February 2 postgame quotes: Justin Williams

On the defensive struggles:
“We’ve let ourselves down and shot ourselves in the foot by poor defensive play. Right at the start of the game – for whatever reason we’ve been having tough times starting games – we’ve been getting behind early and trying to battle back. Once we do get back, we seem to just relax a little bit. We’re a much better team than we’re showing, and it’s extremely disappointing at this point to see where we are.”

On why the team wasn’t able to sustain pressure after battling back three times:
“I think we came back multiple times, and in turn, we didn’t kill a penalty. They came back, scored power play goals on us, and that’s extremely deflating. It’s upsetting that we’re where we’re at right now, and we have to push forward. We have a big road trip coming up, and as everyone is saying, every point is important. We have to a little bit more of a job and be more desperate to get them.”

On the reasons behind the poor start:
“I don’t know. It has to do with obviously mental preparation for the game, getting yourself ready to play the same way as you would in the middle game. Getting yourself mentally focused. Getting yourself into the game early, and that’s up to each individual to do that.”