How would you assess the team’s season thus far?
Gleason: “I think we’ve held our own. We take it on a game-by-game basis. We don’t look too far in front of or behind us. I think there are always areas of improvement, whether it’s special teams, five-on-five, or individual play; we’re always trying to get better. I think to this point, we’ve done pretty well from guys filling spots and guys that really haven’t been here (before). So, in that area, I think we’re doing okay. It’s given opportunities to other players to make a name for themselves and then grow. There are areas we want to get better at, and we’ll continue to do so.”
The first step toward getting better is good health, right?
Gleason: “Yeah, that’s the key. You don’t want to find excuses. That’s what I mean when I say I think we’ve done pretty well in filling that void a little bit. We know help, at some point, will be on the way, in terms of getting guys back. But, again, day by day, game by game, because you never know what tomorrow’s going to bring. Our lineup continues to change, but we’re adapting, and that’s what we’re supposed to do. That’s our job, and guys are doing a fairly good job.”
How have you felt about the penalty kill?
Gleason: “I’m not too happy with it, to be honest with you. Again, it’s game by game, and we did a good job (on Wednesday, Nov. 26). You’ve got to start with one game anyway. In the last 10 or so games, we’ve given up a goal almost every game. The problem is, it’s one little mess up here and there, and then the rest of them are fine. That’s what we’ve got to clean up. We have one chance that you want to get rid of. We have some guys, three or four guys, that are on the PK, that haven’t necessarily been on the PK before. Miller’s new to us, Nikishin’s new to it, Nystrom’s new to it, and when you have new guys like that, it takes time. It takes time to learn the reads and how we do it. So, again, it’s game by game, and (Wednesday, Nov. 26) we did a great job. Now we have to take it from there.”