Alex Tanguay Quotations

Obviously, we're not some of the teams in the past. We don't have as much depth as we had in the past, scoring wise. We did play bad a few games, and with Patrick (Roy) in net and (Peter) Forsberg and all the tools we had offensively, we could still win the game.

I felt like we certainly got a lot of breaks and have been very fortunate. They're a very good hockey team and this series could easily be 2-1 the other way. But we're getting the bounces right now, we're skating well, and for us to be successful we have to keep working harder and harder.

For us to be successful, I've said it many times, we need to be skating. I felt with our skating we've created a lot chances the past few games and, yes, we did get a few bounces going our way. But I think with our skating we created a lot of opportunities and maybe that's what created those bounces.

For us, it's a matter of getting ready for next Friday's or next Saturday's game and that's when the real season starts. We would have liked to have been higher in the standings but this is a new season that starts next week.

He's a great person. You guys have been around him for the last little while and you realize how much of a gentleman he is and how respectful of the game he is.

He's a rookie, but he's 23 years old. He's had some pro experience, he's played a couple years in Hershey (of the American Hockey League). ... So I think he's a little bit more mature than people think he is.

Just seeing his work ethic I think has been the best thing for me. I'm learning something every day at practice; every game. The way he works, the way he prepares himself every day. I think that's important for a young kid like me and it's great to be able to learn from a guy like that.

I watched the last couple days. It was good hockey. A lot of guys have their opinions about who should be on the team and who shouldn't. I have mine, some other guys have theirs. I get paid here, and I know what I have to do. I know I can do a lot more in the last 23 games, and it's time for me to play better.

I'm starting to be a little older now and starting to have more of a bigger role on this team, and it's going to be up to me to step up. I'm not replacing Peter; nobody will replace Peter, but I want to bring a little more on the ice.

We got caught sleeping. We've been playing so well in the first period over the course of the last 10 games and tonight, maybe we were a little over confident.

We played very solid after it was 3-0. We could have easily tied it up. If we play the rest of the way like we did the last 30 minutes, we're going to be successful against any team. It should be a confidence builder.

We have to make sure we hold on to that (the lead). In the playoffs it's really important that once you are up by one or two (goals) that the game is over.

We just didn't want to see the same thing happen as we did last week. This was an important win for us and this is a very important home stretch for us.

The problems we've had the last few games was not getting in the zone. Tonight we set it up and generated good chances. We had a good power play and should have had a few more goals.

We're still way behind them (six points) in the standings, so I think we have to be aware of that, ... We knew it was going to be an important weekend for us, and they're a very good hockey team, so we have to make sure we're ready.

This team over the years has always been through a stretch where we won 13 or 14 out of 15 or 16 games. That's what we need to do right now.

We got a few lucky bounces. We're very fortunate.

You have to get a lot of traffic in front of the guy's face so they can't see the puck. And you have to make sure you take as many shots as possible. That's going to be our strategy.

We missed a lot of opportunities, especially in the third, on the power play. In the playoffs, the games are often won on the power play and penalty kill. And our penalty kill has been great.

We didn't have the start we were looking for, but we have the toughest division in the NHL. We're pretty happy with our standing. We have a chance to be first in our division, and that's what we're looking for.

Even though the potential is there, I don't think he was playing nearly as well as he's been this year. He's good saving the puck, and playing it too.

(There's) lots of frustration. We're going to have to battle harder. That power play's got to get going. Right now I think we just have to settle down and practice hard. Some of us are not playing very well. I expect more out of myself, especially on that power-play unit.

These are real important games right now. Tonight, the power play worked really well.

You saw the fans. Everybody just stood up and was anxious to get it going. I think it's good for hockey.

A lot of the rules, at first I felt bad for the defensemen,

There's a lot of new players, but they brought a lot of skills and a lot of leadership with them. Obviously, losing Peter (Forsberg) and Adam (Foote) is going to affect your team, and some of the other guys are going to have to step up. But the management made the decisions for the better of the team, and hopefully we can be a better team. I like our team speed, from what I saw today.

It's not the first time, I've had it before and it usually comes back quicker and, hopefully, it will come back quicker. A couple years ago, I came back and I'm not sure I was quite ready. This year, I'm going to be ready and, hopefully, that's going to be very soon.

It's going to be tough looking at teams racking up points (during the break), but we know what we have to do. Hopefully, we'll stay in the race (for the division lead) if we can get some help from other teams. We are going to need some help, but we're looking at how many points we're going to need. If you get 100 points, you're going to be close to first in your division.

David played well. He's got nothing to be ashamed of. We've got to play better in front of him.

It's never happened in this organization since I've been here, so it's going to be a gut-check. We have to approach every game as if it was a playoff game and we need to win every single one of them.

Skating is going to be a huge issue in these playoffs. For us, it fits right into our game.

I'm going to be a little more in the spotlight, and I'm looking forward to it.

I haven't done much stop and starts but probably will over the next few days. Hopefully, I'd like to come back as soon as possible and play as many games as possible before the playoffs.

I hit Nieminen, and he kind of fell down. He kind of pushed my knee. ... I didn't think much of it, but it felt a little awkward.

(The hip) just wasn't really getting any better. I rested it, hoping it was going to get better.