March 16 postgame quotes: Buffalo

Dan Bylsma, on the Sabres struggling to get shots on goal in the first two periods:
I think we struggled to get our legs in this game and they played a hard, heavy game and to come out and get us back on our heels. We had a couple longer shifts in the defensive zone and they were pouring it on.

Bylsma, on Evan Rodrigues and his line:
I think no question as the game went along they were the line that started us in the second period, getting us some offensive zone time and what chances we did get at Quick in the second and continued on in the third.

Bylsma, on the tripping penalty called against Gorges’ in the third period:
I saw the ref call a penalty that I didn’t, I don’t know what he saw. But I think if he saw it again… [Reporter: He might see a hip check?] He might see a hip check.

Byslma, on what he can do to make sure his players don’t “pack it in” the rest of the season:
I think that’s our job as professionals, to do that. The games we’ve got left, the opportunities we have, we have to play just like we were in a playoff race, just like we were in the hunt. That’s the job of all of us here going down the stretch.

Byslma, on whether his “best players were the best players” tonight:
I thought it was a game exactly like we thought it was going to be. We thought it was going to be a hard-fought game. It was going to be a battle for every inch of ice and we were in that fight. I thought our guys were in that fight. Jack was clawing and scratching for every inch he could get in the second and third period and it was just a sign of how tough it is against a playoff-calibre team, a tough team to play against. And I thought, you know, that Jack and the Rodrigues line, they were right in that fight the whole way through. Jack had one right at the end of his stick there in the third period that would’ve, you know, we were fighting for every inch we could.

Josh Gorges, on preparing to play a team in the midst of a playoff race:
…they were going to come out, at home, have a good start. We wanted to weather that and then ahve our own push, we just took too long. With that being said, we had some great saves by our goalie to keep us in the hockey game. It was 0-0 going into the third period. We’ve got to find a way to come up with one.

Gorges, on the tripping penalty called against him in the third period:
I don’t know. It is what it is. You know, I tried to step up on a guy, didn’t stick anything out. Tried to get a piece of him. They see what they see, we’ve got to live with what they call. There’s nothing we can do.

Gorges, on the goal scored by Kempe after he left the penalty box:
I’d have to watch it again to really break it down. I know coming out of the box you just bury your head and try to get back in the zone and help out as quick as you can and by the time I got back, I might’ve came a little bit too far and not picked up the guy. But again, I’d have to take a look at it to really see.

Robin Lehner, on getting outshot the first period 15-2:
The first two periods I would say. Except it was more quality chances in the second. You can’t come into a building like this and expect to play 10 minutes of good hockey, it’s just… Sorry to be honest, it’s just not going to win games. Yeah, it could’ve bounced a little earlier there. We got two post shots, but still, same as the last game. We don’t go out and deserve it. We can’t wait for them to score the first goal and then wake up. That’s not how the game is played and they’re a good, solid, big team. They’re going to shut you down. I mean, we had a couple of shots, couple of chances, but they kept us a little bit to the outside and it’s just frustrating to see ’cause when we turn it on in the third we play really good and we’ve got to play that way for full games. You can’t just play without the skates for the first two periods and expect to come out with a win when you make a late push.

Lehner, on whether the team is close to “packing it in”:
You know, at the end of the day it’s up to each and every one of us. This is a business and you’ve got to come out and play otherwise you get replaced. Simple. Doesn’t matter if we’re in or out right now, everyone needs to be playing for their jobs. It’s not a privilege to play in this league, you’ve got to earn it and we’ve all got to decide if we’re going to help each other make a good last impression. The last eleven, twelve games, whatever’s left, but if you just pack it in there’s a lot of ice. There’s a lot of ice-looking and people see and it’s pretty obvious so if we want to stay in this league, you’ve better put your head on straight.

Lehner, on Kempe’s goal:
Yeah, you know, they throw a lot of pucks at the net and try to get it. They got to it first and then it was like three plays after that they made that shot and I think we want to look at that. We definitely don’t want to – the guy coming down the wall can shoot it instead of passing it into the middle and having him shoot it.