Ken Hitchcock Lay Quotations

Peter's a special player. He's the complete package. He's a competitive player with a high level of skill.

Peter's a special player, ... He's the complete package. He's a competitive player with a high level of skill.

I think everyone is hoping physical play will be allowed. Our team is built that way. You cannot play in an emotional setting without getting physical. Over 82 (regular-season) nights, there are times it's hard to get physical. But when your focus is on playing the same team every second night, it's hard not to get physical.

When you're playing against teams who are wounded bears or desperate, they're looking for a reason to play and when you give them a reason, they keep going.

When you win with a player, you feel good about that player. From the red line in, Jon is one of the hungriest players in the NHL. He'll do anything to score a goal.

I've seen our fans just will us in playoff games. I think home-ice is something you need. It's very important. It's real difficult when you constantly have to win road games in the playoffs.

I've seen young guys who've played great and I've seen them absolutely overwhelmed. I've seen young players literally in the fetal position during a series because they're overwhelmed by the intensity and the emotion of what's going on. And I've seen guys raise their level.

No. You had one team playing reckless and one team trying to get away with playing careful. We didn't get away with it. We had to dig in.

I think he was beat up. He goes from being a 15 or 16-minute player playing as a forward to a 25-minute player playing as a defenseman with all the hooking and holding and the physical play of the playoffs, he was simply beat up.

He needs to have a big year. It's his third year pro and that's usually when players start stepping ahead. He showed flashes in the (Calder Cup) playoffs and now all we're looking for is consistency.

When I look at Simon, I see the same player I've seen for two years. But now he plays with a center man who is a playmaker. I see a guy who gets to the puck who never got to it when he was here previously. He gets a lot of goals off the rush, which he never used to get before.

I thought we went in fits and starts. We went in peaks and valleys during the game and we made good plays and we made soft plays, and I think that over time we are going to have to get firmer in those areas.

I think the proving ground is when we play this way, we have success. It's a hard way to play. It's difficult and very demanding. The decision you have to make as a team is do you want to play this way and win or do you want to find an easier way to play and take your chances? They like playing and winning.

I thought as the game wore on we were out-competed. This was like a playoff game. For a game where you're going to checked this hard, I thought we had too many people below the bar today. Way too many people.

I phoned and left a message for Brett but haven't heard from him. A player knows before he even comes into training camp whether he has one foot in the door or both feet out the door. He knows that. Brett knew that. But he was a special player.

Oh, yeah. These kids are 20 years old and it's a lot to put on their plate right off the bat. This is a whole other level, and it took them a couple games to get into it. But Carter and Richards really played well (in Game 3).

Brian is a player who has made the best of a situation where he had to wait to get picked up by a team. He?s come in and made a contribution on and off the ice. I?m really happy for him, because he?s found a home here and has a good niche on our team.

He's earned a right to be a prime time player for us. (Sim) has just come out and earned his spot.

We had nine first-year players against Montreal. We practiced with 15 players today. Everybody knows our situation. We're limping. Still, we're only one point out of first place.

We had nine first-year players against Montreal. Everybody knows our situation. We're limping.

Those are usually a reward for hard work. Good players score those goals. Guys like you and me, the puck would end up in the seats.

Those are the decisions that, when you don't have to make them or when you make them because people are playing poorly it's easy. The hard decisions are if we continue to play well, then it's going to be a tough thing to do, because you don't want to screw around with what's working.

Goats is a very emotional player who plays on the edge, and sometimes that edge tilts.

Goats is a very emotional player and he plays on that edge. Sometimes the edge tilts. But when you get those players they really become factors as the series wears on. There are things that go into people's minds when you play against that type of player.

He's tying to play hockey, but he's certainly not a player in this series. He's just moving ahead. He's our captain and he's trying to lend support.

He's a young player in his first series. He got welcomed in a big way. He'll be back.

They?re similar players. Simon probably shoots the puck off the rush a little bit better, but they?re both determined players. It?s a great feeling when you go out for a game and you never have to worry about whether a player is going to be a committed player. I never worried about that once.

We made some really poor decisions and we gave up three or four odd man rushes. Even though we only gave up 15 shots, we played really poor defensively.

We've played with this back-against-the-wall mentality on the road. In order to beat Buffalo we're going to have to play with that mentality for every game.

This is the state were in right now. We played great yesterday and didn't get rewarded. We had a flat start to this game. Montreal took advantage and scored 5-on-3. They took advantage of our mistakes. We have to regroup. We have to get some healthy guys back in our lineup. We didn't play our best game today. We have some things we have to talk about in the next 48 hours.

We were a team going very well for an extended period of time. In the last 10 days we have not played near as well as we are capable of.

I find the entertainment value of the playoffs is out the door. It's all about competition. This, to me, brings it back to grassroots where it's one team playing another team and it doesn't matter who's covering the game or who's watching.

This was as dead as we've been in a month. I don't remember us playing this poorly. We had no work ethic. Their workers controlled the hockey game. Our goaltender was outstanding, but when you go on the road and allow almost 50 shots on goal, it's not good.

His leadership for me has come because he's confident. He's a good player in the league now and he thinks he has a good feel for the game, which he does. He's been in the big games against elite opponents, which means he is a guy who has matured.

He's a significant player of our team. We need him in the lineup.

He's a really smart player who kind of grows on you. He's always in the right place at the right time and he's solid everywhere.

We've learned to live with the idea that we will have five players out every game. I'm happy in one area, and that is with our attitude toward competing, but I don't think you ever want to be satisfied because as soon as you are, you start standing still.

I?m not saying anything at this point. I?m just saying he?s not playing (tonight) for sure.

Touch wood we?re in pretty good shape. We have six guys who are playing pretty good as a group for the most part and we have a seventh guy (Jones) who is playing 30 minutes a game with the Phantoms who was here with us before getting ready to join us in the playoffs. So we have seven. It?s a good mix.

That is probably one of the best periods of hockey we've played in this building.

The third period was tremendous. A lot of people played very, very well today.

That's a dangerous play in hockey when you're checking the player with the puck and he checks you. The checking player doesn't suspect that and he's not ready for it. I think you see a lot of injuries when that type of play happens.

But the game is still played on the ice. Having been in the same shoes as Tampa once before (winning a Cup in Dallas in 1999), you don't want to disrespect somebody who has won a championship. And they earned it and deserved it. They're the ones with the knowledge right now. We're all searching for that.

There are a lot of new people playing there. You have people on the power play who haven't played there all year, and those things are going to happen. Hopefully in a couple weeks we'll be a lot better, but when you lose both your quarterbacks, you're going to have an adjustment phase.

He was absolutely dominant, ... He controlled the tempo and played a wonderful hockey game. A lot of guys did.

I felt we were still tentative (early) and afraid to play a little bit. Once we got a little angry and got some emotion going, then we were able to go. We played physical.

We just love his competitiveness. He's a reckless player, and that type of player seems to have a lot of success in the NHL right now.

I've always found that veteran players play significant roles in playoffs because they know what the level is like. And over a short period of time they can get themselves to that level because they know it's a two-month season.

We gave up two shorthanded goals, both off scoring chances of our own, and when you've got young players back there, those are mistakes that are going to happen. We'll get better with it.

We have an obligation to the players to develop chemistry as quickly as we can. Things we would normally do at the end of October will be done in September.

It's a best-of-three now. This is two teams that are very closely matched. Both are playing really hard right now and there's not much difference.

I try to envision what worked in Colorado and the thing I know that worked there is that (Forsberg) had scoring players who could also protect the puck,

He's not playing. He got hit (Monday) and he had concussion symptoms again, so he's out. We don't know until he feels better whether he's going to come back or not, but he's certainly not playing Wednesday or Friday, that's for sure.

I think we play better when we're desperate. The big question mark now is, can we answer the bell again a second time? We've played some games like that in our building and then we haven't come back with near the emotion or intensity. We have to play with the same sense of desperation or increase it for more minutes if we expect to win.

Whenever there's something in the stomach, you get nervous but I've been assured it's nothing. I'm still going to be nervous until Peter is back on the ice playing pain-free.

Let's see how he looks when he comes back over here. This is a different game over here. Angles are different and there's a tremendous amount of activity around the goal here; a lot more than there is in the Olympics. The shot totals are a lot higher here and the quality of shots is a lot higher in the NHL. Let's see how he plays when he comes back here and let's see how his energy is.

When he's healthy, the way this game is played now, it's built for him. He's quick. He's smart. He's hard to get a handle on physically. He's a huge asset. It's not just him as a player, but he makes people around him better. He's a good teammate.

We've got to take care of business inside our division. For us right now, getting home ice advantage in the playoffs is critical. We want to get as high up the ladder as we can.

Good players score those goals. Guys like you or I, they'd be in the stands.

With the cap, you are looking for players who are older and are willing to take on depth positions -- the glue positions,

Both guys are going to start the season with us. We are counting on them being good players for us. They are here because they can help us win. They are not here because they are young players.

Management has given us a real fighting chance here to have a real good team. And it's our job now, coaches and players together, to try and put this thing together.

It's quality of life. The players already know the building is full, the building is loud, the fans are knowledgeable, the organization is committed to winning and the practice facility is second to none. Players talk about that stuff all the time.

He has an honest appraisal of himself. He's hard on himself and he's demanding of himself. That's what makes special players. You talk to anybody who is a special player in the league... They put more pressure on themselves than anybody else does.

He has to play a certain way to be effective. He's a very emotional player and plays on that edge. Sometimes that edge tilts, but that's no different than a lot of other players. They play on that ledge all the time. But Gauthier has been really dependable. He's able to play against the other team's best players and it has an impact in the game.

We played great yesterday (Saturday in a 4-3 loss to the Rangers), didn't get rewarded and came back and we had a flat start. They took advantage of our mistakes today.

That's who he is. That's the way he plays. He's got a really big heart, good skill level, but it's his heart and his competitiveness that he carries with him. What's interesting for me is, the game was on the line and he was the best player on the ice. That speaks volumes for a 20-year-old player.

Whatever he decides, we'll support him. But he's already said he's not going to play until he's 100 percent -- either here or there. Who knows? This might be a two-week injury and he might need a full two weeks to get healthy. I'm not sure if their country is holding a spot for him, but he's not playing until he's 100 percent.

You just have to keep going and our players are starting to learn that.

Players get hurt and we don't how long they're going to be out for. We're going to get a real hard look at these guys right away.

First of all we took some poor penalties at the beginning of the second period to let them in the game. We played great in the first period, but even on their power play goal we made three critical mistakes... There are two things that really concern me right now. Against the good teams we lose the special teams game and when you can't kill a penalty, that's a big concern.

We're breaking in a lot of kids who haven't played at this level.

With four minutes left, we gave up a 3-on-2 against one of the top players in the world right now -- Crosby. You don't want to do that.

They have it all. They're playing well offensively and defensively, their special teams are playing well, they have four lines that can all score and all create chances and they're playing at a very high level.

We played a heck of a hockey game. We played about as well as we've played on the road all year. We fought, we clawed.

We played a heck of a hockey game. It could have gone either way. I thought we got better and better as the game went on. We did a lot of gritty, good things in the third period. We deserved at least a point, and maybe two.

It was a heck of a lesson. It's the best team we've played all year. You make puck errors down in the zone like we did, you're going to get schooled.

We did a lot of better things; we played the same way for 60 minutes that we did for 45 minutes in Carolina. We played good. We fought really hard. Ottawa is a team that everyone talks about their speed, but to me it's about their competitiveness. Every board battle is critical.

(It means) exactly nothing. You can?t read anything (into it). He?s trying to play hockey. But, he?s certainly not a player in this series.

I have lots on my plate right now getting our players to change their technique,

We've played some good games for 45 or 50 minutes. Tonight we played 60 minutes.

We've played hard and we dominated at times, but we've made mistakes at critical times.

We had to respond after what happened in Buffalo. We played better and we played the way we have to play to win.

You are just dealing with an unbelievable level of fire when you're giving a team like that six, seven or eight power plays. You're not going to beat that team. You have to eliminate the reaching-in penalties. I know it's a natural reaction for most players but we've got to have the people that are doing it, not do it.

We already know Gagne is that player. We're hopeful Jeff gets up to speed there, but there are other players down the line we can use.

When you have as many penalties as we've got going on right now, it's really hard to keep a rhythm on power play. We try to play as many units as we can, because if we're going to get seven or eight or nine power plays, it's hard to keep that energy because players get tired.

You throw all of that out the window. The fans know this isn't the regular season, our fans especially. I've seen our fans just will us in a playoff series. It's really difficult when you're constantly having to win on the road. Having a Game 7 in your building, to me, there is no better feeling in the world.

Right now it's about getting points. We are trying to get this thing back on track and we have a lot of work to do. We know that and players know that. We are starting to build it back again and it's a good feeling.

There are times during the season when you have to review. It was very, very productive. We don't have those type of meetings very often, but when we feel like our team isn't playing well, we do.

He played on only about 50-60 percent energy and he was still an effective player.

He put a lot of pressure on himself last year when Carolina started making those changes. He just kept adding to the pile there and he put too much pressure on himself to try to do everything. He came here and after awhile he just played his game and was very, very effective for us.

There are players who have been though this. And the comment was: 'You can expect this every night.' . . . Hatcher had a big role in that. He was speaking seconds after we got into the locker room . . . (reminding players to) get ready for the next one.

I don't think it's an issue now. They've played each other since so I don't believe it will be a problem.

Over all, this was the best game they've played in the series. They were very tenacious and they caused us to make soft plays with the puck at inopportune times.

The difference was we had a great start to the game and played very well, but when they got their power plays, it shifted the momentum back their way. We did a lot of things really well today. Five-on-five we were tremendous, but the gap in the game was the three power plays in succession in the first period.

It's really up to the players whether this is a bump (in the road) or a (big) hit (to the team). This is a good wake up call... I am hoping that the players realize what we have done and that we continue to move forward and (the loss) was just a bump.

For us right now, getting home-ice advantage in the playoffs is absolutely critical. We want to get as high up the ladder as we can because of how competitive it is right now. Every home game we get as an advantage is important.

I don't think he raises his game. He's one of those unique players who can beat you with skill but also with tenacity. It's wearing to go against a player like that. It's unnerving. You think you've got him, but he out-competes you.

We have players who played for the Phantoms last year who do a lot of things really well that are going to help us,

If I lived in Washington, I would pay whatever the season ticket was to watch this kid play. He's a special player, a unique player who comes around once every 10 years.