Mike Sillinger Quotations

We're not going to worry about the Red Wings. We've got to worry about our game.

I think we proved we can play five-on-five with them and we really had the game under control. But then we gave them that five-on-three and they get a couple power-play goals. We have to stay out of the penalty box.

I think we played with more desperation and we had the puck more in their zone. That just comes from moving your feet and not playing on your heels. This is playoff hockey and you can't play on your heels.

Look at his stats . . . look what he did. He was getting two points a game for us. How many one-goal games have we lost this year so far? Those two points a game, you don't think we'd have six more wins, eight more wins?

I was trying to go five-hole. I tried to catch him backing up, and he made a good save.

We've done it all year at home, and just because this is the playoffs, that's not going to change. We had the best home record in the league. Why change now?

We can't hang our heads and we can't sulk. We just have to go back home, put our work boots on and get the job done.

We kept it simple. The power play was huge for us tonight.

We've got to fight for everything we get. You want to prove you can beat the teams you might face in the playoffs.

A couple times I've played on three teams in three months. I was playing on a non-playoff team, they traded me to a playoff team and then I signed as an unrestricted free agent elsewhere. . . . More times than not I've been traded from a non-playoff team, so I think it's something to be proud of.

That's why we brought in Brendan. A guy who'll add some leadership and some toughness back there.

They were fighting and playing hard, we were forced to pick it up in the third. We were getting the puck to the net, but not capitalizing on the rebounds.

They matched our intensity, they were a tough team to play against. They were fighting, they were hitting and we really had to pick up our game in the third period.

That's one thing that's easy on the family, knowing that we don't have to move to see each other. The (Predators) have been great about that.

It was one of those nights. The rebounds were there, we just didn't get them.

Anytime your best player gets on the scoreboard, you usually do win.

Any time the best player on your team gets on the scoreboard, you're usually going to win the game. He finds ways to pick up points, and that's what your best players do. He's got great speed, he makes great plays, and he's a scorer.

Anytime you think you're playing well and that it's no big deal, it's going to come easy, it doesn't. They lost four in a row and they were ready to be beaten again and we gave them the first two goals - here you go.

I'm seeing a lot of minutes, a lot of power-play time. Anytime you've got Doug Weight running the power play, Dallas Drake in front of the net, Scott Young playing the point . . . that's a big factor. They know how to play the game. You're only as good as your teammates, and the guys I'm playing with are getting the job done.

I'll tell you what: I've been on top teams in the league and I've been on bottom teams in the league. And I haven't been on a team that has a better locker room. Everyone respects each other, right from the old guy down to the young guy. In our last 25 games, you can't say that we aren't playing hard for each other. We are playing hard; we're just not getting the job done. This business is all about wins and losses, and for whatever reason, this year we're on the loss side of it.

I just think it's one of those years. For whatever reason, we've struggled closing teams out. The same thing happened (Wednesday night). We turned the puck over, and it's in our net. You've got to be firm with the puck.

He always makes the right shot, the right move. He's a talented young player.