Later in his postgame press conference, Bowness somewhat walked back his criticism.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery disappointed is the word. Very disappointed,\u201d he said. \u201cWe’ve got a good team, and they do care. So, (am I) mad right now? Yeah. But they do care, but they\u2019ve got to show it on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Defenseman Ivan Provorov<\/a>\u00a0said he also understood why Bowness was so upset. Provorov played all 82 games for Columbus this season and had 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists) and was plus-14 while averaging 24:49 of ice time.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, we’re all not happy that we didn’t make the playoffs,\u201d\u00a0Provorov said. \u201cI think it was a bit of a frustration from the loss and not making (the playoffs). We care about winning. I think we need to learn how to win, maybe find that killer instinct.\u201d<\/p>\n Forward Sean Monahan<\/a>, who played for Bowness with the Winnipeg Jets during the 2023-24 season, said he was not surprised by the coach\u2019s outburst.<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s a passionate guy,\u201d Monahan said. \u201cHe’s intense; he wants to win, and so do we. So, it can get emotional and sometimes that’s in the business of winning and we need get to where we need to be.\u201d<\/p>\n