Tom Renney Team Quotations

He's clearly decided he's got to do what he's got to do in order for this team to get its playoff spot and that's foremost in his mind. We're all the beneficiary of that attitude.

We're preparing for a team we love to play and who loves to play us. My feeling is we'll be much better.

We lost, so we're not as good. The game could've gone any way at the end but the more experienced team prevailed.

He wants to play and he feels responsible for this team and where it's going. He wants to be the guy that leads them.

Just something we have to deal with internally as a team when it comes to penalties.

We have to stay out of the penalty box. Five-on-five, if there's a team that has the advantage it may be us. We have to be patient and avoid frustration.

This team has got itself on the brink. We've got to lock in or we're out of here. We don't want anyone to look at our regular season as a complete illusion.

To his credit, he's certainly been the consummate team guy and likely in retrospect having even deserved more starts than he's gotten. His injuries have prevented that from happening. These are big games for us moving forward and he'll play a significant role in how far we go here in these next games and hopefully what we do beyond that.

We were reactive, as opposed to proactive. We were always trying to respond. In the offensive zone, I thought we were the better team than they were. But off the attack, they were outstanding. They kept getting odd-man rushes.

And we want to win in a way that suggests to anybody that plays this team beyond this year, that you'd better check in and know how the Rangers are playing because that's what you're going to have to live up to. That's what we're trying to develop here.

This lineup tonight could be symbolic of what it might take down the road here and in the playoffs. We hope the team understands the value of that and works harder to play that way than maybe they have the last half dozen games.

They really care about where this team is going. They have an ear to the past and what's happened here, but they've also really assumed the responsibility for where this team is going to go - the effort we're trying to make to gain respect back from our fans and from the NHL.

It's a team that lost their poise and their composure, simple as that. ... We humiliated ourselves here today and we embarrassed ourselves.

It's a team that lost its poise and it's composure, simple as that. We clearly talked about what needed to be done in the second period and if we would have given ourselves a fighting chance by playing even-up hockey, there's a good chance we win the hockey game. We lost our composure, saw some selfish hockey, some undisciplined players and some guys who chose to think of themselves before their teammates.

It's a game to build on. Now we're at ground level and we can keep building. We played hard and showed the character that is symbolic of our team for most of the year.

It's a reference point, that's probably the biggest advantage we created for ourselves out of tonight. We did come from behind to beat a real good hockey team and we have to use that for what it's worth.

It's a matter of can we play on the road with what could arguably be the best team in the league. Can we go into their rink and continue to play the way we have to play regardless of the venue and get the job done? We'll see.

I want to be the team we were before the (Olympic) break. Additions or not, I want us to be that team. If we're that team, then these two players really help us a lot. If not, then they'll struggle.

I hope we're developing a reputation as a team that's tough to beat, whether at home or on the road. I hope that we're being identified as a team that plays a responsible game without the puck, that we are solid from the goaltender out.

I hope what we're dong here is providing a template for what this team will look like in the future.

In the first 10 minutes something was amiss with our team and our approach. We got it going finally, but at the end of the day the better team won.

I don't think so. I've asked myself the same question. We've really been careful in how we schedule our days off. Many of those are kind of spontaneous decisions to cut out a practice here or a morning skate. I think we've done the right things. I think one of the reasons we've been relatively injury-free is because of our general team fitness.

The first 10 minutes suggests something was amiss with our team and our approach.