Joe Nieuwendyk Quotations

We're battling now. Before we were getting a little nervous as the game went on when it was tight. Now we're playing with a lot more poise with the puck. It's a sign our confidence is getting better.

We have no choice but to do what we're doing. We're coming through.

I don't think anybody can quit. We've got a couple days to think about it and regroup. (Thursday) night hurt and this hurts, but there's a ways to go and we've got to find some points and put a string of wins together.

Just like (Friday) night's loss, we've got to forget about this win and move on.

It feels pretty good. It's (good) enough to play.

The advantage is with the goaltender, but I'm sure it is a little bit of a lack of confidence. Maybe it's an area where we need to be better.

That was a great effort. And that's what he's bringing to us, effort.... I'm sure that goal will make a few highlight shows.

We don't do a good job when we have a team down. We have to step on the gas and close them out.

We had lots of shots on the net. Anytime we had a chance we put the puck to the net. The hockey gods were on our side tonight.

We needed to get off to a good start, and that's as good as it gets. But just like we put the losses behind us, we've got to put this behind us too. We've got to get ready for a tough game against Montreal (on Thursday).

We haven't learned enough how to put teams away. We don't do a good enough job when we've got a team down and need to step on the gas a little bit to close it out.

When they add up like that it's particularly tough, because we're not overly deep.

We gave them every opportunity with the penalties we took. We can't do that.

We'll take the two points. But we kind of let (Luongo) down a little with sloppy play. We gave them opportunities late that we didn't have to. We have to be better Friday night for sure.

The power play needs to score when we get the opportunity, especially on the 5-on-3. You've got to capitalize against a team like that. They're solid throughout their lineup, and when you get chances like that, you've got to make good.

But just like we've put the losses behind us, we have to put this behind us, too.

We've had some injuries, and then (Jan. 19) we lose a guy like Gary (Roberts), that was a real critical juncture of our season. It could've been a time where we hung our heads a little.

We've rallied, we've been playing hard and we've gotten some results.

Five-on-five we're a pretty good hockey club. We've got some areas we've got to address.

The story of our season really against these guys has been our inability to stay out of the penalty box. It's tough to play against a team like that.

The teams we needed to lose, lost. It's unfortunate we have to approach it like that, but that's the way it is.

Offensively they're a team that lives on the power play. So we fed them what they needed.

That's a good hockey team. They work hard and probably are as physical as anybody we play.

It's clear now the team we have to catch is Tampa. We have three big games against them and it starts tonight. I don't think anyone's going to quit in this locker room. We're going to give everything we've got and try to claw back.

It's what you have to have from your top line getting the puck in deep and getting on top of it. They support each other well and they're having success.

It's tough, because you get excited after these wins, then you get a little demoralized when the other teams win on the other nights. But we can only control what we can do here, and we've been doing a good job with that.

It will send a message in the locker room if nobody leaves at the deadline.

Things have changed fast, but that's what we've been striving for. We just have to keep pushing ahead.

It's nice when you win and you look at the scoreboard, and you're getting some help. We battled back hard. They work hard and they're probably as physical as any team we play, so for us to come back is a sign of character.

I'm sure that goal makes a few highlights on TSN this week.

(Instead) you complement those (young) guys with guys who have been around, and hopefully we can all fit together.

I had him beat, it just got most of the post.

I think now his family's settled in, he is settled in and he feels an important part of the team. It's all about comfort away from the rink, too.

Gary and I are well aware of that (Oct. 31) game. There is a lot of hockey between now and then, but it will come up quickly.

The future is bright here. We played extremely well at home. The fans saw the type of team we are on a lot of nights. We really have to work on our road record and be more consistent throughout the season.

The loss to Tampa was the most devastating. We lost a little bit of that desperation.