Claude Julien Quotations

We're fortunate to have players who can play a variety of roles. With the new rules and all the penalties, we have to be in a position where we can get as many people involved so that our top players aren't on the ice all the time.

We've tried to discuss that about giving the defensemen a chance to maybe help out our goaltenders a little bit more. Listen, these new rules, it doesn't mean they're perfect. They're good, we need to adjust to them and hopefully down the road we'll make some small adjustments to them.

We have to get more traffic in front of the net. Those second and third chance opportunities won't come unless we start getting our sticks on some rebounds. But Belfour didn't make our job easy tonight.

We are going to have to do something before we really wear out our top guys with all of the power-plays we're now seeing. If this trend continues and you apply that to an 82-game schedule, that extra unit is really going to come in handy, unless of course the players adapt their game to the new rules and spend less time in the box.

What we like about Radek is that he can be a solid No. 3 centre for us and if we run into injury problems, then he is the kind of guy who can move up to the No. 1 or No. 2 position with no problem,

We thought we'd have to be patient with him, but we didn't have to wait long. He's played very well.

There is certainly an element of confidence that he brings to their side. He certainly makes that one line become very dominant. That's what they were.

Obviously, the second period was a real bad period for us. We were lucky to come out of that period still tied, thanks to Jose's work.

Obviously, the second period was a real bad period for us, ... We were lucky to come out of that period still tied, thanks to Jose's work.

Ribeiro, tonight, was great. Especially on the winning goal.

One thing's for sure, he's a kid who knows how to listen. That's what he did all night. You don't need to draw this kid a picture.

I got the chance to see him play a number of times last year and he was not only the best Hamilton Bulldog on the ice, but more often than not he was the best player on the ice. He's a natural center, but we're very comfortable sliding him in on the wing as well. Chris is a really good two-way player who can play in almost any situation.

I don't think it's necessary to bring attention to that. We're kind of sensitive to the issue and understand that maybe it's going to take him a little time to feel comfortable, but we're OK with that.

He has to play well and give us the impression that he can do the job for us all year,

He made the big saves when he had to. He may have wanted a few of those shots back that got by him, but this was his first full NHL game. We were proud with his overall performance tonight.

We're playing well and we're finding ways to win tight games,

He's day-to-day. We hope he'll be ready for our next game on Tuesday (against Phoenix).

He's playing well and earning chances to play well. If we had turned the page on this kid, he'd be gone by now.

He competes hard all the time. He's ready to jump at his opportunity to make this hockey club.

Jose made some big saves in the third to keep us in the game.

It didn't hurt having Theodore back. He proved why he's a top goaltender.

I think when you consider the position that we were in with our roster and all the situations that have happened in the past couple of days, I thought we played a pretty tight game.

I thought tonight was a solid, patient game and patience paid off,

Price is showing things at 18 guys don't usually show until their second or third year as pros.

That episode is over, he's paid his dues,

I thought he played an average game. But good players find a way to make a difference, and although he had an average game, he found a way to score the winning goal.

That was uncharacteristic of him. For me, it's about him knowing we've turned the page on that and that we just want him to use his skills.

We just ask him to play well and if he fits our puzzle, we'll keep him.

We really scraped the bottom of the barrel with our short bench. We needed a win to make our week a little happier.

We got better, and in the third period we took advantage of our opportunities.

We have to make sure that he can do it against NHL competition.

We get an early goal and we think we're on the right track. Then we give up two quick ones. Our second period was definitely the period that killed us.

We're putting ourselves in that situation. Over 82 games, once in a while, you like to find ways to make it easier.

When you only play 10 minutes of a hockey game, it's not too often you come out of it with a point, ... We need to realize that we are going to need some 60-minute efforts and that has been a concern of ours as of late.

At one point, you'll have to consider making a third unit.

Enough is enough. We're at a stage where these performances are unacceptable.

They are a hard team to contain. But we got some timely goals and terrific goaltending. It was battle-tested victory for us in many ways.

The rules change, a lot changes in hockey. I think we need to show respect to the players who wore those numbers. If that means guys today have bigger numbers, so be it.

It was an exciting game. We had a lot of mental errors, we looked tired at times. But we found a way to come back and score some big goals. That showed character and determination.

Sometimes you wonder if you need it to be a roller coaster-type of game. We got ourselves back in the game and somehow found a way to let it slip away.

Sometimes a change is the best thing for player and that might be the situation here.

Defensively, we have to find ways to let Jose see the puck a lot better. And at the same time, hopefully, there will be a little bit of an adjustment from both sides - the referees and the players - to try and make sure we don't create some serious injury situations.

You're disappointed when you lose 4-0, but if you consider the position we were in with our roster and all the situations that have happened in the past couple days, I thought we played a pretty tight game. We just have to regroup and hopefully get our walking wounded back.

They've been our best line when they've been healthy.

They picked us to miss the playoffs two years ago and they were wrong,

You can't judge a goaltender by one bad goal.

There was no problem with the weather. We enjoyed the whole atmosphere, and the whole experience was great. I'm sure people who watched it on television were amazed by what they saw.

They're playing like an ordinary team, but I remember that was the case two seasons ago,

A team that wants to be considered a good team can't play the way we did tonight. If we just want to be an average team this year, then that's another story.

It was battle-tested victory for us in many ways.

I told our guys that they have to stand in front of the net, not off to the side, ... You have to create traffic; you can't let the goaltender see the puck.

It showed that our guys aren't going to quit and that they kept battling. I have to give our players credit for the way they battled in the third period.

Everyone is still adjusting right now, whether it's the coaches, the players or the goalies. You've taken away one of a defenseman's biggest assets which is their ability to clear the front of the net and protect their goalie. The defense can't play tough in front of their net and the goalies are stuck dealing with the result of that. At some point the league has to do more to protect the goalies before someone ends up getting hurt.

The better they play, the more difficult it gets, ... But it's a nice problem to have.

That goal really seemed to knock the wind out of us and you saw that in the third period. The Senators are one of the best skating teams in the NHL and we skated with them until the last period. We came out flat and they just took over from that point on. For a team that also played last night, they still had their legs tonight. Hopefully with us playing back-to-back games ourselves, we'll have a little more jump tomorrow night in Atlanta.

It's definitely exciting any time you get a chance to get back behind a bench. I couldn't ask for more.

They came in here and beat us and that turned their whole season around. They started playing together and they went on to win the Stanley Cup.

I guess at the end there we got a little bit lucky, got a bounce, and found a way to win.

I'm the opposing coach, but I'll tell you what - that was a great goal.

I heard nothing but positive things from our scouts who saw Alex play in Russia last year. From what I've seen so far, they were absolutely right. This kid can play and I can't wait to see him in game situations.

If you want to score goals in this league, you have to be willing to pay the price,

But in those 38 seconds (of ice time), he had a goal. That's a credit to him.

He's so respected by his teammates for what he does. He picks up our bench every time he blocks a shot or makes a big hit.

He threw his weight around. He went to the net. He did all the good things he's been doing since Day 1 of camp. I wasn't disappointed at all.

If he continues to play like that, we have to take a serious look at him. There are a lot of factors that will go into the decision, like how it might affect his career. All I can say now is that I'm very impressed with his play.

I'd say the worst scenario is that he would become a third or fourth line player. I think he's capable of being a top two line player.

He adds a little more speed and energy to that line, ... We know those guys can play better and we hope this gives them a little spark.

You can't say he had a bad game because as a team, we didn't play well,