Ken Hitchcock Good Quotations

We?re going to take Randy right through to the end of the day here and see how he looks. He had a really good first game, which was most impressive. I like what he does. He?s very smart and the way the game?s being played right now you need people who are smart offensively and defensively. He?s done a great job.

We were banging around it so hard in the second that I felt, even though we were down 4-1, that if we made it 4-2 early (in the third), which we did, if we kept going we could still tie up the hockey game and maybe win it. We had a lot of good chances, but we didn't finish and then they scored the fifth goal.

Right now it's about getting points. We are trying to get this thing back on track and we have a lot of work to do. We know that and players know that. We are starting to build it back again and it's a good feeling.

Peter felt real good today. He felt 100 percent, actually, and we pushed him pretty hard.

I found him to be a good friend and a great competitor, and one of the most loyal guys I worked with and for. He has wonderful people skills and he allowed everyone to flourish in his respective role ... he put his ego aside to allow that. I respect Pat Quinn the coach and Pat Quinn the man much more.

He was all right. He?s got a good record. He?s our designated Devils goalie.

When he's healthy, the way this game is played now, it's built for him. He's quick. He's smart. He's hard to get a handle on physically. He's a huge asset. It's not just him as a player, but he makes people around him better. He's a good teammate.

His name, rank and serial number. As long as he tells me that, he's good to go.

He's good for shock therapy. We don't necessarily listen for his ideas, but for his passion.

He was outstanding. He gave us a chance to win and it was good stuff.

He was really good. He was outstanding and gave us a chance to win and it was good stuff. We had a really good start to the game and then we were killing penalties in the first period and that?s when we really needed him. ..In the end, we needed him again. It?s good for him to make him feel part of the group again.

I thought we went in fits and starts. We went in peaks and valleys during the game and we made good plays and we made soft plays, and I think that over time we are going to have to get firmer in those areas.

Our team feels really good about itself right now. For any other team to lose their best player in pre-game warm-up, that's emotionally draining and these guys really responded.

Robert has gone through the natural growth of a good goalie,

My opinion is that this (game) is a good wake-up call. We weren't prepared to pay the price (tonight).

Management has given us a real fighting chance here to have a real good team. And it's our job now, coaches and players together, to try and put this thing together.

We put a lot of focus on not allowing scoring chances, but (also) spend a lot of time trying to use everybody offensively. Both our teams were very, very good offensively in junior. To win, you have to play defense, just like in basketball, football and baseball. But we would like to win 6-0, not 6-5.

We had to respond after what happened in Game 2 in Buffalo. We have to play to win. We have a tendency to make things interesting in the end but we did some good things tonight.

Those are usually a reward for hard work. Good players score those goals. Guys like you and me, the puck would end up in the seats.

When you win with a player, you feel good about that player. From the red line in, Jon is one of the hungriest players in the NHL. He'll do anything to score a goal.

We played a heck of a hockey game. It could have gone either way. I thought we got better and better as the game went on. We did a lot of gritty, good things in the third period. We deserved at least a point, and maybe two.

Touch wood we?re in pretty good shape. We have six guys who are playing pretty good as a group for the most part and we have a seventh guy (Jones) who is playing 30 minutes a game with the Phantoms who was here with us before getting ready to join us in the playoffs. So we have seven. It?s a good mix.

When you look at a team like Ottawa, to me that's a good gauge on your team and individuals. They still have the heaviest team in battles and competitiveness.

We've played some good games for 45 or 50 minutes. Tonight we played 60 minutes.

What is sneaking up is the fact he's got skill and is being labeled as a role player. But his skill is excellent. He does some good things with the puck.

Both guys are going to start the season with us. We are counting on them being good players for us. They are here because they can help us win. They are not here because they are young players.

Brian is a player who has made the best of a situation where he had to wait to get picked up by a team. He?s come in and made a contribution on and off the ice. I?m really happy for him, because he?s found a home here and has a good niche on our team.

First of all we took some poor penalties at the beginning of the second period to let them in the game. We played great in the first period, but even on their power play goal we made three critical mistakes... There are two things that really concern me right now. Against the good teams we lose the special teams game and when you can't kill a penalty, that's a big concern.

Savage has had good numbers in the league, and he's a good scorer. We think he'll fit right in our lineup.

Against the good teams we're losing the special teams game, which is a major concern right now. And when you can't kill penalties, that's a big concern.

That's who he is. That's the way he plays. He's got a really big heart, good skill level, but it's his heart and his competitiveness that he carries with him. What's interesting for me is, the game was on the line and he was the best player on the ice. That speaks volumes for a 20-year-old player.

This is a dangerous time. If you are looking for outside help, it means you are not doing a good job inside.

They do little things that at the end of the day add up to really good things for the team.

They're a good team. They're built for the long haul. They're like us.

It's a flash of some really good stuff. He's going to be a dominant player.

It's still not good enough. We know the rules and we took two penalties in the third period that we can't take, not when the game is on the line. You're just dealing with an unbelievable level of fire when you're giving a team like that six, seven or eight penalties.

It seemed like every mistake we made went in our net. We deserved a better fate. We had a ton of things go right. We out-shot them. We out-chanced them. We outplayed them, but they're an opportunistic team and they took advantage of the mistakes we made. That's what good teams do.

It was just a reorganizing: Here's what we have to do, here's where we have to be efficient, little things. And I think there's an attitude where, when you do a good job killing penalties, you're not afraid to be aggressive. When you're not killing penalties well, everybody is on eggshells.

It's really up to the players whether this is a bump (in the road) or a (big) hit (to the team). This is a good wake up call... I am hoping that the players realize what we have done and that we continue to move forward and (the loss) was just a bump.

I know about playing back-to-backs, and they're up there waiting for us. Whatever happens in that game, if we play the right way, we'll feel good about it. You don't want to start next weekend trying to find your hockey game.

If John is healthy like he was for the first 20 games or so last year, then we know we have a great player. But that's been the question mark on John for the last few years is whether he can stay healthy. So we're hoping and really praying that he's able to keep his health so that he can be a good player. If he's healthy he's going to be an impact player. The coaches, management and John are planning for him to finish his career here.

His leadership for me has come because he's confident. He's a good player in the league now and he thinks he has a good feel for the game, which he does. He's been in the big games against elite opponents, which means he is a guy who has matured.

He's real impressive. His skill level and his skating level are incredible. I think that he's a special player, but I don't think there is much extra pressure on him right now. I think right now he's able to find his own level because we are competent back there. We have good players back there so he's going to be able to develop at the proper pace. But when you have a player who is that strong, everybody gets excited. And I think we are all feeling like this is a terrific opportunity for him and the franchise.

Good players score those goals. Guys like you or I, they'd be in the stands.

He brings a calmness that's good for us.