John Tortorella Quotations

We started out really well. But for some reason after they scored their goal we were like deer in headlights. I don't have an answer for that, but obviously that has to be cured.

There is no question we have to do a better job at home. To be successful in this league, you have to take care of business at home and we haven't always done that.

We're going to miss him. He's a main piece to our puzzle, offensively, defensively, on our power play, all the things. Having said that, we'll hope he comes back but if he doesn't we have to be concerned about bringing someone up and we have to keep on playing.

We're getting ready for playoffs. I'm not going to get too involved in this game. ... We'll be ready to play. We're right where we want to be.

We're right where we want to be. You want to play the team that is supposed to win it. The result (Tuesday) was not there, but we have played better.

We have no problems with those three guys being in the lineup this time of year.

We've won one game, that is it. I think what we did is just turn this into a series. ... As the series goes on, you have to play better. We know Ottawa is going to play better the third game.

We're playing a pretty good hockey team and Ottawa deserves credit. I've never seen a team that is so opportunistic. You make a mistake and they make it end up in the net. They make you pay. If we're going to win this game, we have to be at our best.

We're just trying to get points. Obviously we wanted two and wanted to win in regulation, but you know the way we played the last two periods I think we're very fortunate to get two points.

We have a short time left in our season. At times you have to have amnesia and for a good part of this game we will, but there are some things to learn from it and now we'll just get ready for Montreal.

We have a pretty good idea of who is going to be staying with us.

We're good as far as our mindset, but Ottawa turned it up a notch. So we have to eat it and try to get better. There's no sense of dwelling over it.

Sean has played well at a very important time of year. Johnny will get a start. If we can get the two of them going, it's a good problem to have.

My little tirade, that doesn't help, absolutely not. That's a bad coaching reaction. That doesn't help the hockey team right now. I have my feelings, but it does not have to be presented that way at this point with this team.

Maybe tonight was a little bit of a let down. But I thought we showed enough energy to get ourselves back in it and then we had a good third period.

New Jersey must be a very disciplined team considering all the time we spent in their end zone.

Right now, after the first (few) days of camp, our sixth defenseman is not here. We still have 21/2 weeks.

Philly is not going to intimidate us. No chance.

If we get in (to the playoffs), we'll be a dangerous team. But we have a lot of work to do on the little things.

I'd just like to get a save. It's tough. I didn't think Grahame played well. You give up four goals on 17 shots. We need the occasional save.

I don't give a damn about the Leafs. We're not going to look over our shoulder.

I don't know why it should increase intensity. Our intensity should be increased to the limit right now, with where we're at. I'm not a big believer in statement games, measuring sticks, four-point games. I think every game is important.

I don't care how it looked, it's about finding a way and it starts with your goaltending giving you a chance and the past two nights we have definitely got that.

I don't care if you're projected as the star of the team or the captain of the team. I don't care if you're the grinder of the team. I don't care if you're the ice cream man. If you don't push and play with intensity, you are not going to get your ice time.

Give Luongo credit. He seems to have those games against us quite a bit.

Four goals in 16 shots. ... I'm really tired of the 25-percent rule.

From all the reports I get from the players that have come up here, from the reports from the coaches and everybody said that he has handled himself very well in a situation where there could be a little whining. I wouldn't agree with the whining, but it happens and he hasn't done it.

From our goaltending right on out, I thought we played well, I thought we played hard, I thought we created a lot of offence but you're still in the situation where you're not putting that puck in the net when you have those chances. The 20 minutes in the third period was very important in just finding a way.

From where we were before this game to after this game, there are a lot of positives. The team battled hard. We have to build off of that.

I don't think it's far away from us. Even right now, it's not far away from us.

I don't think I've ever heard Rammer raise his voice.

Give the Leafs credit. They waited for us to turn it over. The guys understood how to get it done when you're down.

If it hadn't been for Burke, we would have been embarrassed. We should be embarrassed.

If it wasn't Burki, we would've been embarrassed. He was outstanding. We should be embarrassed.

If it wasn't for Burke we'd be embarrassed. Burke was outstanding. We should be embarrassed.

He did well. Obviously with a young guy like that, if you're not going to be able to get him the minutes, you want him to continue playing (in the minors).

He made a mistake and chased the money. And he missed a chance at a Stanley Cup.

He needs to be a big part of the team as we go into the last quarter of the season. The way he plays, that's the type of hockey we are going to have to play, the battles. If he gets recharged a little bit during the break I think he will be a big part of the club.

This was one of the craziest games I've ever been involved with. There were more fluky goals than I've ever seen in my life.

We talked about this as an organization before we started the season. We felt there were going to be some bumps and quite a bit of adversity coming through, and we've seen it. But it's a learning experience. We are going to have to learn to deal with it. We are going to have to have a better second half, and I believe we will.

We've been through a lot tougher situations than this in our past. We will get it done.

We just have to keep fighting. We have to stay together as a team.

Guys are trying, but we've got to finish.

He's a guy we're still making assessments on. Has he played poorly? No. Has he done enough things to be a bona fide National Hockey Leaguer? No. So we'll see as we go along with him.

He's a little nervous at times, rightfully so. He's a guy we have big plans for.

He's been so much-maligned all year long but tonight his heart was as big as the building, especially in that third period he played.

He's got to go down and play. The next time he gets a chance here, and it could be this year, you have to come in with the mind-set that you need to try to make a difference. I don't think he played badly, I just don't think it was a situation where he was trying to make a difference. He was just kind of feeling his way through it a little bit. And the minutes he was getting, it doesn't give him a great opportunity.

He's been in the background. But the room knows what he brings. That's the most important thing.

We looked tired and I think they were tired, but I still think they played hard. It's finding a way.

I already know in this league, people are complaining about it. And we can't complain about it. We have to allow this to happen. And I just hope we have some strong people to see this through.

He didn't just tippy-toe in here and that's one of the things I respect about Range. We know there will be some bumps in the road. For a young guy you need to expect that. We're just going to try to iron them out as much as possible.

He didn't have a whole lot of work, but he was solid. He gave us a chance.

It all starts with our desperation level. We're playing with desperation.

It better not be hard. We have to maintain it.

I thought we took some inopportune times to take some penalties, but I saw a lot of good things from our club. Now we'll get on the plane, and do it again tomorrow.

I thought we played with more energy, I thought we did better things tonight. Both teams had some opportunities. They scored on a couple. We didn't.

I thought we were ready to play. But we looked surprised that there was another team on ice.

I think the new rules have played with the minds of some players, especially our offensive people. We're going to instill the red line at times in the game. ... Our guys are going to play with it just to get them to come back (to the defensive zone). And we knew it was going to happen with these new rules. It's a process, especially for our offensive people.

I thought we played well enough to win. We had plenty of scoring chances, and we just didn't finish.

I thought we played well enough in Washington, but again we didn't score the big goal. That was probably, to me, one of the toughest losses I've gone through in the way we lost it. I thought we made some terrible mistakes on the (winning) goal. ... As a coach, it was a tough one to eat.

I thought we played very well, but do the math. Eight scoring chances, five goals. It's frustrating.

I thought the key was making sure when we got down 1-0 to come back and answer right away, and obviously score a couple more after that.

I thought parts of the game we played very well, but other parts we were brain-dead. Even in the second period when it was 3-1 I thought we weren't playing badly, but we put ourselves in a bad spot with too many penalties.

I think it's the maturity level of our club. I think we've shown that the last little while. We've stayed with it. We haven't turned into individuals, we've just tried to keep banging away.

It happens. We're mature enough to handle to that. Just look to the next game.

I think that's their weak spot - the third period. That's the positive we take out of that.

I think that was one of those situations where Marty was trying to deliver a message to the team. He was dead on in this game as far as his intensity and the way he wanted to put the game on his back.

I think some of our young guys who have been here for two or three years finally got a taste of the playoffs and a little bit of an understanding of where the fun in the game is. That's the time of year. It certainly whets your appetite and we have a new challenge this year, so we are going to attack it.

I was worried about that. It has happened quite a bit. We have done a lot of good things in all parts of our game except put the puck in the back of the net. You could feel the same thing. But we made a step in the right direction. We didn't wait for something bad to happen.

I think the room has really responded. No disrespect to Andy, but this team is worrying about playing better and they're playing very well.

I think there were things within our team tonight amongst ourselves where it was boiling points and frustration with one another. I think it's very important right now, when it gets to that level, that we've just got to stay together. There are some tough times in a long season. This is the time we need to stay together and just get through it.

I respect what players have to do in this league, especially those type of role players who do a lot of things other people aren't willing to do. But there still has to be some honor in it.

Our power play (stinks). We moved the puck, but we didn't produce.

Our team had a great season last year. But to be considered a great organization, you have to do it again and again. That's the difficult thing. To be considered a great organization, we still have some steps to go.

Our best players have to be better, and they know that. You can guys write it, I'm saying it and I'm not saying it in a negative way. They know the real world. Our best players have to be better for us to do the things we need to do in the last three games here.

Our biggest fear, our biggest challenge, is our team's mind-set. It isn't X's and O's, and it isn't talent. It's what the locker room is going to be like.

Remember Good is the Enemy of Great? This year, we need to say that Great is the Enemy of Excellent.

Some guys are trending upward, some guys are trending downward. We just haven't been able to get everybody going at the same time.

I won't have to say a word to him about that. We have felt, since he has been with the organization, this kid is going to be a captain someday. He handles himself at such a young age as a pro, and I feel that's the ultimate compliment to a player. He's got some great leadership qualities as far as how he carries himself - not his words - but just how he carries himself and that's very important.

It has been a different year from the past two or three. I think we expected that: some things to not always be in place, some adversity coming to us. Our consistency on the ice in all aspects of the game hasn't always been there.

I think he is great for our game. He has some jam to his game to add to his talent and the dynamic player he is he's the total package. He can be a one-on-one player, but he can also make a play and make another player look good. With that talent and that type of jam, he has the full package.

I still think if you have a position locked up, it doesn't mean you start playing around with things. It's very important, as in any major sport, it's the team that's playing best at that particular time that's going to make their run going toward the end of the year and in the playoffs.

I thought he showed signs of the doing some of the things we expect out of him. Again, not so much offensively. I still think there is a ton of work to be done there.

Johnny has been spitting bullets at me since he's been here because he thinks he should be playing more. We had decided he was ready to take over the No. 1 spot. Then he screwed up.

Johnny Grahame was outstanding as far as giving us a chance to win and that is a very important note on why we won the game.

Johnny didn't have a whole bunch of work, but I think he made a couple of big saves at key times. That's the most important thing. ... (Our goaltending) keeps giving us a chance to win and get some points.

I think this is a great opportunity for John Grahame, who has been spitting bullets at me since he got here to be a No. 1. But you know what, it's not going to be me making the decisions, it's going to be them making the decision for the team, and that's the most important thing.

We need an occasional save. Johnny is trying like hell but four goals in 16 shots. It's deflating.

That's a tough one, I thought that we played well right on through. I thought that we played a good second half of the third period. We'll rebound and they should feel good about the way that they played, as it was our seventh game in eleven nights against a quality team and we just have to stay positive.

Where was Marty on that 2-on-1? He threw the puck in the corner, 10 feet wide (of the net). That's as bad as giving up a (bleep) goal.

We'll be ready to play. We're right where we want to be.

We played more of the way we need to play. And it's the way we will need to play if we're going to become a good team.

We really weren't taking questions. We wanted him back. ... This is the most important thing. This has to be the most important thing. I really believe Mo understands that.

We had let a (lack of) effort seep into our team and I was scared to death that that kind of effort had become acceptable. If we lose our work ethic, we're an average or a below-average team.

We're very pleased with that. That's the way it works. You give people opportunities and they try to make the best of it.

We were having problems generating chances, having problems with their speed. Obviously the second goal at the end of the period was key. That's what I like about what happened, we ended up finding a way.

We know it's one loss and we're done ... season's over.

We'll do it the best way possible to make sure guys are physically able to go in this last quarter (of the season).

We are right where we want to be. Right where we want to be.

We did what we had to ... start re-establishing us at home.