Jaromir Jagr Quotations

Until we win some games, of course things are slipping away. I said all year long, and I don't want to make it as an excuse, but anytime somebody goes down from our first two lines, it's tough for us to replace ... We don't play the same way for whatever reason. I just hope it's the injuries.

Until we win a game, of course it's slipping away. We don't play the same way for whatever reason. I just hope it's the injuries. When we have all our guys back healthy, then I can answer that.

We're fighting for first place in our division, so it's huge.

We've got five months before the season starts. Hopefully, if there is any surgery it's not going to be complicated and I might start practicing next month.

When I'm counting how many times I'm coughing in a day, in a week, holy cow.

We needed a lift. We were kind of dead.

We needed a good start. They have a lot of young guys, especially on defense. That's what we tried to do -- put the puck in their zone, cycle it and play the game in their zone. Once you do it, you get a lot of scoring chances, that's what happened.

Let's go back to early in the season; would you think we can play 5-on-5 against teams that good?

Most of the time it's open. It's up to you if you want to take the risk or not.

Most of the time, the game is decided by one goal, one mistake, one good save. I feel like this is not going to change in the playoffs.

Maybe we are not good enough yet. Maybe we're not there. Maybe it shouldn't surprise anybody. I thought we played good 5-on-5; the power play and the penalty kill, that's where we made our mistakes. Could we have won the game? Yes. But we lost it. I don't think we are worse than they are. Maybe we're not as talented.

One positive thing is we don't have to travel very far. Maybe our fans will be in the building. Maybe it will feel like seven home games. It's good for hockey and it's good for New York. More people are going to get interested in the playoffs.

Of course, nobody is going to pick us.

Of course it will be a different game because we didn't play in such a long time. It's a different game on the smaller ice. The first period it will be difficult to try and get our timing. After that, it should be fine.

Of course it's nice to be in first, but there's 30 games to go. To be honest with you, I'm not upset.

Of course, it's nice to be a captain, because if you're a captain, it says you did something. But for me, it's not as big a deal as winning the Stanley Cup. That's my goal. Not to become the captain.

Of course it's a big honor. The Rangers are an original six team. A lot of great players played hear -- Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier -- a lot of great players. It's a big honor to me.

Monday night, we weren't thinking. Tonight, the two goals they scored were not because of mental breakdowns. They were goals that just happened.

Maybe it would be better not to risk (injury), but I'm not going to question what I did. I'm going to do everything I can to be back to help. If I can't, it's over. But I believe we can (win the series).

Maybe for some guys it would take a month, hopefully my body is different and heals quick. I'll have to pray a lot and hope for miracles. If the pain lets me play a little bit, I'll be on the ice the first chance I have.

On special teams, we weren't very sharp. They scored three goals on the power play and we didn't have any. Five on five, we can play with anybody, we know that. I don't think we're a worse team than them. Maybe less talented, but worse? No way.

I wouldn't say the effort wasn't there, we just didn't play smart enough. Not many teams play the trap against us. It's something new we have to learn ... It looks like they're already starting to play playoff hockey.

I would say he's not playing by himself, but almost by himself in Pittsburgh.

I got my advantage, other people got their advantage, ... I'm not that quick. But I'm 245 (pounds) and I'm not going to get tired that quick. I might not be good in the first, but I think I'm going to be good in the third.

I got hit, it's swollen. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. I have to talk to the doctors first. We have the whole day tomorrow to figure out something. I'll do anything to play, you can bet on it.

If they let me shoot, they let me shoot. That's fine with me, ... They covered everybody else. I'll take it any time.

I didn't get frustrated - it's a playoff game and I did what I had to do. We're losing, 5-1, and I wanted to play as hard as I can to the last minute. Whether it's smart or not, I don't know. I'm not going to question that.... I don't want to send anybody a message. That's the way I wanted to play. That's the way I'm going to play.

I don't even think abut it, I don't even know. I know one thing, the more I'm going to score, the better chance the team has to win.

I did what I had to do. Play as hard as I can until the last minute. I knew we weren't going to win the hockey game ... It might be a long series. Every shift can mean a lot later on.

I do not think it is soon. I think there is time to leave, at least I feel so. This is my feeling.

I am happy for it. Look at the great players here in the past 80 years.

I believe we can be the best in the league right now. Why not? Anything is possible.

I felt like we had enough chances in the second period to win the game, easily. We just didn't do it. ... We couldn't score. That's the problem we've got now, nothing else.

I finished the game, I'm OK. I knew I was not going to be a big factor. I was hoping they'd play the checking line against us. It still didn't work.

If I played in the Czech Republic or elsewhere in Europe, However, I do not feel like making the change.

I faked the shot to see what the goalie was going to do and then I hit the net.

I don't think we were smart enough to win. They outsmarted us.

I don't think I've seen a better player shoot the one-timer. It was a gift.

If something would have happened (in terms of a Russian comeback), I think I would have been able to go.

I always had more assists than goals, ... It's just this year I look like a goal scorer.

He won the Cup here. Once you do that, your place in history has to be guaranteed.

When I play games I don't really care. Everyone is replaceable. I just tried to help the team.

He's a great guy. He's not only good coach, but I think he understands the life of hockey, how important is it off the ice, to even treat the players off the ice, not only on the ice. The chemistry on team, it's great. It's so far been fun for everybody here.

He's been the best goalie in the league for such a long time, for the last 10 years maybe. Plus, he looks like he even gets better as the games get tougher. We have to shoot the puck and hope for the best, hope that he's going to have a bad game. We just have to hope.

He should be the guy. He has helped San Jose. It's all a matter if they're going to make the playoffs or not.

He should be the guy. He has helped San Jose.

Hopefully we have good trainers who can get him back.

The Rangers could spend $80 million before, now they cannot do it, ... Every time they make a move, it's got to be a good move and make sense. Before, because we could spend money here in New York, you had to get somebody to satisfy the fans and sometimes too much is not good. You need a lot of hard-working guys and every superstar needs their ice time to be that superstar. If you've got so many of them, somebody is going to get left behind.

When they're calling everything, you have to be smarter. It seems like every time we lose, it's because we've screwed up and we make stupid plays.

He was my idol since I was 15-years old. I had a chance to see him every day and learn a lot from him. Like my first goal today, I learned that from Mario. He scored a lot of them like that.

I was lucky again, and you have to be lucky in this tournament. It was good to score because you never know what will happen in the final three minutes.

I thought when we were down 1-0, we had an opportunity on the power play. We had an empty net and missed it. That was probably the biggest chance we had in the game. We have to be able to score on those chances.

I thought we were going to win. Some calls were tough against us, some calls were fair. We had a 2-0 lead, we should have been able to win the hockey game.

It hurts a lot more than it did after the first game. I can not really lift my arm or do anything.

I think we have a chance just like everybody else. There's no doubt in my mind we're going to have a playoff spot. I don't think it's a rebuilding year. No way.

I want to win the Cup and I want to win the Cup in New York. My first two years, when I won the Cup in Pittsburgh, especially the first year, I was on the third or fourth line, and I wasn't really involved in the game, there was Mario and other veterans who carried the team and they kinda gave the Cup to me.

I will be far from the only one who will leave after this match (the third place play off against Russia which the Czechs won 3-0 on Saturday).

I think they have to experience that. Even though it's an important game, it's nothing like the playoffs. You have to go through that. I don't think it's necessary to say anything.

I think they feel that way. To beat us is probably more important to them than to win the gold. I don't think it's helping them. You have to have a clear head and not be too motivated.

I think the whole league has changed. There are a lot of guys changing teams. It's going to be a different league than ever before.

It is awfully exhausting and devastating. This is sport and sometimes it simply does not work.

I think the Russians have the best team.

I think there's a difference between Ottawa and the Islanders right now.

I thought we were dominating from the first shift. Even when the score was tied after the first period, we were in their zone and we had a lot of scoring chances.

I thought we were dominating from the first shift.

I saw a lot of pictures but I don't understand it.

I said if I felt I can play, I was going to play, and I didn't hurt too much. Hopefully next game it will feel even better.

I said I didn't touch it and it wasn't my goal. Can you imagine if they would give it to me and after the game you guys would ask me the stupid questions over and over and over forever?

I said that if I could play, I was going to play. I didn't help much and hopefully the next game will be better.

Somehow we have to score goals. We aren't able to score goals. Any mistake we made, they scored. We gave them two odd man rushes, and they scored on both of them.

Many European guys go to the N.H.L. at a young age, even without knowing English. But they quickly adapt to new conditions, another game, a new country. They are also young, receptive, can move mountains.

It doesn't matter. We just have to face Sweden.

It doesn't matter. We have to get ready for the next game whether I play or not.

It doesn't matter. I'm gonna try everything I can to be back ... (but) we can do it (without me).

Maybe if we would have anybody good on the power play that was right-handed, he wouldn't get a chance to play there. It's about opportunity.

I might be more excited than I was before the Olympics. Our goal is to make the playoffs, but we don't want to just make the playoffs for the first round and go home. I want to be in the best condition I've ever been in my life, to know when a crucial time comes, I'm ready.

We need some scoring and we need some defense, too. There are a lot of players around the league that see this team is going in a different direction than before.

That's the positive. I've got two days to get better. Hopefully, it will.

I wasn't doing it for the drama. I said if I could play, I would. I knew I wouldn't be any good, but I gave it my best.

Well it doesn't matter how I feel. Sometimes it's a matter of luck. Sometimes you have so many chances and you can't score and other times you feel like every shot is going to go in. That's the way I have felt the last couple games.

We have to take a step back a little bit because we thought we were a lot better than we really are. The past two games have shown us that we're not there yet. It's OK as long as you learn from it.

Yeah. It might be the best league in the world besides the NHL.

When you're down two goals to Ottawa, it's different than down two goals to the Islanders. I respect every team in the NHL. But I think there's a difference between the Islanders and Ottawa right now.

We had a lot of chances. Sometimes it might look easy like tonight and other times it's really tough. That's just hockey.

We have a lot of rookies in the lineup. More than anybody, I would say. Its going to be something new for them. They have to understand that it's totally different hockey in the playoffs. Starting with the fans, the intensity of the game, every mistake counts.

We have to look at the big picture now. We can't think about winning four games, we have to go out (Saturday) and get that one goal. We're almost dead. We have nothing to lose.

We have to keep the next game close. We have to be able to score and not make any mistakes. We have to try to get one win and then you never know. Anything is possible. We have nothing to lose. We are almost dead.

You know we were prepared more so than in the past games. The first ten minutes they had seven minutes of power play. When we killed it and it works both ways. It gave us the momentum on our side and plus their top guys get tired.

We didn't do it yet and it's too early to celebrate. We have to make sure we get in the playoffs first and take care of other business later.

Two weeks, I can't get rid of it. It gets worse and worse and I cannot take anything. I can't sleep from the coughing.

We didn't respond to the stuff they played. We weren't smart enough.

We played against very good teams, playoff teams for sure, maybe candidates to win the Stanley Cup. They're already playing playoff hockey and I don't think we're playing it yet. The two games teach us we are not there yet. We have to play smarter.

We played 50 minutes with everything under control. We just have to learn how to finish the last 10.

Tom is a great guy. He's not only a good coach but I think he understands the life of the hockey player and how important it is off the ice to treat the players. The chemistry on the team is great and, so far, it's been fun for everybody here.

We've got nothing to lose. We're almost dead. I said that if I could play, I was going to play. I didn't help much. Somehow we have to score goals.

We gave the other team a lot of odd-man rushes. Maybe we are tired and we're making mistakes, but this is not the way you want to go into the playoffs.

We didn't start very well. Since then we have been playing pretty good.

Well, there were no people there. I would be skating by myself.

We wait to play for the national team, and in the first 10 minutes, he gets hurt.

We're never going to have the experience like Detroit that has a lot of veteran guys. But you have to play differently. You have to be smart and maybe bring more energy.