October 19 postgame quotes: Minnesota

Mike Yeo, on the 2-1 loss:
Yeah, it’s almost the same script as the other night, really. We did a lot of good things, but didn’t find a way to win the game.

Yeo, on struggling to score:
We’re creating the chances, maybe it’s in our head a little bit, there are times where we’re missing nets, there’s a couple of posts that we hit. We’re generating the chances, it’s just a matter of finishing. There’s a lot of good things to take out of the game, but in the end we didn’t win so we can’t be too pleased with that.

Yeo, on the power play:
There are probably some areas where we could get a little better. I don’t know how many shots we created, we had a lot of zone time, we had some looks, but the bottom line is, eventually you’re going to have to score too.

Yeo, on how to balance a good performance with a bad end result:
We’ve got to hit the reset button, we go back home and we’re going to make sure we’re ready to play. We can look at the good things, but I think the most important thing for us to recognize is that we didn’t win, so if we have to be better, then let’s make sure we’re better.

Yeo, on Niklas Backstrom:
I was happy with his game. I don’t think he had a chance on either goal; the first one was a bad bounce, the second one was a bang-bang play that really would’ve been difficult for anyone to stop.

Thomas Vanek, on outshooting the Kings 41-16:
It was a lot like the other night. It’s frustrating, but as a team we played well again, there’s not much we can change besides scoring goals. It’s not like we were trying to be too pretty, we were shooting a lot, we were tipping, we were going for rebounds, and [Quick] was good. He was on top of his game, and we all know he’s a world-class goalie, and he showed that tonight.

Vanek, on whether it has been frustrating to shoot heavily and not score:
Of course I am [frustrated]. As a team, and for myself, you just need that first one and hopefully it opens up, but right now, I don’t feel like I’m squeezing my stick quite yet, we had some good looks, they’re just not going in right now.

Zach Parise, on the 2-1 loss:
Quick played great, and that was the difference.

Parise, on the team’s start:
We played very well from start to finish. Really, I don’t remember, maybe one or two times being stuck in our own zone, but other than that, I thought we controlled a lot of the play. Quick played a fantastic game, and I guess that’s what everyone’s grown accustomed to seeing, is a game like that out of him.

Parise, on the road trip:
We played well both games. I like how we’re playing, I think our systems we’re playing really well, we’ll be fine.

Jason Zucker, on outshooting the Kings 41-16:
Quick played well. I think we had a good battle level overall, you know Zach and Dan were crashing the net hard on all of those power plays. Our power play was shooting, which was nice. We battled hard, but just couldn’t put it in.

Zucker, on the Kings’ second goal:
Scandy fell behind the net, and I think it was just a bit of miscommunication. I probably could’ve stayed in the middle a little bit more to try to help out, but I was looking at my point man as well, so I could’ve had my head on a swivel a little bit better, and a little bit more communication would’ve been better.