise history to earn the win in their first postseason appearances. … Dubois became the 10th player in the last 27 years to complete a playoff hat trick with an overtime goal with his Game 3 winner. … Atkinson leads the Blue Jackets in franchise history in goals (eight), assists (14) and points (22). ... This is the first-ever postseason series between the teams. … Both teams' NHL restart rosters have an average age of 26.1 years old, third youngest in the league, and both teams had 81 points in 70 regular season games.
Roster Report: The Blue Jackets shuffled the lines throughout Game 3 and curtailed playing time for Wennberg, Robinson and Bemstrom, so it remains to be seen how they will look to begin Game 4. Merzlikins will get the start after his sterling 21-save performance in Game 3 as the Blue Jackets will try to ride the hot hand. Also, Gerbe will make his series debut, Tortorella told the Eldorado Scioto Downs Blue Jackets radio network, in place of Bemstrom while Kukan returns to the lineup in place of Nutivaara.
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