Rob Blake Quotations

Until we know exactly what took place ... that's why there's an investigation. Until you know the total facts, it's kind of difficult to talk about.

We knew they were going to give it their best. They have a lot of character and a lot of veterans over there. We weren't up to the task. They are right back in this series.

We know he's very talented. We're asking a lot of him, but he's up to the task.

We have to get points in every game. We'll take this point and we're not satisfied, but we'll definitely take it after being down with 7 minutes left.

The regular season doesn't matter too much. But when you go into their building to start, it's going to be difficult. Their lineup is very solid from top to bottom.

(The Red Wings) are the one team in the league that challenges you with puck possession. We didn't match them today in intensity.

Obviously, I didn't think it would take that many shooters, ... They played well in the third period and came back we were happy to hold on and get it to overtime and get the win.

If they score right away on that, they have a minute left on another power play. 'Theo' made his big saves there, which we needed.

But we have a lot of depth throughout our whole team. They put together a real legitimate team. I didn't really realize until I got here and saw the roster and some of the players we have that the depth from top to bottom is definitely there.

Because we're in the West, we play Edmonton and Calgary and Vancouver a lot and there's always a lot of media around in those cities. But when we go to Toronto, the media is doubled.

For those of us who play in the U.S., it was good to be reminded of the sense of passion for the game in Canada.

He was thrown into a defensive role because of his speed. He can use that the other way, too. He usually gets a chance or two a game where he's all alone on the goalie, so he'll be very effective for us.

We just have to hope we're in striking distance near the end (of the season).

His presence will still be there, even if he can't be there in person. He's the greatest player in the world, and his presence and name means a lot to Canadian hockey.

He's been great. He's a reaction goalie and he's been on since Day 1 through the whole season. He's a reason their team is up so high.

He's been a key to our success because I think other players take from what he does out there and their game picks up.

I think the last 25, 30 games, we've been battling to find our way into the playoffs, and once we succeeded, I think the emotion was tough to bring. But now we move on against Dallas, and I think you'll see we won't have trouble bringing emotion.

I was trying to go up high and he was right there. He made it look real easy.

I think our power play can be more consistent. At times it's real good. In a couple other games, it's let us down. You know you're going to have three or four opportunities every night, and that has to be there.

I think people understand there's a business side to the game and that's been put in the past now. It's time to move on and the excitement of the game will live again.

You don't even worry about what happened at the end of the season. Our whole focus is on Dallas this week. We'll go over their game plan and our game plan against them. As far as the regular season, that's forgotten and we go on.

We finally had to battle to win a game. I think we've been getting away with just outscoring teams and it's kind of caught us the last two weeks. We haven't been working nearly hard enough to win games.

We needed to get something there. It was big. We could have used that one.

We had a quick one early on but the second one was a major one, it lasted a minute. The big difference in their 5-on-3? They made the play.

When you win some games in a row, the panic gets out of the way. We know David's going to shut it down for us now.

We'll take it. When we come back, we've got teams that we play that we can take advantage of, and that's what we need to do.

We'll take his 'OK' if that's how he's going to be OK. You can see he's getting it back.

We didn't get the puck in the net. That's the bottom line. Three out of four games, it's tough.

The power play has to be the key. You look around the league and see the penalties that are being called, you have to take advantage of the opportunities.

When you look at the standings, that second point is big.

When you give them a chance like that in the third, they are going to bury it. It only took a couple of plays to turn this thing around.

When the final outcome is either win or you're going home ... the intensity will pick up.

The operation went very well, ... The recovery period all depends on how Jason heals. We are hopeful he will show improvement over the course of the summer. We will monitor his situation as he rehabilitates the knees over the next few months.

This team in the past hasn't taken advantage of some of the leads we've had in a series. So we have to force the issue, not sit and wait and see what's going to happen. (The Stars) are a veteran team with guys who have won Cups and their best game is going to be (tonight).

This was big because we needed these points. I got a power play at the end and Danny made a strong move down the wall, put the puck to the net and it went in.

We weren't up to the task. They are right back in this series. Now we have to try and go back there and win a game in their building.

Throughout the top four lines, I think we're very deep now.

We expect (Dallas) to come out and play hard Friday.

You go there to have a good dinner, maybe catch a show. It's a good little team thing. When I first went, I was excited, and I'm sure some of these guys are looking forward to going.

Before, it was pretty set in stone. Adam and whoever he would play with basically took the top line, ... Now, we share those minutes. That's the way I think we have to do it. I don't think one (defensive) set can handle it.

Are your articles always this bias (sic) and weak, ... or are you just not very knowledgeable when it comes to sports?

Definitely. We're going to be fighting down the stretch and we have that western swing with . . . the teams we are battling with. You want be in a position for those three games coming up to be real big.

You've just got to get in and play, ... I came back (in 1996) and it took a bit of time to get things going.

You never want to see an injury like that happen.

You never want to give a team life. We know how good they can be.

You never want to give a team life - especially a team as good as Dallas. They've got some momentum now, but we've got a chance in the next game to take it away again.

They've always had a history of being in the right places, and they cause turnovers. Their 'D' are very good at moving the puck quick and they have a lot of speed up front.

They played hard but we gave them a lot of help, and our power play wasn't as effective as it should have been.

They're a very veteran team. They understand they've been in the last two games. A bounce here or there and the games could have been different. Knowing that they have got guys that have been around a long time, had guys that have won Cups and guys with a lot of leadership, that's why we expect their best game.

There's an ongoing investigation, and we talked about this before the game that when an investigation's going on, there's nothing (that is) going to come out of our room.

It's a different feel for that game than any other game on your schedule. It has in the past, and always will.

It's the same as any year when I've walked in here.

It's pretty awesome when you can come with a 1-2 punch like Peter and Joe. But it's going to be a little difficult to designate a line to slow down another line if they call obstruction the way they say they will.

It's tough to play teams like this. They are playing for their jobs and they come after you.

That makes it even more special to play them. It's nice that they're coming. I think the people around here and anybody that is from Canada originally and moved out here, the Leafs carry a lot of weight with them.

It's a new season for him, and he knows he can be the difference in the series.

It's always the same. Yeah, we got the first gold medal in 50 years or something like that. But the pressure to win and the expectations to win will always be there.

It wasn't about the Stanley Cup the year before, it was all about the gold medal. That's been the talk the last three years, and now this year. When you go home in the summers, the gold medal is remembered more. The difference now is defending the gold medal.

I've got to start getting the puck to the net a little more, ... I usually have more shots than I do right now (14), that's for sure. I can pick that up, jump in the play a little more. I think I'm lacking a little offensively.

Not good. It's not the outcome any of us wanted by any means.

It was just a scramble. I took a couple shots that got blocked and Andrew (Brunette) made a play out front just to kind of whack the puck there. I was fortunate it went in.

It's nice we only see him once a year during the regular season. He's a great player and he's done tremendous things for the Colorado Avalanche franchise over the years. We were excited about going in and seeing him. He's a big part of the Avalanche history and always will be.

That second period, as much time as we spent in our own zone, it was tough to generate things.

In the first period, if it wasn't for Abby, it could have been 6-1. In the first period, they were all over us making plays wherever they wanted.

In the third when we opened it up and we started to pinch and create chances, it took just one opportunity for them and they buried it. That's the dynamic of this team.

He's our guy, he's our leader, we're 100 percent behind him. He's not any different now. He walks into the room just like he did four years ago, puts the players at ease and away we go.

Honestly, it's not a distraction to us whatsoever. We're going over there for two weeks to bring back a gold medal.

If I get in there, we know that the goalies have been really good.

I don't think there's any rhyme or reason for it. There's enough talent out there with that group of five (players) where you've got to make those plays.

The good thing I see is that there are so many good, young players that are 25 and under. It's great for our game.

The last month of the season did help us prepare for the playoffs. But, the guys still have to understand what's at stake in the playoffs and that the intensity will go up even higher.