Brendan Shanahan Quotations

When we were playing with the lead, it forced them to open up a little bit. The onus is on us to break the trap.

Since I was 15 years old I've never been able to spend Christmas, Halloween or Thanksgiving (with friends and family). This was the first time I was able to enjoy a Super Bowl.

I think he knows all my tricks. Or the fact I don't have any tricks

I usually call the new guy and let him know where I like to sit on the bus, tell him ways he can stay out of my way, make sure he knows not to touch any of my stuff.

When I signed this past summer, Lou Lamoriello, Jacques Lemaire, and I agreed that if we were unable to find a suitable fit in which I would be able to compete and contribute at the level I expect from myself, then I would simply step aside.

Over the years, Steve has come to understand I need the clicker. He says it's my security blanket.

Is hockey hard? I don't know, you tell me. We need to have the strength and power of a football player, the stamina of a marathon runner, and the concentration of a brain surgeon. But we need to put all this together while moving at high speeds on a cold and slippery surface while 5 other guys use clubs to try and kill us. Oh yeah, did I mention that this whole time we're standing on blades 1/8 of an inch thick? Is ice hockey hard? I don't know, you tell me. Next question.

Let's be honest -- the same way fans were getting bored with the game in the past, players were too. So in a game like this, with all the excitement and guys coming at you with speed, players like Chris Chelios react to that.

Shortly after that, we got a couple of power-play goals because we fed off of those penalty-kills. That was the story of the night, the penalty-killing.

Since the first day of training camp, he talked about us playing more like a playoff team and scoring playoff-style goals. It's a theme we hear every day. Sometimes you don't like the news the coach is delivering, but he's the coach. It's not his job to fit in with us. It's our job to fit in with him. You need one guy in charge, and he's the guy.

No one can accuse me of self-interest in all this. You could make a case that a lot of the new rules don't help my game out at all.

Obviously, she was very worried and concerned. She just wanted to be next to Jiri.

Philadelphia is a great team, but I think we caught them a little tired.

One of the reasons we've been so good for so long is the group of players we have are very competitive professionals. If we were the kind of team that looked at the standings and said we can take it easy tonight we wouldn't have the kind of success we've had.

I was surprised, but I knew he was having a bit of a tough adjustment here. But there are a lot of guys who decided to call it a career after the lockout. You can't blame a guy for trying to come back and being 100 percent sure.

I was surprised, but I knew he was having a bit of a tough adjustment here, ... But there are a lot of guys who decided to call it a career after the lockout. You can't blame a guy for trying to come back and being 100 percent sure.

I wouldn't call it a special milestone. It's nice, but it's kind of what I expect of myself. Once you get it, you want to get more.

I don't know what else you can do. We just threw everything at him. It's one thing to get hit by pucks, but he was actually making some pretty good saves out there.

I can handle it. I expected it ... that a few players might make it personal with me.

From a players' perspective, and from a league perspective, when the markets are doing well and the season-ticket sales and the fan interest and the merchandise and all these things are going and improving and there's buzz - it's money in everyone's pockets,

For me, you always feel like you're in it right up until the buzzer goes. But ever since I've been a little kid, I've always gotten choked up when the season ended, other than when you win the championship. It's usually in the dressing room when you realize they won't let you play another period.

He was down here between periods, talking to guys, observing the game, things like that. Still very much a part of our dressing room.

He made some great saves throughout the game. We had a couple of guys all alone on him. ... He kind of had our shooters guessing a little bit. He played a great third period, a great game ... but a great third period.

He made some great saves throughout the game, especially in the third period. Sometimes it's tough when you have a goalie you don't know. We had a couple guys all alone on him, and he kind of has a unique style. He had our shooters guessing a little bit.

To come out and play the way we did and just have a letdown where all of a sudden, you know, they're scoring at will, it just reflects how the whole series went. It's embarrassing that we were in such control and that we gave it away like that.

We lost some guys from last year, but I think they did a good job of keeping this team intact, and we think we've got another good shot at a Cup here. With Colorado, it's always going to a special game for both teams. There's been such a great history of great hockey between us.

He just knows how to play the game. Most times, I'm the one standing in front but if I'm not there, he has no fear of going in there and doing that job. The goal isn't scored unless Steve's screening the goalie.

I think with the injuries he's had from his career, it's definitely frustrating for him. But he channels that frustration in a good way. He doesn't sulk about injuries. He just works harder.

I think the fact that referees are going to have consistent partners, and they're usually only going to work just one conference - they'll get more familiar with us and we'll get more familiar with them - we hope that improves your ability to predict what a referee will and will not call.

I was just trying to get a piece of the goalie and let it squeeze in, ... That's just kind of a hope play. You're lucky if it goes in.

It is a sad day for hockey. It is a historic day, actually. He was one of the greatest pure goal scorers of all-time. He helped me a lot when I went to St. Louis, when I was about 21-years-old. He helped me get to another level just watching him in practice and learning from him in games.

It is a sad day for hockey. It is a historic day, actually, ... He was one of the greatest pure goal scorers of all-time. He helped me a lot when I went to St. Louis, when I was about 21-years-old. He helped me get to another level just watching him in practice and learning from him in games.

I see a lot of young players today who are supposed to be the future of the game and I shake my head. Guys who dive. Guy who don't put the team first,

Playing hockey is fun. Going out and hooking and holding really isn't fun.

My wife and I had a baby in October,

It feels good because obviously, you please your teammates. They're not just meaningless goals. You play to win games. You want to be in a situation to get a big goal and provide a win. It's a nice milestone. I don't really care too much for most of those but this one I'm happy with and hope to build on.

It feels early. We are happy with the start, but we know there is a lot of season left and a lot of teams we haven't seen yet. We are not getting too high on this.

I still see us as having a real strong lineup. Definitely the teams around us in our conference have improved but I don't think people should count us out yet.

It definitely is going to test the depth. Hopefully these aren't serious injuries for these guys. Sometimes a little rest at this time of year can be a blessing in disguise for players like that. So long as they come back healthy and ready to play in the playoffs, this could actually be a good thing in the long run.

I think Mike Babcock is really going to be good for our team. It's just what we needed at the right time.

I thought he played a solid game, especially considering he's been off for some time. It was nice to have him on the ice again.

Mike has been stressing driving to the net, ... Usually, he wants at least one guy driving to the net - and on that play we had all three. It was kind of a lucky play, where the Kings ' defenseman got a piece of the puck, but not all of it, and I happened to be in the right spot.

We can play better and we expect to play better. We play some of our best hockey on the road. If you're expecting easy, open-ice goals against this team, you're not gonna get it. But I don't think there's anyone in this locker room who doesn't think we can win in Edmonton.

We came out flying. Not many goalies in the league would have stopped the chances we had in the first 10 minutes.

We came out and took over in the second period. They looked like a tired team.

We were in such control, and then to give it away like that, it's just embarrassing. It summed up the whole series. We were playing great hockey, playing great hockey, and then it was a 6-7 minute collapse. Who has an answer for that?

We were all hoping he would get it. I asked him before the third period and he said he didn't think he'd had one since before Scotty (Bowman), I was like, that's a long time.

We rolled four lines, we got a lot of gritty effort from a lot of different people at both ends of the ice. People talk about our ability to score, but we've also got a great ability as a team to play great defense.

We killed those penalties off, and we gained a lot of momentum from that,

We didn't get off to a great start. But from the 10-minute mark of the first period for the rest of the game, we played a pretty strong 50 minutes.

We've played a lot of catch up hockey. That's not good. Our start is very important. It's time for us to come out with a lead and have them play that catch up hockey, which we've been doing.

We lost a couple players and our rotation got a little messed up. We found a way to win. Obviously, this is a team on the other side that has been finding ways to win. There's no quit in Columbus. We knew they were going to come back. We maybe have to show a little bit more poise in our own end late in games.

We expected a big challenge. We knew we were going to have to win a game on the road. We've proven we can this season.

I sometimes shake my head at the some of the things that J.R. says, but in the end, L.A. is a great market and I hope he puts us on the front page there every week.

Things are coming together pretty good, I'm pretty optimistic about our game.

The worst thing is going home feeling so-so about a tie. Those highs and lows are what get you excited about the game and get you buying a newspaper the next day.

I want all the members of the media to know that I finished sixth in the (team's season-long) football pool. And Dan Cleary finished ninth.

Seeing as I'm on the competition committee, I support the rule changes,

Scoring a goal is special. Scoring a hat trick is special. I don't think you ever get tired of it. You know, obviously, once you get the second one, you start a kind of run for the puck and the net.

Our approach going in was they were a desperate team and if we could get of to a good start we could get them to press. It's certainly a lot easier, a lot less taxing to play with the lead.

The old days of having a two- or three-goal lead and just being able to lock on are over. You're just going to have to keep on playing.

Some people told me that, with the lock-out, this was the wrong time to do something like this. I thought it was absolutely the right time - even the only time - to do it.

Are guys going to get discovered? Sure, we've got over 700 players; we're going to have the odd guy. But I've been playing for 18 years, and I've never heard a player talk about its benefits, I've never heard of a player taking it; I've never suspected a player I've played with is taking it.

As crazy as this sounds, having the hockey people off for a year gave us time to step back and re-examine the game. ... And this may have been the best thing to happen for our game and our fans.

You're not going to get easy, open looks against this defense. Our goals were not pretty today. That's the kind of hockey it's going to be.

You prepare yourself the same against every team. You'd like to have that type of success against every team. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I can't explain it.

A lot of the changes that are being made in the NHL, he should get a lot of credit for, ... He's been talking about these things for the last 10 years.

They do a better job at marketing their sport. NHL players are a modest group, and the NHL doesn't show our best moments on TV. Fans want to see more. We traditionally put a muzzle on right when things get exciting.

You don't spend that much time cheering for guys on other teams in the playoffs that much. But Darren is a good guy and with all the things he's been through, it was nice to see him have good fortune for a change.

This is the way we started games earlier in the season, and we need to get back to that. When teams have to play us from behind and are forced to open things up, we're at our best.

They're playing tight defense and working hard, and regardless of what it's called, we have to work harder and win games. Whether we win them scoring six goals, or one goal, we just have to win games.

As much as we're known for our goal-scoring, we're very strong defensively, so I think that we can do the same to them and stifle their offense.

As much as we're known for our goal scoring, we're also very strong defensively. We can do the same to them and stifle their offence. If we have to win a game 1-0, we'll win a game 1-0.

It's effective. It's not pretty hockey. That's what makes the trap successful you are able to clog it up.

It was Floyd's fault. I didn't think he played well enough for us to win.

It was a unique situation, but the guys in the room took it as a challenge.

It will be a real test for us.

It's a nice milestone. I don't really care about most of them. But that's a big build up.

It's not pretty hockey but that's what makes the trap so successful.

It's the same thought process. These are things that at the end of the season, or at the end of your career, you can reflect on.

It's not enough, obviously; it's not enough. I'm not satisfied with it. Personally, I can say that I gave it everything I have, but I'm not satisfied with my results.

It's something that's separate from the game of hockey and we're not going to try to prostitute it into wins and losses.

It's such a playoff failure for our whole team. This was, really, I felt, a very, very strong team and a very strong potential playoff team that we had built. What a blown opportunity this was by our team.

Everyone is just doing their job. A lot of guys are putting up good numbers, but we don't have any one guy carrying the team.

Everybody said this was going to be a tough series, so nobody expected us to win all four games. We knew we'd have to win a game in Edmonton.

It's definitely disappointing, but as teammates, we'd like to think the door's not closed on Pavel coming back. I think the expectations remain high. This team has a lot of depth. We'd all rather have Pavel, but when you compare us to other teams in the West, there's no reason for us to use that as a crutch.

It's been like that in every arena. Talking to other players, they say it's the same thing. Fans love it. It's the best way to decide a game. A simple way to do it. One on one, everyone understands it. It's been very successful.

Sergei is a great player with world-class talent. Adding a player like that, I'm sure Columbus is hoping it'll get a lot of their young guys excited.

The fans spoke, ... They told us what they wanted and we tried to deliver while minding the hockey traditionalists as well.

In a lot of ways we missed the game, but we did our best to take advantage of the time off.

I'm just trying to stay ahead of my age.

In this league, you can never look past opponents. You'll get yourself into trouble. Start thinking about the future, it's going to mess up your present.

I haven't heard anything about the betting being on hockey, and that's a very important distinction. It sounds as if it's college football and Super Bowl betting, stuff like that.

I really haven't thought much about it. I've just enjoyed going out there and playing. It's been enjoyable.

I think our first period kind of killed us, ... We came out flat and they came out with a lot more jump than us, and that kind of set the tone for the whole game, that we were constantly playing catch-up.

I just try to stay ahead of my age. It means a lot. I think these are all things you reflect on at the end of the season and at the end of your career.

I definitely missed the game and I was sorry to see it taken away from us,

I don't think there was anyone on this team that didn't think we'd have to win in Edmonton. The road is a place where we seem to play our best hockey, so it's on to Game 3.

I don't think there was anyone on this team that didn't expect that we were going to have to win games in Edmonton.

I feel bad for Joey Harrington. I think he's taking a lot more heat than he deserves. He's a very simple, easy guy to point the finger at, and some people do it for good reason, other people just do it because they hear everybody else is doing it. That's not good.