Dowd on where the team can improve; LaDue on his debut

Nic Dowd, on what the team takes from the last two losses, or whether it just moves past those games:
I think you’ve got to understand the issues that we had that caused the two 5-0 losses, but I don’t think it’s anything you need to dwell on. You know, I think we can use it to our advantage, to clean up some stuff and to be more prepared for tonight’s game.

Dowd, on whether the Panthers coming off their bye week affects any game planning:
I think every game you want to have a good start and a fast start. Put a team on their heels right away and establish your position and I guess your feeling of the game, but I think especially with a team coming off a break like that I think it’s important to jump on them right away and you take advantage of that.

Dowd, on what centers can clean up to eliminate odd-man rushes:
I mean obviously I think once you get in to the O-zone there’s no center or right wing or left wing, so I think as three forwards as a whole it’s just more important to, no blind plays to the middle, no hope plays that allow a team to break out. I had about four. And then it’s just important to keep our F-3 high and available for an offensive play but also available to play defense.

Paul LaDue, on his NHL debut against the Tampa Bay Lightning:
Yeah, I think it definitely took me a couple shifts to get used to things but definitely helped as the game went on, I thought I felt a little more comfortable out there and kind of could just settle in and play hockey. Hopefully I keep getting more time on the ice and I’ll keep improving and hopefully I’ll help these guys win.

LaDue, on being able to use his mobility and translating that skill to an NHL level:
Yeah, I thought that went well. I just tried to go out there and play my game and not think about anything else and that was tough in the first period. I was kind of in awe of everything because it was my first game but I just went out there and tried to play my best and it ended up working out and hopefully I can keep that moving forward.

LaDue, on whether he looked around during warmups to take it all in:
Yeah, for sure. I was definitely looking around and kind of in awe of everything but I tried to stay focused as much as possible and obviously the game didn’t go as we planned and it could’ve been a lot better but hopefully we can get a few more wins here moving on and I’ve just got to keep moving forward and keep trying to improve.

Juan Ocampo / NHLI

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