Thank you to u/AlexaProulx for their help on this presser!
Evans Segment
[Armoured_K] Evans on what they need to do tonight to win against the Sabres
"Just keep building off the last game. I didn't play the game against against Buffalo, but from what I heard, when we're not doing well as a team, it's just the small details in the game, and last game was a step forward, and you gotta keep doing that."
[Armoured_K] Evans on if it feels like these games are a taste of what the playoffs could be for them
"Yeah. I mean, looking at the standings, it seems like our division doesn't really lose much right now, so every game outside the division is important, but these [in-division games] obviously mean a bit more. You know, gaining extra steps on a team and give yourself a little bit of room."
[Armoured_K] Evans on if the standings put extra pressure in every game
"Yeah. I mean, you obviously just want to be playing your best the whole year, but when there's teams chasing you down, and obviously for us, we still want to keep chasing other teams, there's added pressure. It's different if you're, I guess, Colorado that's up like 20 points on everyone right now. For us, it's just playing well, but also, we realize where we are in the standings and there's teams coming for us."
[Armoured_K] Evans on if he thinks that this young team is doing well with the pressure and expectations after 50 games
"Yeah. It's a great place to play, but there's obviously a lot of pressure when it comes to playing in Montreal. We've got a lot of young guys but have a lot of experience over the years now, and we're a very close team, and these newer guys are experiencing [it] as well, but we're going through it together. I think everyone's handled it pretty well so far."
[Armoured_K] Evans on if the team is progressing faster than he expected
"I don't know. I think there's always… The last few years, you could see the potential and the talent, how close we are as a group, and I think we always had that belief that things can change quickly. I don't think there's much surprise in this room."
[Armoured_K] Evans on how Tage Thompson stands out
"Big guy, lot of talent. He wants the puck at all times, and… I mean, he's a game changer with his shot, so for us, he's obviously going to touch the puck a lot, but try to limit that as much [as possible] and get in those lanes when he wants to shoot it."
Matheson Segment
[Armoured_K] Matheson on Tage Thompson
"[Missing portion] He's for sure a guy with a lot of ability, he competes hard too, so… It's hard to play against him, but it'll take everyone on the ice to do it."
[Armoured_K] Matheson on the difference between the Sabres we see now and the team that was struggling to get anything going
"I'd say they've always had speed and all those things, but I think they're really well connected right now**. It's hard when the team is all on the same page and competes hard for pucks and all those things. We'll bring that as well**."
[Armoured_K] Matheson on if it's harder to defend against a talented player with Thompson's shape, compared to if he was 6"1
"It depends, I'd say. Obviously, defending Thompson is tough, so… For sure, if he was 6"2, I don't know, but he's really good with his speed and his abilities, his hands, and also his size
Ghule Segment
[Armoured_K] Ghule: "[Missing question/portion] Brings a little bit of extra piss and vinegar for the other team when we do that, so… I think right now though, it's every team in our division's a rivalry. Gotta be ready for every game when it's in-division."
[Armoured_K] Ghule on what inspired his new haircut
"There's a lot of people I could be inspired from. Where's Stu [Cowan] at? [laughter in the room]"
[Armoured_K] Ghule on how he feels after a few games
"Good. I think Ottawa game, I felt like I was kinda back to normal, and then last game I felt was my best. Just getting timing and touches and your legs back. I feel like it takes a few games, usually. Wasn't really worried about it. Maybe had a couple off-nights, but had confidence in myself that I was going to come back. Need to get those game reps in."
[Armoured_K] Ghule on how different this team's blueline is from last year
"Different, obviously. Lost a couple guys, added a couple guys. I think we got the guys to do the job. We got a little bit of everything, we got offense, we got defense, we got some really gifted players offensively, really gifted players defensively. I think it's definitely a strong suit of our team and we've got guys that can play in any situation."
[Armoured_K] Ghule on if he saw PK's tweet about Lane
"I mean, no one really talks about who's gonna win the Norris, or the MVP or whatever, but no, I mean, he's obviously a great player, he's having a really good year. I think he should be in that conversation for sure. I think even from last year, coming into our team, he made our team so much better. He does so much for the team and the city, and everything, so… Definitely not surprised by that tweet."
St-Louis Segment
[Armoured_K] MSL on if there's any changes to the lineup, I.E Texier
"Not tonight. [Reporter: "So no changes anywhere? On defense, Struble again?"] Mhm [Reporter: "In goal?"] Monty"
[Armoured_K] MSL on whether he likes the way his team plays after a "what's next" scenario happens (like the Lane Hutson ghost penalty)
"Well, that's the most important thing. It doesn't matter that… You break a stick, you'll fall down, get a penalty. The most important action is the next one. You can't do anything [about the previous one]. Hockey is a game of mistakes, you'll make mistakes, but what's the next action to correct that mistake? It's often not the guy who made the mistake. Sometimes, it is the one who made the mistake, are you able to get back into the play? But it's the other guys. Are they able to help correct the mistake? That takes engagement. You have to be alert, and the mistake is not important, the solution is. It's also about limiting mistakes."
[Armoured_K] MSL on if he's felt that his team has improved in that regard over time
"I think so. I think we have a much stronger mental toughness, which I think is important in games; not worrying about the things that are in the past. What's next, it's the present. I say "What's next", it's in the future, but it's the present, the next action that you have to be careful with. I think we have a good mentality with that. When we have that mentality, we're harder to play against."
[Armoured_K] MSL on Laine being in the last 3 practice sessions in a normal jersey. Is he close to coming back?
"I don't know yet."
[Armoured_K] MSL on starting the year with 4 righty centers. How much does it help that they now have a balance in that aspect of the game?
"It helps for sure. You can take care of both sides of the ice on faceoffs. You raise the percentages. It doesn't guarantee anything, but it raises the percentages."
[Armoured_K] MSL on if Texier would be healthy enough to play tonight (is he healthy scratch)
"No. [Reporter: "And Laine?"] That's what I said."
[Armoured_K] MSL on what the challenge of integrating Laine will be when he's ready
"I'll cross that bridge when I get there."
[Armoured_K] MSL on what he's liked in particular about their 5 on 5 play in the last few games
"I mean, I feel last game, our 5 on 5 play was excellent, but I can't say the same for the previous couple games before that... So, it's game by game, you know, and for me, you either get better or you get worse, you don't stay the same. You've gotta find ways to, even if it's good, can we keep pushing to make it better? Cause if you don't, it's going to get worse. It kinda goes up and down, and teams are going to make it hard for you to keep it up. There's some quality teams and quality players that challenge that. When our 5 on 5 game is there, we're organized, we're connected, we're hard to play again. Can we do that every game? It's hard."
[Armoured_K] MSL on talking a couple weeks ago about how when their 5 on 5 is bad, they manage to correct it even within periods. Does he feel like that's continued to progress?
"Well, the second and third period against Ottawa, you know, it would feel like the longest stretch [of bad play?] and I haven't seen this kind of stretch in a long time. We're usually [in] smaller stretches. That's the challenge, and I was hoping that that stretch of two periods was a one off, and I felt like it was, based on how we responded, and that's what you want. You don't want this to be a trend. Then, you're rolling the dice, and… you know, that's not a great formula to put yourself in a position to win games. I really was happy about the response of our group. Defending, to me, is an attitude. Xs and Os are part of it, but it's an attitude, and I felt like we had that."
[AlexaP] MSL on Demidov and Hutson's partnership and how they help each other:
"It's not just him that helps; they gravitate towards each other due to their passion, they're passionate about hockey, they're passionate about the process of improvement. You can have all the talent possible, but you have to be excellent in self-improvement. Those guys do it. (The chemistry builds up on the ice?) I don't think so, intellectually they play at the same level, skill wise they play at the same level. When you have a relationship like that, of course it helps with the chemistry."
[AlexaP] MSL on whether he was at Brossard when Demidov and Hutson were there during the summer:
"I didn't go often to Brossard."
2 comments
So Laine isn’t there yet and Texier was indeed hurt.
i want arber to develop and play more than struble. Not sure why arber is out and struble is in