(They) have not been spectacular, not great, but solid. That gives the team an opportunity to win. That's what we need. |
A big part of the power play is getting to the middle of the ice with the puck and not just playing on the wall, playing along the boards where (opponents) can be aggressive. |
A lot of pucks are going in our net and it ends up knocking you back a bit. |
A lot of pucks are going in our net and that ends up knocking you back. |
Absolutely, but in today's game, where are we going to go with the (salary) cap? I am (upset) at what is happening there because I thought our team played very well tonight. And this has gone on for quite a while. Is there other options out there? We can't do (anything). |
All we can worry about is the next game. We can't get caught up in the big picture and what's down the road and all that. Our goal has to be that day. If it's a game, then we need to worry about that. If it's a practice, we need to worry about that. One day. That's all we can think about. |
All we're looking for is just an opportunity to try to get out of this and find some way to win a hockey game. |
And I hope he plays well. If (Burke) plays well, he's going to go again. This is what we have. |
Are we the underdog? Your darn right we are. I don't think anybody gives us a chance to even with a game. To me, so be it. We know what we are about. The expectations of our club during the regular season, of we are supposed to do this, we are supposed to do that, what's going on with this team, what's happened to our team ... I think as we enter here in this series, we have no pressure on us. We are not supposed to be here, according to a lot of people, and we are not even supposed to win a game. |
As an organization, would we like to be in a better spot? Everybody would like to know they're in the playoffs. But that's not a reality, year after year being in a [playoff] spot with 10, 12, 15 games left. We don't have that this year, so our playoffs have started. |
As far as fans and those that aren't with him every day, that's all they probably talk about is his offensive stats and how he can move a puck. But people that are with him, teammates and coaches, he brings a lot more to the plate than that. |
As I've always said of Brad, he is a student of the game and always will be. That's why he continues to progress. I think his maturity at such a young age allowed him to grow into more roles on a team. That's important, the preparation. 'Are you satisfied with your play or do you want to continue to get better?' I don't think Richie is satisfied yet. And for us to be where we want to be, we can't have him satisfied; he needs to continue to get better. |
As with 29 other teams, defense is always a concern. I know Jay is looking. We do have a budget, as all of the teams do, and we have to find the right piece. It may come up to the last day of the preseason to see if something is there. Maybe it doesn't. All we can do as a coaching staff and as a team is whoever is here when we open up against Boston, we are going to try to play under a strict team concept and do the best we can. |
At this time of the year there is no sense of dwelling or feeling bad about what just happened. It's about answering. That's our quest for [tonight] is having the right answer. If we don't, then we put ourselves in a pretty major hole in a seven-game series. But I have no doubt about the team as far as how they have answered in certain situations. I believe we will get the right one [tonight]. That's all we are looking to do. You can't get too far ahead. We are looking to win one game. |
Both teams really look forward to playing against one another. |