Robert Esche Quotations

We did give up a lot of scoring chances, but I'm not going to say that a stronger game out of me wouldn't have helped us get it into overtime.

My first thought? You can't write it. I'm focused on seven games. I'm focused on leaving this one behind.

If we go out and win outright the rest of the way through, we put ourselves in a good position. But we have one game, and that's Thursday. Then after that we have one game, and it's Saturday. Right now, each game is more important than the next and that's the way it's going to be right through the playoffs.

I'd like to think we're better than any one player. I think that's the sign of a great hockey club.

I don't know what went wrong. They were very opportunistic in the first period. Good scoring chances. A few nice plays from gifted players.

I felt like I was in a zone, but you never feel good when you give up one more.

I don't think we needed anybody's best game. We just needed everybody's best effort, collectively and individually. It really did pay dividends in the long run.

I got fortunate; they just hit me. Some days they hit you, and some days they don't.

Guys are putting the onus on themselves to get this right. It was an ugly win.

He's a great man. I like him a lot. Obviously, stuff will come out. I don't really know the details of it. But I do know he is a good man.

He's just jealous, he's got a big butt. The blades didn't work well for him. That machine was too small for him.

There are some young players in here who are going to carry the team in the future. I think it would be pretty unfair to judge them right now.

I want to win every game that I play.

I was just trying to spark my team.

My style is I'm not a guy who needs a whole lot of games. When I was a backup, I played one game a month or two games a month. You have to be ready. That's kind of how I always approached it. I learned to adjust to that.

I think I knew he was there; you always know when he's on the ice, he's such a great little player. He (Hecht) made a quick enough pass that I couldn't make the push to get over there.

That whole country knows they have the best player in the world. They know he couldn't miss the Olympics without at least trying. I just hope he waits until after they play us.

I wasn't yelling at anybody. I was as fired up as everybody. We're all upset when goals go in. It's not a finger-pointing thing but the process of moving ahead and making sure it doesn't happen again.

We played a solid 60 minutes tonight. Tonight we put everything together. I didn't have to do much. The guys were awesome. It looked like a real Flyers game.

We had almost 60 (blocks or misses), and that was a bigger problem for us. We missed the net on too many shots that all year we hit the net on. We shot it high and wide off the wing where we had been accurate all year.

We're embarrassed, dejected, stunned. To a man, we know we can do a lot better and we will. I don't think anybody has to say anything to get anybody going. We have a big job in front of us. We owe it to all our fans that were watching the game back home to come home and to come home strong.

You have to be very calm, especially in the most clutch situations in a game. If the other team sees that a goalie is calm and relaxed in the heat of battle, that's a pretty intimidating thing. They know they are not breaking nor cracking him.

We just have to learn to play from the net out defensively instead of worrying so much about offense.

We've played pretty well against them this year. At this time of the year, every game can go one way or the other.

We've been pushing ourselves to the 11th hour all season, and now is no different.

We've got a big job in front of us right now. We owe it to all the people that were watching this game back home to come home strong.

You feel the pressure of the city, the pressure of your teammates and the pressure of the organization to play to the best. Pressure is not a bad word. It's a great word. It gives you tunnel vision and lets you focus on the task at hand.

We didn't have to win four games tonight, we only had to win one. Same thing is going to be true Friday night. You can only control that day and that moment, and today we really did that.

Things are going to flip around. There's going to be games that I'm winning. There's going to be games that he's winning. It's going to be a revolving door until somebody jumps all over it and runs with it.

They always say the biggest hurdle is making sure that injury is battle-tested, putting yourself in a position where you are going to strain it. I've really pushed myself this week. If something fluky happens tomorrow, that's the way it is. I've been pushing and pushing and pushing to see how far I can push this injury to make sure it's good.

I've always been very realistic with everything my whole career. It is what it is. It doesn't mean I'm going to start being a bad team guy or give a lack of effort ... I'm not crying over spilled milk.

Pressure isn't a bad word. It's a great word. It gives you tunnel vision and let's you focus on the task at hand.

As good as it may have seemed, we still lost the game. So, it wasn't that great.

That's in the past. I don't really want to talk about that.

You really can?t do anything for a while,

This has been a difficult building for us. This was a step in the right direction, especially if they are our first-round (opponent).

They told me it would be four to five months, ... and they ruled out the World Cup. I didn't want to miss the opportunity, so I rushed it. I would have never done that if I didn't have the World Cup.

It's just talk between me and a player that's all. I'm not frustrated with anything. We just have our hands full and we have a lot of work ahead of us, and that's about it.

It's a team effort and it's always going to be like that.

It's a huge week. The schedule makers got what they wanted, especially in our division. The good thing is they don't have to dictate to us. The future is in our hands and that's the way we want it.

That happens sometimes. You get in a groove. I was in a groove and felt really good.

It was nothing he did. I was just trying to spark the team.

It was October when it happened to me. I was misdiagnosed by the MRI and at the end of the season, (someone else) looked at the same MRI and told me I had a torn labrum.

It was just talk between me and another player, that's all.

They've got everything working for them right now. They are really clicking.

I'm not really worried about that. I'm worried about myself and the best way to prepare for hockey games, and that's all I'm focused on.

I'm good buddies with him. He's a great man. I like him a lot. Stuff will come out. I don't know any of the details on it. But I do know that he's a good man. . . . He's a very honest guy. He'll explain his side of it and I'm sure they'll get to the bottom of it.

I'm a better goalie now from having gone through everything in 2004.

I?m pretty upset at the fact that we lost. I don?t like losing two in a row, but sometimes that comes with the territory. I felt really good today. I thought I made some big saves and smothered the puck really well.

I never like being pulled out. It was the right decision. I know it's part of the game. You want to be there when things are great and when things are bad, I want to battle it out.

I'll bet if you walked over to that stick rack you'd be lucky to find three (illegal sticks).

I like to think our team is capable of handling whatever is thrown at us.

I'm an emotional guy, but I think for the most part, I've really corrected that this season. When I'm on the ice, I have to look like the calmest guy. That's how you show leadership.

I just wanted to fire them up and it worked for about 10 minutes.

I have to work hard, obviously. If you're realistic and you look at the big picture, that is it. It's nothing derogatory.

(Clarke) did a great job of keeping the free agents they needed to and adding the right ones. I think we're going to be a really good team, and I'm just as excited as the fans are to get back on the ice.

I don't know how great (my performance) was. I felt like I was in the zone but you never feel good when you give up one more goal than the other team. We just got to put it behind us.

I didn't expect it. It does mean a lot to me to play.

I felt really weak, but there's no excuses.

I don't think anybody would turn a blind eye and say this sort of thing doesn't happen. But as far as it being Rick, I don't know. Obviously, he will come out and explain it. He's a very honest guy and will explain his side of it. I'm sure they will get to the bottom of it.

He's one of the best. He can really turn a game around.

He?s got a job to do. He?s got to make unpopular decisions. He?s got to make tough decisions. I?m not going to go in and cry over spilled milk. I?m not going to be a baby with the coach because he chooses to do something.

How we get our game out there consistently is when everyone is healthy consistently. We know there's tremendous leadership in this locker room. We know that we're getting a lot of guys back after the Olympics, which is going to help us even more.

These guys are really gifted. These guys' upper body strength ... you see these guys take off, they are unbelievable.

The good thing for me is I have more to offer. As an athlete, you are always trying to get better. You always strive to do that. I have elevated my game.