Ken Hitchcock Guys Quotations

We knew they were going to play games for us, but to switch locker rooms before we even played a game, we never even thought about that stuff. We had our 23 guys and we thought that was it, then bang, bang things change dramatically.

I don't know whether it's the fear of getting embarrassed or whatever but we've got a lot of competitive guys and we really love to play in these type of games.

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'll help immensely. Eric gives stability back there. It allows the young guys to go back where they are more comfortable and we're not asking too much of them.

We are fighting through a lot of adversity. We lost a couple more guys and guys are digging in.

He was absolutely dominant, ... He controlled the tempo and played a wonderful hockey game. A lot of guys did.

Guys going out all the time, we needed to suck it up.

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.

Players get hurt and we don't how long they're going to be out for. We're going to get a real hard look at these guys right away.

We have to regroup. That's the big thing. We have to get some healthy guys back in the lineup. We have some things we have to talk about from a competitive standpoint.

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.

We?re lucky. These guys come up and play and they don?t miss a beat.

We?re lucky because those guys (the Phantoms) are 25 steps down the hall,

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.

We saw 12-14 games where we had our top six guys back there. Our defense on the back end was awesome. When we were healthy, we had a great group. We could defend, we could join the rush, we could be offensive and we could do anything. Getting Joni and Eric back will give us something to build on after the break.

We just want the younger guys around confident people. Mike is a guy who doesn't need much direction. He's already motivated -- he reminds you of a 10-year pro the way he carries and handles himself.

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.

I've seen young guys who've played great and I've seen them absolutely overwhelmed. I've seen young players literally in the fetal position during a series because they're overwhelmed by the intensity and the emotion of what's going on. And I've seen guys raise their level.

This is the state were in right now. We played great yesterday and didn't get rewarded. We had a flat start to this game. Montreal took advantage and scored 5-on-3. They took advantage of our mistakes. We have to regroup. We have to get some healthy guys back in our lineup. We didn't play our best game today. We have some things we have to talk about in the next 48 hours.

It's embarrassing when those two guys fall down (and a penalty is called). That's embarrassing. But that's the way it is.

It's been our year (for injuries). We've had to manufacture and monitor guys all year.

If you can't get ready for the best team in the league, you're in trouble. They've taken on all comers this year and they've really eaten up some teams. I don't know whether it's the fear of getting embarrassed, but we've got a lot of competitive guys and we love to play in these type of games.

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

You can't expect 34-year-olds to score like 26-year-olds. Those guys have other roles that are as important, but we have to get more from other people who are capable.