Big thank you to u/Armoured_Kitten for helping me out with tonight's presser!

Final score

The Habs win 4-3 against the Utah Mammoth!

Suzuki Segment

[Pengu] "… and then we got a nice one too. Shut it down after that. A big one for us." – Suzuki

[Pengu] Suzuki on sticking to the plan after collapsing in the second period

It was definitely important. The last thing we want to do is get away from those being successful early on, we did that. Proud of the guys' efforts to come back. Big kills. Big 5 on 6. Battling. We get the win.

[Pengu] Suzuki on hitting the 400 point milestone tonight

It means… a little bit, I guess. I'm just trying to do my best out there. I get to play with a lot of great players out there every single night. They helped me get to where I am today. So, definitely grateful for that.

[Pengu] Suzuki on playing with Bolduc

Thought we had a pretty good game together. He's getting used to playing with me and [Caufield]. We are getting used to how he plays too. So, lots of communication during the game and in between periods. He's coming along nicely. He's an important piece for us.

[Pengu] Suzuki on the difference between playing with Bolduc and Slafkovsky

[Bolduc] is pretty deadly with his shot and you saw that tonight. He plays with a little bit less down low than [Slafkovsky] does. Anyone that we play with, we try to do the same stuff. He's learning, we're learning, so he's coming along nicely.

Dobes Segment

[Pengu] "… the whole game. Sometimes, because we have a couple of bad minutes in a row, it doesn't really define your game, so that was my mentality, was that we play 35 minutes of good hockey because of a couple goals, you're not going to change something, so just stick to the plan. It worked out." – Dobes

[Pengu] Dobes on staying calm after the second period and if that was the turning point for him in the third period

As I said, I feel like those goals are just, we didn't play good, I didn't make that extra save for a couple of minutes, but doesn't define the game. Like, our coach said, you guys played really well for a couple of minutes, so let's go back to our standard and let's win this game and that's pretty much what we did. So it was pretty simple, nothing really crazy going on.

[Pengu] Dobes on tonight being a good battle

Yeah. They're a good team. Bringing a lot of pucks to the net. Credit to them. They definitely deserve to win but we are a good team, we found a way. Hopefully, going to Vegas and Coloarado, we will play full 60 and we will be just fine.

Bolduc Segment

[Armoured_K] Bolduc on the win, does it feel good?

"Yeah, absolutely. I think we fought well. We had a bit of a dip, a 10 minutes in the second, but I think… The word coming out for the third was to work, keep things simple, play with what the game gives us, and to get back into the game, because we had it. We gave them the game a bit, and we had to get it back. It's a good character win, and we're happy to get out of here with 2 points."

[Armoured_K] Bolduc on Suzuki taking charge

"Yeah, absolutely. Nick, since the start of the season, he's our leader. He shows us the way. Night after night, we can count on him, so… No, we're really lucky to have him with us."

[Armoured_K] Bolduc on the work Matheson and Dobson do for the team

"Absolutely. They're guys that are really reliable, they skate really well, they take good decisions with the puck… They make the forward's jobs a lot simpler. Them too, we're lucky to have them on our side."

[Armoured_K] Bolduc on the chemistry starting to grow with his line. What makes the biggest difference; practice time or discussions they have?

"I think it's a bit of both. I think that for sure, the more reps we have in practice and in games, the communication through that helps us. Yes, tonight, the puck was bouncing for us, but I also think we played as a 5-man unit. I think we were all well organized, everybody was in the right spots, and I think our execution and timing was really good."

[Armoured_K] Bolduc on how the tide could've turned after Slaf's disallowed goal, but they still got the next goal. What would he attribute their calm through that to?

"Yeah… Personally, I didn't have any doubt that we would just get back on the ice and create other opportunities. I think, like I said, we were well-connected tonight, we played well. We moved the puck well. The boys, we would find each other easily on the ice, so… No, I think that yes, it is disappointing when you get a goal overturned, but I think we rebounded well through that."

Engstrom Segment

[Pengu] "… Of course, I was a little bit nervous at the start, but once you get into it, it's fine. But yeah, awesome experience. Really good that we got away with the win too." – Engstrom

[Pengu] Engstrom on if he was satisfied with how he played

Yeah. I felt good. I felt I was in a good place. Some good defensive zone plays too. But, yeah, of course, you can do better, but yeah, a little bit nervous at the start, then I got better as I kept playing.

[Pengu] Engstrom on the comment that he was nervous but he looked calm with the puck

I would say so. I think I made some strong and good plays with the puck too, so yeah, happy with today.

[Pengu] Engstrom on what's on his mind after his first game

Everything moves a lot faster here than in the AHL. So you need to make quicker plays with the puck. So, at the start, I felt like people were coming at me fast, but then you get used to it so then I got better.

[Pengu] Engstrom on being with the team for the preseason helped him a lot

Yes. Of course. I know a little bit of what's going to happen out there and you need to play, so of course that helped a lot.

St-Louis Segment

[Armoured_K] MSL on Suzuki's performance, 4 blocked shots, 2 goals

"Think he has a pass, too? [Reporter: "And a pass. He lead the club?"] Oh for sure. It's a milestone, 400 points. Everything is earned in this league. He made big plays, and he played a lot of minutes."

[Armoured_K] MSL on not having a full 60 minutes of effort, and how he liked his team's answer to losing their 2 goal lead

"Yeah, but I'd say that, like the first 30 minutes, maybe not 30 but 28 first minutes, I'd say it was our game. We were in control of that game. Then, we lost control in the second half of the second period, and we needed to get it back. We had some big plays in the third, and […] you tie it, then realize you were offside, but get it back right after. That scenario is representative of the game. You think you have it, then you don't, and you go get it back. Demi's goal was a big goal, then we defended against a team that has a lot of speed. 6 on 5, we did the job. Dobes played an excellent game. Nothing was perfect, but we found a way."

[Armoured_K] MSL on how he liked Matheson and Dobson's work in the third period, with Matheson playing >11 minutes

"Yeah, no for sure, it's a lot of minutes. When you get in those situations, end of the game like that, these guys are able to do the job. It's not easy work."

[Armoured_K] MSL on how he liked Engstrom, considering he said he was nervous

"No, no, he didn't look nervous at all. I thought he looked comfortable. He played a good game."

[Armoured_K] MSL on the sequence in the second where they lost control of the game. Why does he think that happened?

"Well, first, it was icing and they didn't call it, and then, we take a penalty by sending the puck over the glass. I think emotionally, it affected us. After that, we started to not do our job in the defensive zone. We bounced around a lot instead of staying with our guy, away from the puck… But you know, we were in control at the start of the second, but it feels like we were starting to commit turnovers here and there, and just like that, it goes the other way. When we put pucks in deep, what we did with our time in the offensive zone, we were dangerous. We just didn't have enough of those moments in the middle of the second."

[Armoured_K] MSL on having 2 goals on the PP, nearly 3. Did he feel that coming, with the reps and practice they had on that subject?

"Yeah, no, I don't… Our PP can be efficient. You always have to remind the group that the 5 guys are important on the ice. They all have reads to make, but they have to be connected on their reads. We had that tonight."

[Armoured_K] MSL on Zach Bolduc. He is not exactly the same type of player as Slaf, what made him think it would be a good fit?

"I think he's able to bring speed and robustness/physicality, and he's able to finish plays. He's got a good touch in scoring positions. I think that's it, and I think he's starting to get used to how we play offensively and defensively, not necessarily on the puck. They always have pretty tough matchups, so they have to be responsible defensively too… So, I think it's a combination of many things, injuries… I think the depth we have allow us to give opportunities to players liked Zach."

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