HEAD COACH MIKE BABCOCK
On the team’s performance leading into Boston’s early third period goal: I thought we were doing lots of good things. In saying that, you know, off the faceoff there, we weren’t really gapped up, we were still in a good spot inside, they shot it in our net. I didn’t think we were as good in the third as we had been the rest of the game. They got ahead and they played right and made it hard on us. I thought we played well and it was a good hockey game, had lots of good players up front. We carried play at times, they carried play at times, they had good players, but we’re coming up short. You can say that after the game. You go through stretches of last game, I thought we were really good at times, had the puck a lot, but you leave frustrated — disappointed, I guess, is a better word. You don’t like leaving the rink not with two points. It’s a matter of pulling together and digging in and we’ve got to find a way to make ourselves a step better and get ourselves a win so we can get back on track.
On the toll giving up the first goal is taking on the team’s efforts: I think it is, but I think it was an even game. It’s not like you came out and they shot it in your net or anything like that. You’re playing well, little things happen. When you look at it though, because we went through it yesterday, now we’re 5 [times scoring first] – 16 [times opponent scoring first]. That’s a ton of behind. The team that scores first in the League is winning at a .714 winning percentage. We’ve got to work on this. Any way you look at it, we’ve been through it and talked about it. We know the level of urgency and playing right and doing things right, but it didn’t happen for us tonight. I didn’t think we started poorly or anything like that. I didn’t think we started poorly on the Island either. That doesn’t matter, you need to score first and feel good and the League shows you, catch up hockey, you don’t win.
On Trevor Moore’s status: Well, it looks like he’s not coming on the trip tomorrow so we’ll put [Timashov] in and then we’ll figure out our lineup and get our lineup organized the best way we can to give ourselves a chance. We’re fortunate that [Pittsburgh] is playing tonight so it’ll be a level playing field just like our last time in Chicago.
On if it’s a long-term injury for Moore: I didn’t ask.
On if he senses tightness in the team: I think you’re obviously way looser when it goes great — that’s how life is. But, life isn’t always about that. So, pull together, dig in and do things right. We’re going to get up, the sun is going to get up and we’re going to get after it tomorrow. I have no question in the group that we believe in one another and we’ll get it looked after.
On what he liked about Kapanen’s performance: They’re playing against good players, obviously. That’s a good test for everybody. I thought Kappy has played well the last two games, I thought that line has played well. Now, I mean, either team that got trapped in their zone with either one of those lines on it was heavy going out there, but I thought Kappy has done a good job for those guys. Hyman gets the puck in there and grinds, works; Kap scored a big goal; Tavares made a nice play. I thought he did a lot of good things without the puck and played with speed and pace.
On if Hyman is at the level he expected coming back from injury: Better. I didn’t know after an injury like that — you’ve seen our other guys come back, it’s a struggle. He’s just that kind of guy. He’s just working, working, working. Now, this will be a test for him right here with a back-to-back. You’ve got to play a lot of hockey. In saying all that, normally he’s our best guy back-to-back just because of his conditioning and his drivetrain. We’ll see how he’s doing but I like what he’s doing.
On if Kaskisuo is starting tomorrow: Yes, for sure. He gets his first NHL start, what an opportunity. I imagine he dreamt of this his whole life. We’ve got to do a good job early, but you hope he gets some shots early too and settles in and plays the way he possibly can. We’ve got to look after him.
FREDERIK ANDERSEN (30 SAVES)
On where the game turned in the third: They came out pretty good in the third, we probably played a pretty good game until then. Obviously, small details, but, overall, I thought we did a pretty good job.
On what he saw on Boston’s third goal: He got a lot of space all of a sudden, got a puck on net and was able to get the rebound.
On if the team is frustrated: I don’t know if frustration is the right word, but we definitely know we want to be better. I don’t think we can be frustrated about it, we’ve just got to continue to keep at it, take ownership of it and try to get better, try to fix the things we’re not doing as well. We took some steps yesterday and we’re going to continue to try to do that.
KASPERI KAPANEN (1 GOAL)
On losing four close games in a row: They’ve been close games and as a team we just haven’t been able to turn them into wins. Obviously, it’s disappointing but we’ve got to try to stay positive. We’ve got a game tomorrow and focus on that.
On what the team needs to improve on: I don’t think it’s a major issue. We’re turning it over a couple times, especially when you give it to guys like this on their top line. They’re going to make you pay. It’s just little things that we need to focus on.
AUSTON MATTHEWS (1 GOAL)
On what he liked about tonight’s effort: I think it’s just a thin line, little mistakes have been costing us but for the most part I thought we played a good game. It was a tight game. Not much space. Both teams played pretty solid and it’s just the margin of error that’s costing us lately and just stuff that we’ve got to clean up.
On how to prevent frustration from seeping in: I think you’ve just got to take the positives away, which I thought we had a lot. I thought four lines played hard. We took care of the puck for the most part, limiting our turnovers. I thought we did a better job from the last time we played these guys, playing in their zone more and hanging around the puck and creating more offence. I think you can take away positives but obviously it stings when you don’t walk away with two points.
MORGAN RIELLY (24:49 TOI)
On the team allowing the go-ahead goal 11 seconds into the third period: I mean, it is what it is. You just bounce back. I thought we played well for the most part. Something like that happens, you just regroup and start playing again. I thought we did a good job of that, actually, but obviously not the result we were looking for.
On what he saw on that goal: Just ends up in our net. I don’t know what you want me to say.
On the level of frustration right now: It’s obviously frustrating a little bit but I think you have to take the positives away. I think that there were periods of the game where we played really well, but obviously, at the end of the day, you want results. You can be frustrated, but you try to take the positives out and we’ve got a game tomorrow night and then we go on the road for a week. We’ve got things to focus on moving forward.
JOHN TAVARES (1 ASSIST)
On if the team is close to breaking through: We’re just on the wrong side of it in a game like tonight. I think the one thing that would be good for us is to try to get ahead and not play from behind. I think we’ve probably done that more than we would like to. In saying that, I think it was a pretty good hockey game other than a couple of mistakes that obviously hurt us. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get it back.
On what he’d like the team to carry forward from tonight’s game: I liked the way we were forechecking. We were getting the puck in and getting on top of them, causing some turnovers and then sustaining some good offence, good puck possession, being hard to defend. They defend the middle of the ice extremely well so you’ve got to continue to find ways to get inside, mix up their coverage and find second and third opportunities. That was a real positive for us, the way we got through the neutral zone and got the puck in on them.
The view from left field 