It's definitely a bigger scale [than the NHL] for those few weeks. You're not just representing your city or your team, it's a whole country. And that goes for everybody. It's a different feeling, as far as playing against teammates, but you've got to put it out of your mind for a few weeks and go to work. |
It's great when he's on because he can find the net. As he gets older, I think he'll be less streaky and just more consistent. But he's doing all right as a streaky guy right now anyway. |
It's not something I sit up thinking about to complete me as a player, but once we get into it I'm going to want to win like crazy. I definitely want to win the tournament, and if that comes with gold that would be awesome. |
It's probably a good thing to fly under the radar a little bit. Like any other poll or prediction, you want to be on top at the end, not the beginning. |
Just simple stuff, little 5-foot passes, simple passes, we were just missing them. |
Our power play certainly wasn't as sharp as it was the previous game. They got a couple of bounces in the second period and that's your game. |
Our schedule is extremely condensed, but I think a lot of it is just keeping your focus, especially if you get on a good roll. You've just got to focus each and every game and get prepared mentally and physically for the next outing, because there's not much time between games. |
Personally, I think he's the real deal. I've skated with him and have seen what he can do. But it's hard where everywhere he goes there's a press conference. It would be good for people to let him be a kid in the league and be a rookie and let him adjust as he goes. |
That was a pretty good effort right from the start. We've come a long way. The beatings they put on us were the low point, but we responded and stuck together, and to come out with a game like that is pretty nice to see. |
That's more our game. We were able to play our style. But we'll take them any way we can get them right now. |
The rebound was there, and I just kind of tried to whack it and it found a hole and crossed the line. |
There would be games he dominated and afterward he'd be saying how bad he played. He's never satisfied. |
There would be games where he would absolutely dominate and then he'd come to the locker room and tell us how poorly he had played. |
These European teams are well-oiled machines. They get up by a goal and it's lockdown time. |
These European teams are well-oiled machines. They get up by a goal, and it's lockdown time. |