They Said It…
Rod Brind’Amour on the loss…
“We were not mentally prepared properly. They were hungry. It was an embarrassing effort, really, for two periods. And then it was, ‘Oh yeah, we better get playing.’ And we did. It was a great third period in terms of doing it right; it’s just that you’re down two, and they hunkered in. We got a few good opportunities, but we were not sharp.”
Rod Brind’Amour continuing on the effort…
“This is the National Hockey League. You have to be prepared every night, whether there are four games a week or one of those stretches, but everybody’s got to go through it. We were not sharp. And when the other team is sharp, you’re going to get behind. Now you’re chasing the game, and it’s hard to come back.”
Jordan Staal speaking along similar lines…
“I don’t think we were very good, obviously. For the first two periods, they were the better team. They did what we do – be hard to play against, be above guys, and sticking to us. Obviously, we had a good third, but when they sit back, and you get a few chances, it looks good for the most part, but we got outworked for the first two periods, and it wasn’t pretty.”
Sean Walker on the team “not having their spark” twice in four days…
“When we get away from our game plan, it’s a tough night of hockey. They stuck to their game plan. They got in on us and made us defend a lot. That definitely takes away your spark. (We have to) get back to our game plan, and most nights it works for us.”