After you take that much time off it gives you a chance to kind of step into it easy. Yesterday and today we kind of felt our way into it; we don't want anyone to come back and get sore. We're going to pick it up in the next couple of days and by early next week we'll have our team together and be up to speed. |
Detroit is very much a team you can't give space to in the neutral zone. |
Even with a win, we're not safe yet. But with a win it really would give us a chance to (think) about winning the division title in addition to making the playoffs. |
Every goalie we play against seems to have the game of his life against us. We created some excellent chances but we couldn't finish any of our chances off. Even with all the penalties we had to kill, I think we created enough offense to win the game, but when he's (Miller) making save after save, all you can do is keep shooting. |
He is really good on penalty shots. He sold the backhand hard, and made a great move. |
He is so dangerous. A lot of people get caught watching him. |
He looks great with us. You can see even though he's a relative rookie, he's been up and down so many times, he's mature and he's handling the situation with ease. |
He was incredible. You can always count on big players to come through in big games. Those were playoff style, gritty goals. |
He's such a creative guy. He draws so much attention that I just try to find the open ice. We were a little fortunate that their D got tangled up, but that happened because he made a move to go between them and slipped the puck through. |
It's a big push for every team. It will be great for the fans and a big test for the players. |
It's a tough stretch. But you look at it as a good opportunity, too. If you can be successful early you can give yourself a bit of a cushion. I don't feel any more pressure this year; I feel more excited than anything about our team and our chances to be successful. |
It's definitely an area we need to improve. If we could have improved our power play last season, just four or five per cent, we would have been in the playoffs easily. |
It's nice to get those kind of games. You get a lead and guys don't have to extend themselves too much. You get to roll four lines and play everybody. |
It's second nature to play a simpler game on the road. That's probably why we have a better record than at home. The proof is in the pudding. |
It's still a big plateau for a lot of guys. It's a mark that everyone likes to get to. Personally, I didn't put too much emphasis on it, but I view myself more as a play-making centre. |