Warning: Story contains coarse language

It was vintage John Tortorella on Thursday.

The Columbus Blue Jackets head coach expressed his frustration when asked about how his team's depth down the middle might help after Boone Jenner's injury.

"I've got one center playing. One," he told the assembled media, including TSN, in an apparent reference to first-line pivot Pierre-Luc Dubois.

Tortorella repeated that several times after subsequent questions. Then he tore into his club even further while referencing Tuesday's 5-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres when asked about the matchup against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.

"It's a good team we're playing and it was a god-awful team that I coached the other night, so hopefully we'll answer the proper way," the bench boss said.

When asked if the players felt the same way, he said, "They better, or they'll get their ass kicked."

Tortorella added that he thought the Blue Jackets played with "absolutely no balls at all" in the defeat on Tuesday, that they were "absolute no-shows in every facet of the game," and the team needs to "reset pretty quickly."

After Thursday's game in Winnipeg, the Blue Jackets return home to play the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.

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