This team has worked hard to get to this point in the season, and you have to give them a lot of credit for that. But I think we realize that this work is just the preliminary work you have to put in if you want to be successful in the playoffs.
We've been good friends for a long time. I respect what he's done as a coach and his work ethic. We have a lot of the same views about the game. We spend a lot of time chatting. Over the years we got to be good friends and our wives are good friends.
There was a lot good, old-fashioned hard work out there. If you want to stop the bleeding, that's a good place to start.
You watch that team, and he's a dynamic player. He's great one-on-one. The thing that jumps out is how hard he works to score goals.
We work on things, we talk about things. But in the end, that's the ultimate one-on-one, and you have to trust the player.
He puts the work in. It's funny how smart players find a way to get smarter. That's what he does.
We were up against the top team in the Western Conference and we look at them as a measuring stick for us. We didn't get the result we wanted, but that just shows us that we still have some work to do.
Sometimes players find a niche with a certain team, and he's found that niche. It just goes to show that those veteran guys who people think are washed up, in the right circumstances, it can work out perfectly.
A lot of these Finnish kids come in look at his work ethic, and they think that's the way we have to be.
He's been real good in training camp and the preseason games. He's got a real determined work ethic right now and I think part of that is because of the injury. He wants to make sure that he's all the way back.