We have to get as many points as can right now. We have to get some separation. We have a lot of teams playing each other in the Western Conference. We are going to gain some ground on someone.
We know how to break down their strengths now. We just have to match them on special teams. Special teams were the difference. We're just going to get better as this series goes on. We've found out how to beat this team.
I don't think our key guys were strong tonight. Our key guys carry the team and they're going to have to be stronger for us to be successful. Our whole core group has to step up and do a better job.
We're in pretty elite company. I told the team that if we can do something special, go for it.
The team takes on the identity of its top payers… I don't want to take anything away from the Capitals offensively,
I didn't like the way we played our game. The second period killed us. A lot it was due to face-offs. It started there. Structurally, we didn't play intelligently and that bothered me. When you do that against a good team like Atlanta, they will tear you apart.
It is hard, even as a coach, to say who's going to win it. There's so many teams that are a lot closer than you think. The point totals, disregard them. It's what teams are playing well, what teams aren't.
I thought both teams did a great job of respecting the rules.
It's a real good opportunity for him and our team to make a statement that, 'Hey, we're more than one player,' and I think people tend to forget about that.
It's good for our team to be able to come into Detroit and play like that against an extremely good team. I can remember the first and second - and even the third and fourth - years of this franchise, we really had no belief that we could come in here and win.
Early in the year we were getting a lot of grief from people, saying you're playing some teams that aren't quite as strong. But they were strong teams, we just sort of got their number early.