On drawing six power plays, and whether it was the result of better team speed:
I think with this team, when we play a fast game, that’s when we’re really successful, when we’re big and fast. When we’re not moving our feet, we’re big and slow. Tonight I thought we were better about moving our feet, and as a result we’re a hard team to handle and teams take penalties. But there’s a lot still that we’ve got to improve on to be where we want to be.
On whether he liked the team’s response after Ottawa’s comeback:
You never obviously want to blow a three-goal lead, but at the end of the day this team has been through a lot harder situations. I think as a group of guys we’re at that point where I don’t think a lot of things faze us. Obviously that’s not where we want [to be], or how to play the game, but we responded the right way.
On where the team can improve in five-on-five play:
Our game’s all about possession and using our big forwards down low. Today was a step in the right direction, but there’s still improvements. We’ve just got to continue to move our feet. I think that’s the key for this team, is when we move our feet, we’re a really good team. [When] we get stagnant and don’t work for each other, it becomes a really hard for us.
On where improvement can be made in moving feet “in all three zones”:
It’s a combination. It’s wingers working back for D so they can make an easier play. It’s D getting their feet moving out of the zone so we have another option as wingers, and center supporting everyone. I mean, you look – when we play really well, when we move the puck really well and we’re giving it to players that have opportunities to make plays, that’s the result of skating.
On surrendering the lead:
It’s been a trend this year. We got to regroup and come out with more energy. The same thing happened in Winnipeg and even New York. Our first home game against New York we came out and our first period was good then we sat back. That’s the responsibility of the players to prepare and be willing to bring awareness to it and being able to go out there and perform.
On Jeff Carter:
He’s one of those guys [where] you don’t really notice him and then it’s on his stick and it’s in the net. When we traded for him, that’s what we were hoping we were getting. He has only been here for not a full two years. It’s on his stick and it’s in the net. He’s a game breaker for us.
On the upcoming road trip:
It’s part of the travel now. Everyone has to deal with it. The teams that are able to manage it the best will not have a problem with travel.
On coming back to win:
I think it’s a double edged sword really.…Over the long haul to be successful we got to lock games down. This team over the last three or four years has been one of the best teams at doing that and we got get back to that.
On scoring goals and drawing penalties:
I just try to play my game. Tonight was, for me personally, I felt that my legs were the best and that allows me to get a little more physical early on and ruffle some feathers. Again, the two power plays ended up being 5-on-3 and at the power play at the end of the game was the difference in the game for me, that and Quickie’s save in the third.
Rules for Blog Commenting
Repeated violations of the blog rules will result in site bans, commensurate with the nature and number of offenses.
Please flag any comments that violate the site rules for moderation. For immediate problems regarding problematic posts, please email zdooley@lakings.com.