Michel Therrien Quotations

We started playing in the second period. We started to execute our plan in the second period. When we're doing what we're supposed to do, we're a tough team to play against.

There are certain things a coaching staff can do. But it's up to the players to be prepared. It's part of their responsibility to come and be ready to play and ready to work. Tonight was a bad performance.

We want to put the puck on net a little bit more. There were times we did it, there were times we could have done it more.

We want him to be back. I hope he has some good performances.

We want to go with him as much as we can, depending on the schedule.

We deserved to win. We stuck to the plan and we allowed only 17 shots, and I'm happy about the way we are playing.

We deserve better. We played a good game. Lately, it's like to win a game you need breaks, we don't have breaks. You need some calls, we don't have the calls. It's tough to swallow.

Sidney Crosby is an emotional guy. You don't want to take that away. It's part of his game.

One thing, we don't quit. Every shift we want to battle and play with a lot of pride.

I believe that was a horrible call, but there's nothing we can do. I don't think it was a clear breakaway. I didn't believe that. Interpretation is always different. It was a tough night. The referees were tough on us.

I'm anxious to see how we're going to react. There's no doubt in my mind we're going to play a better game. I think the players have some pride and they want to bounce back and give them a good game.

He doesn't go after people, running around. Sometimes a huge mistake with young kids is they try to make the big hit, but they get caught out of position.

He came to see us after the second period and felt that he could try on the power play and we played him on the power play.

We took some bad penalties. This is something that we told our team, not to take bad penalties, and we took some bad penalties. Against a team like that, for sure it's going to cost and again (Monday) it cost.

We talk about the young players who dominate the game now, and he's certainly one of them. He has good hockey sense, he skates real well. He's a power forward who's tough to contain.

He's aggressive. He finishes his checks and it's going to be important for us to be physical against (the Rangers).

He's a leader of that team. He's a great example for young players, with his work ethic. He makes a huge commitment to fitness. He makes a huge commitment to what it takes to become a great player.

He's got good speed, he's got a good shot and he's a smart player on the ice.

We made some bad decisions. When you don't win, you're tense. You probably don't think the same way. You're rushing things because the confidence is not there. We rushed some decisions. That was a big part.

We made some bad decisions and it cost us the game. We lost momentum. Even strength we were pretty good against this team.

He was solid defensively, and he played the way I expected him to.

He's playing well. He's hungry. He battled hard.

He creates a lot of turnovers the way he can chase the puck-carrier. But he's got to chip in once in a while.

I think we are in the right direction and it's going to be positive, but I know they can play better. Eventually.

Lately, he's playing better. He's skating better. I think he's been better, more comfortable in his own end. He knows how to react in defensive situations.

I saw the game on TV when they played here, and Caron played really well that game. He almost stole the game. I wanted to give him a game before we go to the break and thought that was the right game to put him out there.

Marc-Andre was phenomenal and we capitalized on our chances and did a lot of good things.

Marc-Andre was phenomenal, and we capitalized on our chances and did a lot of good things.

Marc-Andre Fleury was phenomenal. It could have been really ugly.

That's the kind of hockey we're used to seeing from the Devils. They played a really good game.

Most of the penalties, they were not even scoring chances. Sometimes they were close to 200 feet away from our net. Those are bad penalties. We're going to have to be smarter. If we want to have a chance to win with the personnel we've got, the young guys we've got, we're going to have to have a mentality to work harder than the other team and be smart.

Yeah, we played hard. We worked hard and played hard and I though we were the best team on the ice tonight, but we need breaks to win games. We didn't have any breaks -- all the breaks were against us. A few calls were against us, so it was one of those nights.

We found a way. That's a good thing, especially after the way we played at home. I think guys have a lot of things to prove to themselves and their teammates. We needed a strong game, and we got a strong game.

The penalties cost the game. Usually the bad penalties cause goals, and we took some bad ones.

Yeah, I like what I saw from the way they played the last game and even the game before, when we made that move. This is something I had in my mind for two or three weeks, how he was going to react as a winger.

We're a team that our work ethic has to be 100 percent, our concentration has to be 100 percent and our desperation has to be 100 percent. At the moment that we slip away a little bit, we are going to be in real trouble. (Saturday) all the things I just mentioned were not there at all and it was embarrassing. An embarrassing performance. That's all I have to say.

We worked hard. We were aggressive. I really liked the way we played.

We like our unit of five against top players.

We were the best team on the ice (today), by far. We played a great game.

We'll have some quality practice time. This year, the schedule is so compact with so many games in such a short period of time that will be nice to get to work on our system.

We had a great start. We followed the plan really well. We did a lot of good things and finally we can build on the positive.

We had a great start the first half of the game. We followed the plan really well. It's a tough league to have a four-goal lead because sometimes you loose your concentration, and the other team is taking a lot of chances.

We figured it should have been a five-minute major. But the referee didn't call it. Turned out to be down the road the difference in the game, but there's nothing we can do about it.

We felt that we wanted him to play, to work on some stuff he needs to work on, to make plays and stuff like that.

We're going into the break onto a positive note and that was important. We weathered the storm in the first period. Marc-Andre was phenomenal in the first, he made some key saves. The power play played really well and penalty killing for the first time in a long time didn't allow a goal.

We wanted him to concentrate on his game. Take away all of the distractions. I'm more than happy for him and for our hockey team.

Even strength, we were pretty good against this team.

Every time they got a shot, it was a quality shot. It's a tough game for the goalie to play. (Fleury) made some good saves and was there when we needed him.

There's no doubt in my mind we are going to play a better game. I think the players have some pride. They want to bounce back. It's all about attitude and what kind of attitude the players display. I'm confident they have what it takes.

Anyone with good character wants to give it another shot.

This is not only for a weekend. It's probably for the rest of the season, because we want to make sure of that when we make decisions.

You can't judge a good start by the result. I don't think, tonight, that we got a good start. We didn't play the way we're supposed to.

There were times we could have put on the puck on the net a little bit more, but we were looking for the perfect play.

It's tough to have a four-goal lead, sometimes, because you lose your concentration and the other team takes a lot of chances. They got a lot of shots. We wanted to keep them on the outside as much as we could, and Marc-Andre was phenomenal.

For guys like him, it's tough. He's in and out of the lineup. We want him to be aggressive, we want him to create some offense. But at the same time, I understand that he's playing on the fourth line, so the quality of his ice time is not the same as guys on the top three lines.

It's probably the first time in my career that we're trailing by five goals and I coach my team not changing anything because the work ethic is there. Our goalie was not good.

It's up to him to decide when to make a comeback.

Eventually I want to get back as head coach of an NHL team; that's my goal. I'd rather be a head coach in the AHL than an assistant in the NHL.

It's nice to get a reward, seeing your team like we have been seeing here. They have been playing pretty hard, but they never get rewarded. Finally, tonight, there were a lot of guys who had a great game. It was a good team effort. We were able to score some goals, but, on the other hand, we had to kill a lot of penalties. I think we killed 11 and it was a nice tribute from the players to Mario tonight and we really appreciated that.

It's nice to see, because this organization had some success a long time ago. Then they went through tough times, and now they're back.

It's so great just to get to the Super Bowl and so great for the city. Pittsburgh is just a great city for sports. Things on the hockey side have been tough lately, but we're rebuilding and we're cheering them on.

It's always the same feeling when you lose (in a shootout). It's like AAGH.

It was not a good penalty, for sure. A doubtful call. I don't know.

It was good to see him on the ice. Hopefully he is strong enough to play (Saturday).

It's not a matter of confidence. It's a matter of trying.

It's not a major injury. It's day to day. We'll evaluate tomorrow. We'll find out more.

Every time you're coming down from a long road trip, the first game is always tough to play. We knew we were playing against a quality team. I thought our work ethic was there, so that's a good sign. Physically, we didn't back down. They were physical, and we were physical. But they have experienced players, and we have a lot of young players. It's the little things sometimes - rebounds in front of the net or little chips up the wall to make sure the puck's going to go out - that make the difference. But our guys really worked hard tonight.

Every time you're coming down from a long road trip, that first game is always tough to play. We knew we were playing against a quality team. I thought our work ethic was there, and that's a good sign.

I mentioned to the players after the first period that's enough. (Guillaume) Lefebvre and (Shane) Endicott are having a hard time reading the play. But your best penalty killer should be your goalie. You need some big saves every once in a while.

I'm not afraid to play him back to back. We'll see how it goes (tonight) and then make a decision for the next day.

I liked the way he played; that's why we called him up. He played with confidence. We wish him the best in Atlanta.

I know how Colby's capable of playing. Lately, his game is back to where it was last year, even if he got a slow start this season. The last month, he's been playing really well, the way we were expecting.

He's young. He just turned 21 three months ago. Yes, we want him to make the key save at the right time, and he's doing that most of the time. There are going to be games when he's not able to make it, but that's part of developing young kids. If you don't put him out there, he's not going to get that experience.

He's a player that in Canada, they love the way he plays and he got a lot of admiration last year when he went to the World Junior and won a gold medal for Team Canada. He's a great kid and a good person, and that's what people like about him. They can tell he's a good person.

He played really well. He moved the puck, and he was solid defensively. He played like I was expecting.

The good thing is, we didn't quit. Hopefully, they'll bring that third period to the next game.