HEAD COACH SHELDON KEEFE
On tonight’s game as a missed opportunity:
Yeah, I think that’s fair. We did get a good start, set us up really well. There was a lot of game left to play so I don’t know if it was a missed opportunity necessarily, but very disappointing we weren’t able to build upon that. Instead, we gave it back and dug ourselves a hole we weren’t able to get out of.
On where the team was most vulnerable as the game went on:
Well, obviously, the third goal. We had two faceoffs right away there that we just weren’t alive on. They have them, bang-bang. It’s 2-1, you can manage that – 3-1 is tough. So that was a big moment. I thought the second period we had a lot of really good things happening. Obviously, we scored the goal to make it one. The fourth goal was pretty defeating and devastating, frankly. We just didn’t have anything from there.
On Andersen’s status and Hutchinson’s play:
I have no update on Freddie at this point. In terms of Hutch, I thought that we need saves as a team. We need him to be better in those spots when we have those lapses there. At the same time, our team has to do a better job of protecting. The second goal, again, it’s a bang-bang play off the faceoff, we’ll give them that one, but then to not be alive and ready right off the drop of the next one, that’s just making life real hard on your goalie so we don’t like that one. He dropped his stick there on the fourth one, but we need a save on it.
On if Hutchinson will start the next game:
It’s too early to tell. There’s a lot going on obviously with Fred and some other things too. We’re just going to have to see how things settle down tomorrow and see where we’re at.
On how the team can turn it around moving forward:
We need a good response from our team. We need to show life and character and all those types of things. I didn’t really like today. I know it’s tough, it’s hard when you kind of work your way back to get it 3-2 and then you feel like you’ve got a chance and then the next shot goes in. That’s real tough on the players and the team. We have to find a way to be better there and give ourselves more life and more energy and recognize the game is still there, there’s lots of time left. But, in terms of how we stop it from spiraling, we’ve just got to regroup, go back on home ice and have an effort more like we had against Florida all the way through and try to get a better result from it.
MICHAEL HUTCHINSON (30 SAVES)
On tonight’s game:
I think we just had a couple breakdowns early on. Dug us a hole early and from there, it’s hard to get back from it. I thought we had a lot of good chances around the net. Their goalie made some big saves. It was one of those games. Just fell behind early and just couldn’t get going and get back.
On the Rangers’ fourth goal:
I lost my stick and then [Dermott] and I had a little miscommunication trying to get my stick back. The play kind of turned into a shot from a good spot. The guy didn’t make a good shot, it’s a save I should make but it was one of those plays where trying to get my stick put me a little bit behind the play and that’s what happened.
AUSTON MATTHEWS (2 GOALS)
On tonight’s loss:
I thought we started well; I think we just continue to have these lulls throughout the game where we’re just not playing at our best. Then the chances that we’re giving up burnt. Just too many 2-on-1s, odd man rushes — they were a bit egregious. I think that’s where we’re at.
On giving up two goals in six seconds:
I think it’s just attention to detail. You give up the goal, a lot of times you’ll get taken off the ice, but obviously he kept us on. You’ve got to be more ready than that off the faceoff. Obviously, they’ve got guys that can fly, Kreider can skate well and gets a good jump off faceoffs all the time.
JAKE MUZZIN (20:20 TOI)
On where the game got away from the team:
In the first, I think, after we scored, we kind of let up and wanted an easy game. They took it to us, and they answered, and we weren’t ready for it. So we’ve got to play hard and play the right way for 60. And no matter what the score is or what the situation is — up one, down one, whatever it may be — we’ve got to stick to it. We got away from it tonight and it bit us.
On if a lack of attention to detail is to blame:
Yeah, some of that and our work ethic. Sometimes when we go up, we just want the easy game and it’s not supposed to be easy. It’s not going to be easy. So we’ve got to do a better job of playing with the lead, I think.
JOHN TAVARES (1 GOAL, 1 ASSIST)
On what went wrong tonight:
Well, the second half of the first period — after a pretty good start – just wasn’t very good and obviously we gave up some quick ones and then we were playing from behind. We had a pretty good second period. Obviously, get within one and then they were able to respond right away, which always hurts, especially when we were able to get ourselves back in it. We do the same in the third, just probably a little too late. Didn’t really get our pressure going, we didn’t generate much in the first ten. It’s just one of those nights. We let it get away from us in the second half of the first period and did some good things at many points of the game but obviously not enough.
On if frustration led to his late-game scuffle with Ryan Lindgren:
Well, he crossed-checked me and then he just shoved me so I’m not going to stand there and take it. I stand my ground and compete and fight for my ice. Obviously, not a position we want to be in at that point of the game. Whether or not that plays into or not, maybe a little bit. Just trying to fight for my ice.
The view from left field 