December 19 postgame quotes: San Jose

Joe Thornton, on Tomas Hertl leaving the game:
It’s tough. I don’t know how long he’s going to go out for. I didn’t see the play, but I know he’s going to be out for a little bit. It’s tough to see Tomas go through that.

Thornton, on if they challenged Martin Jones enough:
Yeah, we had some good tries. I thought the score didn’t indicate the way the game kind of went, but all that matters is they got the two points and we didn’t. I didn’t think it was a bad game to be honest with you.

Joe Pavelski, on Dustin Brown’s hit on Tomas Hertl:
It happened really fast obviously, in front of our bench. There’s an injury on it. It’s a tough play. I think it’s pretty late, but until you see the video I’m not going to make a comment on it. We have to do a better job on the three minutes of power play.

Pavelski, on San Jose’s scoring chances:
There were a few plays early in the game when the score is still 2-0 or 1-0 or even 0-0. Obviously we could have been better on the power play early on and we had chances to get right back in the game and never took advantage. [The puck] comes off really hot off the end wall. It kind of spins off the blade and you can’t get it on net and you try. That goalie’s been playing obviously. He makes it hard. He finds the puck and plays well.

Pavelski, on Martin Jones:
He was good. We had a few scrambles but when we get the amount of power play time we have, we have to get it moving. Get some opportunities. Get the puck back. We never did that.

Todd McLellan, on Antti Niemi:
I think others on our team, some go to guys, that have to step up and bring their A game a little bit more. He knows that, we know it. His teammates know it. But we’re talking about one individual that wears the pads. There are some others that didn’t have a very good night as well. The focus can’t just go on him.

McLellan, on San Jose’s scoring chances:
Two of our best opportunities came on the first couple of power plays and we didn’t hit the net, Tomas Hertl and Logan. When you play against this team you don’t get very many of those chances. So you have to, at least, make the goaltender work and we didn’t do that. Squeezing the stick, or whatever terms you want to use, eventually cost them.

McLellan, on if not scoring on the major power play was the turning point in the game:
No, I don’t think that was. I think it was when our opportunities that presented themselves, against this team you don’t get many, we didn’t bear down. We didn’t even come close to scoring. We dumped in the corner. They didn’t need much to get their first two and you can’t play catch up hockey.

McLellan, on Martin Jones:
Their goaltender, I think he’s played extremely well. Give him credit. But like I said this morning, the players playing in front of him are playing extremely well too and we’re fortunate to score one at the end, a small moral victory for our team that really doesn’t matter.

McLellan, on if he is concerned about Tomas Hertl:
Yeah, of course. The forward, knee on knee, didn’t return to the lineup. Am I concerned? Of course I am, very concerned.