Joel Quenneville Quotations

We're in a great race. (Tonight's game) is a huge game for both teams, very meaningful. We've played them well in most of the (previous) six games.

We're seeing him shoot a little bit more in that slot area. It's nice knowing he will shoot and can shoot a little bit more.

We'd go down to the rink and work out in the morning and have lunch and talk a lot about the team, ... We played a lot of golf. Tony's and my sons were on the same team and we helped coach them. We also helped coach Tony's boy on his high school team, so we were around the rink a lot.

Milan's such a big offensive player for our team, so guys will have to assume some of that responsibility,

He's had a tremendous year, I'll tell you,

He looked solid, in control, he's following the puck and he looks big in the net.

We've got to make some hay on the road.

He's been the Milan we saw for a number of years. He's recaptured that confidence in the scoring area and it's nice to see that production coming from him.

He's been real good. He's dangerous every time he has the puck. When he does have it, his play selection is as good as anybody in the game.

He's a threat every night. He's got jump, he's got energy. I think that's a great compliment for a young kid: knowing that each and every night (the team is) getting something from him.

He's fitting in great. He's been well-received by his teammates. I think the fans will like him.

He could see more ice time in the next little while. His minutes have fluctuated on a game-to-game basis. But I think he's got a presence offensively, and he's got some great ability.

I think it's a good opportunity (to rest), but we don't want them doing nothing. We want them to maintain what the conditioning levels are at this stage of the game. But it's a good time to get away from the game a little bit, too, and enjoy your family.

I think with Al there was always this thought that he was just a slapshot. (But) he controlled the defensive zone, he was able to control the pace of the game, and he had the ability to make great passes. There were a number of things Al did besides generating a threat on the power play. And he did it at an age when you see players at that position get slower. It seemed like he was almost getting better as he got older.

I think we have been playing the way we'd like to and progressing the way we'd like to. It's a big win.

I think we've had about seven or eight games all year long that have been for first place. It's the first time we've achieved it. A huge win. Probably . . . not probably - it was our biggest win of the year.

Overall, I liked our preseason, ... I thought we did a lot of good things. We have a lot of momentum and enthusiasm going into opening night.

That's a tough loss. He's had such a tremendous year with that consistency and jumping over the boards every shift with his intensity and emotion.

We finally did what we wanted to do, and he made a big save. But we have to be better on it. We've had some five-on-threes (recently) and our success ratio is poor. It may have been the difference in the last couple of games, for sure.

Three of (the Kings') goals were quick-quick, bang-bang plays. Those passes across the goalmouth, that seemed to be the play that beat us.

We gave up some of the highest quality chances we've seen at any point all year. David kept us in the game and gave us a chance. The last couple periods, we were way better.

We are 4-0 against them, but we are by no means overconfident when we play them. We know that three of the games we have had against these guys have been really tough and competitive.

We went through this last year with Prongs. We have to have leadership across the board. We will need a total team effort to get through this.

It was all good when I was there. The bottom line is, trying to win the hockey game is going to be the priority.

The short-handed 5-on-3 was big. It was on the balance all the game, and we had a couple of big penalty kills.

Sometimes with a line, whether it's with an individual or you just want to shake things up and maybe get a spark somewhere; sometimes we mix it up in the course of a game.

A whole year without hockey, without work . . . it definitely was something different. Now I know what retirement's going to be like, not that I'm in any hurry to get there.

That type of team, we've got to play a perfect game against to win and we didn't.

You saw a couple of chances early that didn't go in, but I don't think Joe's confidence left him over the last 10 games when he's had a lot of chances. It was just a matter of time until he found the back of the net.

There were a couple of times over the course of the year when we thought we were going to be playing,

It seems like its getting tighter and tighter. Change is dramatic on a lot of nights. Our objective is not just to make the playoffs; we want to win our division.

It's early in the preseason, and it was the ideal time for Milan to do this,

It's a huge loss. He's one of the top scorers in the game, an elite player. He's a valuable weapon on your top scoring line and on your power play. Hopefully, he's progressing well and in a couple weeks he can return and get back to doing what he does best. We still feel our power play will be a weapon.

It's a huge loss, ... He's one of the top scorers in the game, an elite player. He's a valuable weapon on your top scoring line and on your power play. Hopefully, he's progressing well and in a couple weeks he can return and get back to doing what he does best. We still feel our power play will be a weapon.

It's always great to see some of your friends and some of the people you were with for a lot of years. It's a special game and a special day, but we're just trying to win.

It's always tough to lose, and certainly the way it went down there. We had so many power plays throughout the game, and you know they're going to get their turn.

It's great to be back, I love it here in St. Louis. It was a special day. It's good to be back behind the bench coaching a game here.

It was a big loss and (leaves) a big void. I was excited about getting the chance to coach these guys again, but this is where we're at, and we feel good about the guys we brought in.

It was an opportune goal for them, knowing we had a great opportunity to go up with 4 minutes (on the power play). A short- handed goal is usually a big swing in the game, and (Sunday night) was a great example of that.

They could be coming back in to Denver any time now. They are welcome to come back before (Monday), but a lot of those guys could use a couple days off.

If you're Peter, you're sitting there and you want to get a chance to get in the net and you want more responsibility. Peter's handled the situation well. He's being patient and ready to go.

His last start, he was excellent in Phoenix. He got us on this stretch where we stabilized our game and came back from probably our worst game of the year in San Jose.

The end was not really indicative of the game tonight and I would like to focus on what we did during the game. Our special teams had a lot of good things happen. Certainly what we did on special teams was the difference tonight.