We put a lot of thought into our schedule. We need gas in the tank. |
We really can't afford to look past the next 20 minutes of hockey. There are some neat things building between the Devils and ourselves and we're happy about that for everybody concerned. |
We really do have to get our heads around the way the game is being called. We're growing up in a hurry here, and we cannot afford to play hockey like we did tonight or our growth will be stunted in a real hurry. |
We really felt the last 20 minutes, and how we chose to approach that, could set the stage for the rest of the series. We wanted to make sure we continued to play hard and honest and not compromise ourselves. We gave our opponents something to think about going into Madison Square Garden. Our objective was to be every bit as intense as we had up to that point and execute the best we could. We tried to send a message. |
We shot the puck a lot and I appreciate that and I wish others would shoot more. I think on the power play we could shoot the puck much more. |
We stuck with it. Definitely, we had to compete. |
We sure hope that we've identified with one thing and that is stability, and the level of, I guess, confidence that goes along with that so you can even push the envelope further and squeeze the cloth a little bit more to bring even more out of people. |
We talked about it as being a playoff-like game for us. |
We want him to stay out of the penalty box. At the same time, it's a fine line, because you don't want him to change his game. He can certainly influence a game, and I thought he did. I thought we created a bit of an advantage for ourselves by the way he came out to play, and maybe he took New Jersey off their game, at least initially. |
We wanted to make sure we could at least show New .Jersey that we had some depth on our PK. You roll the dice in those kinds of situations. He went beyond what I expected, but it shows he's a competitive person. I have no regrets on it. It's a decision I'll live with, though. |
We were reactive, as opposed to proactive. We were always trying to respond. In the offensive zone, I thought we were the better team than they were. But off the attack, they were outstanding. They kept getting odd-man rushes. |
We were sloppy, but we didn't give up. I'm proud of that. |
We weren't intense enough. There was no real flow. We found a way to win and it wasn't pretty. |
We worked, we tried things, but collectively we weren't on the same page. They really need a break, but I'm not making excuses. |
We'll have better nights than we had. We'll win again. |