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Prospal says effort isn’t enough, only results matter for Blue Jackets

Vinny Prospal

Vinny Prospal? Or Yoda.

The Blue Jackets’ veteran forward is furious with his team’s 0-5-1 start, and he doesn’t care how much everyone’s trying. There is no try. Do…or do not.

“We’ve scored two goals every game,” Prospal said, as reported by Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. “It’s been going on for six games. The coaches are expressing enough, but ultimately it’s up to each individual, how they approach it. The coaches can do only so much to guide you, show you what to do. Ultimately, it’s on the individual to perform out there. Not try to do it, do it.

“(Against Dallas) it’s great that we had 40 shots, but we still scored two goals. It’s not enough. That’s what we should be thinking about, not that we played a good game, that we probably outplayed them. That’s not enough. We cannot be satisfied.”

Prospal can’t be feeling great about his decision to sign a one-year deal with the Jackets. The 36-year-old is approaching his 1,000th career NHL game and time is running out on his chances to win a Stanley Cup. (No, he never won it with Tampa Bay. He was with Anaheim that year.)

“I don’t want to think like that right now,” Prospal said. “I’m grateful. I’m very fortunate for the opportunity that I’m getting here.

“But the career goes by so quickly. Maybe some guys don’t think about it the way I am right now, but you never know how it’s going to be. You have to try to make the most of the opportunity you have at this time. Right now. Today.”

And then Prospal started singing “Don’t Blink” by Kenny Chesney.