It's definitely nice to get in. I knew it would be a challenge against that team. |
It's nice to get back in there and that's what anyone would ask for, to get right back on the horse. I'm looking forward to it and putting [Wednesday] night behind me and moving on. |
It's too bad to see a teammate go down and a good friend like that. It's unfortunate, but I'm just going to do the things I've been doing, that's working hard and working on preparation. |
Our penalty kill was as close to perfect as it could be. In their zone we were tremendous and our pressure up ice was really good. There were great clears and the guys really let me see the puck. |
That was huge. He stepped up in a huge way tonight with that fight and a big goal. |
That's pretty impressive and the confidence is high. That's a tough team to play. They're a frustrating group, but the fact our offensive stars are willing to buy in and play a patient game is important. |
That's the way the games are in the new NHL. With a lot of power plays and 5-on-3s, it makes it tough. It shows no lead is safe. |
Their goalie was tremendous and we weren't able to capitalize. And obviously, that's not the start we wanted. |
We are very much alive here. We're sitting in the position where every point is so crucial, but teams around us are in the same boat. |
We didn't have that energy that we needed. It just wasn't there. |
We need more from everybody, myself included. We need to make sure we're bringing it here down the stretch. |
We've really got to work on our defensive game. We have to be tighter. |
When a big guy like that has such soft hands and a nice touch like that, it makes it tough. |
You can see it. It has to be tough for him. There's a lot of pressure on him. He's handled it well, and I'm sure losing is frustrating for him. |
You could see a real sense of urgency on our part. We had a couple of days to re-group. |