Shawn Horcoff Quotations

We've all bought into it. It's the key to us winning the series. Most of their offence is developed out of the neutral zone. We have to do it. They are so good at finding those holes. We think it's something that has to be done.

We're still in this thing. We have two games to go at home. Two more wins and we can still get in.

We've been in a lot worse situations. We're happy, but not satisfied with where we are at the break. For us to be (three) points up and not six points back is going to be huge for us.

Obviously it's good to have some practice time to get ready for Detroit. One of the strengths of their game is their neutral-zone play and we have to try and slow their speed down, so it's good to get out there and have a chance to work on that.

Nobody wants to play 16 games in 30 days and have to win 11 or 12 of them just to put yourself in a good position. That's why we view these games before the break as very important for us to win. These are huge games.

He looks great with us. You can see even though he's a relative rookie, he's been up and down so many times, he's mature and he's handling the situation with ease.

We took some positives out of that game and we can't wait to get into Game 2.

He was incredible. You can always count on big players to come through in big games. Those were playoff style, gritty goals.

He is so dangerous. A lot of people get caught watching him.

He is really good on penalty shots. He sold the backhand hard, and made a great move.

You can call it whatever you want, that's just how we're playing.

We're all wondering the same thing. We heard from exhibition games in Minnesota there were something like 10 or 15 five-on-threes, so your special teams better be pretty good.

We have the first game behind us. I think we'll calm down more now.

We never give up. We wear a lot of teams down.

We gave them three great opportunities to score and that was the difference. It's frustrating.

There hasn't been one game where one team has taken it from the start and just rode with it. That's just playoff hockey between two evenly matched teams. We don't really expect too much different in Game 6.

We've put ourselves in a good situation, given ourselves a good opportunity to win at home. But at the same time we realize it's going to be a tough game. We have to come out with a lot of intensity because it's not going to be easy.

We should be pretty experienced when it comes down to it.

Every goalie we play against seems to have the game of his life against us. We created some excellent chances but we couldn't finish any of our chances off. Even with all the penalties we had to kill, I think we created enough offense to win the game, but when he's (Miller) making save after save, all you can do is keep shooting.

Terrible. The worst I've ever been part of since I've been a professional.

Probably because you're seeing two of the best road teams in the league. We both play extremely well on the road.

After you take that much time off it gives you a chance to kind of step into it easy. Yesterday and today we kind of felt our way into it; we don't want anyone to come back and get sore. We're going to pick it up in the next couple of days and by early next week we'll have our team together and be up to speed.

Detroit is very much a team you can't give space to in the neutral zone.

The break is nice - but it's little bit long.

That's not up to me, but I don't think so. Our core is still fairly young, guys in their young to mid 20s, that's the thing people need to look at.

It's a tough stretch. But you look at it as a good opportunity, too. If you can be successful early you can give yourself a bit of a cushion. I don't feel any more pressure this year; I feel more excited than anything about our team and our chances to be successful.

It's a big push for every team. It will be great for the fans and a big test for the players.

It's there for the taking and no one wants to grab it. We both keep taking our kicks at the can and haven't done it.

It's second nature to play a simpler game on the road. That's probably why we have a better record than at home. The proof is in the pudding.

Even with a win, we're not safe yet. But with a win it really would give us a chance to (think) about winning the division title in addition to making the playoffs.

It's nice to get those kind of games. You get a lead and guys don't have to extend themselves too much. You get to roll four lines and play everybody.

It's still a big plateau for a lot of guys. It's a mark that everyone likes to get to. Personally, I didn't put too much emphasis on it, but I view myself more as a play-making centre.

It's definitely an area we need to improve. If we could have improved our power play last season, just four or five per cent, we would have been in the playoffs easily.

The kid's got unbelievable talent. It's only a matter of time for him.

He's such a creative guy. He draws so much attention that I just try to find the open ice. We were a little fortunate that their D got tangled up, but that happened because he made a move to go between them and slipped the puck through.

The media hasn't picked up on it like we have in here, but we truly believed we could be successful. We believe in ourselves, that we can get it done in the end. What other teams have done against the Red Wings has no bearing on our play. We have the confidence, and we've had it from the start, that we can get things done.