POSTGAME QUOTES BOSTON BRUINS VS Thursday, October 25, 2018

BOSTON BRUINS HEAD COACH BRUCE CASSIDY On if it’s nice having good, consistent backup goaltending… Well it’s something you need every night to have a chance to win, so for us it’s a tremendous luxury. Again, I thought last year we had a lot of that and again we’re seeing it this year. So, we went back and forth but this was originally scheduled as Jaro’s [Jaroslav Halak] game. He got an extra one in Vancouver, which wasn’t originally, but this was, so we stuck with that. Tuukka’s [Rask] going to go Saturday, and we kind of got to – I guess Tuesday, as well – so that’s the end of the month. That was the original plan. We told Jaro, listen if you come in and play we’re not going to limit your starts. We’ll allow the competition to evolve, and he’s done a real good job. Real clean first period, not with the puck, but in terms of not allowing chances. In the second he had some big saves for us when we needed them, timely, and here we are with the win. To answer your question again, yeah, it’s a luxury to have it, but we’re paying for it, right. That’s one of the things we knew going in. We should have good goaltending. It’s kind of paired out that way.

On if in the future which starts is due to merit not prior scheduling… It could, absolutely. We do that at the start of the year for – we’ve done it here for years and just to work Tuukka’s [Rask] starts in because he’s been the number one. But if Jaro’s [Jaroslav Halak] able to push him and if and eventually take the job if and when that happens then we’ll look at that. We’re going to try to keep it as balanced as possible early on, and then like we said if one separates himself from the other like every other position here then we’ll allow that to evolve.

On if there was always a plan for Jeremy Lauzon to kill penalties… Yes. No absolutely. That’s one of his things. He’ll compete. He’ll eat pucks. He’s a big body. He’ll battle, so that’s something we knew. Probably Grizz [Matt Grzelcyk] and [Steven] Kampfer would be power-play guys and Zee [Zdeno Chara], [Brandon] Carlo, [Jeremy] Lauzon and [John] Moore in some way, shape or form. Just happened Zee took some penalties, so we had to put a little more stress on him, but no he was going to kill.

On Brandon Carlo’s string of solid performances… Well we need it. Again, step up, right. He’s probably looking at Charlie [McAvoy] like hey I want those minutes as well. And why not? He’s a young guy. He’s actually played more games than Charlie. It’s good. Like I said, internal competition where guys are pushing each other for those minutes only makes you better.

On the days of 200 minutes being gone… Not quite Shultz and [Terry] O’Reilly.

[Laughter]

On if there’s still room for team bonding around roughness in the game… I think so. Oh yeah, I think our guys have always stuck up for one another. They get helps. Last year that was a big part of our growth as a team. I saw Jake [DeBrusk] do it. I saw [David] Pastrnak do it. You know, two guys you don’t think – Schalls [Tim Schaller] did it, but I guess he has a little more of that in him, so it’s great. Marchy [Brad Marchand] did it the other day against bigger guys. More having each other’s back, but more that guys are getting mixed up in it. It’s been part of the Bruins lore forever, as well as the Flyers, so probably see a little more with those types of teams. Yes, I think there’s always going to be room until it’s taken out of the game. And as long as it’s part of it then if it’s necessary we’ll have at it.

On getting the secondary scoring tonight… Well, you can’t rely on three guys or the power play every – even though the power play got two it was from, I guess Zee’s [Zdeno Chara] was empty, but the other one was the second group. Zee getting a big , [David] Krejci’s . We’ve said it. We think they’re coming. They got a goal the other night. It was Pasta’s [David Pastrnak] goal, but Krech went to the net and screened Danton [Heinen] made the play. Those two created off the forecheck. Jake’s [DeBrusk] been getting chances, so they’re coming around. I think David’s been real good, Krech, in terms of driving that line. If it can trickle down now to the D and the forwards, or the third and fourth line, then now we’re really talking, and I think any team would tell you that. We’ve lived off Bergy’s [Patrice Bergeron] line for a while, but eventually those shot averages even out and you need those other guys.

On Danton Heinen’s play since he was scratched… I think he’s winning more pucks. He’s more like the player that was excelling last year, so it’s on his stick more. We feel like he can make plays. He can score goals as well, which hasn’t happened, if it’s finding him. Now, again some of that is opportunity and right now it’s not a lot, but he’s winning more pucks and the forecheck and now he’s at least getting in the assist column. He’s been better. He wants to be in the lineup. Before that it’s not like the effort wasn’t there it’s just wasn’t happening for him, so sometimes that works as a wakeup – not a wakeup call but a notice that says hey we’re going to go to the next guy, but we’ve always had faith in him that he was going to get back in there. And he has.

On Jeremy Lauzon’s game… He did. He did a nice job. Nordy [Joakim Nordstrom] almost kicked it in our net after that, but that was an interesting – we watched it about 10 times to figure out what happened there. No, he played it, he did play it well. He pushed the guy outside on his backhand. And once he was in a bad spot he tried to make himself as big as possible, so he did a good job with that. Like I said, for his first NHL game, it’s a tough environment against a good offensive team. He did really well. We also felt it was a good matchup. There’s other names that came up in Providence that we thought we could use, but for what we were missing we thought it was a good matchup tonight.

On Joakim Nordstrom as third-line center… I don’t know, to be honest with you. He was good on the dot. I think what happens now with him and [Chris] Wagner, Wagner takes him on the strong side. Nordy [Joakim Nordstrom] gets his on his strong side, so maybe that’s why he’s winning a few more. He only has to go in on his better side. He’s been putting some work on. I think repetition over a while will help your numbers. Now whether he’ll go – I think it was 6-0 after the second, I don’t know how he ended up – those numbers forever. But still, if he can be a 50% guy in there we can live with that for all the good he does in other areas. On if he approves of the Beat LA chants during the game… I do. I love it. I love it.

On David Pastrnak’s play… Periodically he’s getting old in the league. He’s pushed back and looked after himself. Those types of things. He’s got his wits about him for the most part. He never really snaps. He’ll get mad at himself if he doesn’t finish a play here or there, but for the most part that’s not really an issue.

On if the success of Boston teams can be used as a motivational tool for coaching… Yeah, I think at the appropriate time our guys will recognize that there are champions in this city, and they want to join the party. They’re around a lot of these guys. I’m not sure which ones they’re friends with, but they’re around, they go to games. I would think come April and May that those are discussions that they want to be part of the group that wins. Whether the Red Sox win, lose or draw I think they’ll have that extra carrot.

BOSTON BRUINS DEFENSEMAN ZDENO CHARA On if tonight’s win was fun for him... It’s nice to win, that’s for sure. If I can contribute to the offense it’s always nice, but I think that we are more proud of keeping our net clean from the pucks going in. So, yeah, it’s fun to win. If we can help, it’s always kind of a plus, a bonus, but I think we are more proud of taking pride in our defense.

On if that’s the longest empty netter he can remember scoring... I think I had one similar last year from the other side. Yeah, the opportunity was there. Jaro [Jaroslav Halak] made a quick pass and at that point, obviously I tried to get it in, so it’s nice.

On the defensive injuries and how they handle the young lineup... Same way as if we would have a full lineup. We can’t be really changing the way we play, we’ve just got to focus on our system. We do play our system, we should be fine. Obviously we do miss our guys, but at the same time, it’s a chance for other guys to step up and play, play some different situations and probably more minutes. So, that’s just the way it is. I think that every team is going to go through some injuries at some point, and it seems like we are going through them right now and that’s just, we can’t do anything about it – just keep playing and keep playing in the system.

On if someone tipped his first goal... I think it went straight through. I didn’t see, obviously, the replays but yeah.

On if the Flyers were frustrated at the end of the game... I’m not sure; you’ve got to ask them. I don’t know how they felt, so you’ve got to ask them how they felt.

On the amount of fights and chippiness towards the end of the game... Yeah, I mean, maybe. It’s just the way it ended – physical game towards the end – so usually, things do happen at times. But I don’t know how they felt.

BOSTON BRUINS GOALIE JAROSLAV HALAK On getting the start… Every time you start a game or play a game, you’re hoping to get a win. Obviously, if you can get a shutout that’s always more special. But, I always say, it’s a team effort. Everybody was on the same page and great work tonight.

On making saves early in the game… You don’t want to get too high; just want to stay steady out there and just make the saves. Sometimes you just want to wait for the puck to hit you, and that was the case tonight. I mean, I got lucky at the end, you know, they hit the cross bar.

On new defensemen playing in games… Yeah, it’s one of those situations that everyone who comes in, we need them to step up and play at the top of their game. I think guys who have come in the lineup, that’s what they’ve been doing. We just need to get through this and wait for the guys to come back.

On playing well and wanting to keep playing in games… I don’t make those decisions. I just take it day by day. I was happy to get a call tonight and play a game, and obviously getting the win, it’s always great. But, we’re going to enjoy it, and then Saturday is a new challenge.

On playing Montreal… I haven’t experienced it. I can tell you what it’s like to play against the Rangers or the Islanders. It’s always a high intense game from the drop of the puck; everybody wants to hit each other and win a game obviously, and that’s going to be the case for us.

On expecting to have as many starts as you have… No, I said before the season, I just want to help the guys whenever I get a chance and I’m glad coach has the confidence in me.

BOSTON BRUINS DEFENSEMAN STEVEN KAMPFER On his fight with Scott Laughton... Well, I hit him and he said “That’s enough; let’s do this” and I backed off and he fake dropped and I real dropped, and I guess that’s how it happened. Then the second one, he asked me what happened and then I told him and when I had my glove to my mouth, he threw his gloves off and I mean, if you want to do it, do it the first time. I mean, I don’t know – if you’re going to play hard, play hard. I have no problem answering the bell to that. But if you’re going to ask me to go, go.

On Wayne Simmonds jumping in late... Yeah, and I understand that one. He’s kind of their enforcer. You kind of respect it because he’s going to step in like that, but you know, the gauging the eyes when we were down in the pile, that was unnecessary. But, you know, he asked me a couple more times, but that guys in a different level. I’m not going to take my time to fight that guy. But, it is what it is; it’s a hard game, you play hard, and if a guy wants to go, you go.

On the hit that preceded the fight and cutting him off at the boards... Yeah, I tried to close him off before the blue, caught him with a shoulder right to the chest, and I caught [Corban] Knight earlier – like two shifts earlier – so I think at that point he was kind of getting tired of it, but like I said, he asked me to go and then didn’t go. So, it is what it is. It’s another game and we’ll move from there.

On if he thinks the team bonds around an old time hockey fighting approach... I think you get a little life from it; I think it can definitely swing a momentum either way. I didn’t like having a power play against us – I didn’t think that that was going to transpire – so, our penalty kill did a great job of killing that off and I commend those guys. Noel [Acciari] had a couple good blocks; the guys did a great job clearing it. So, I think like you said, the old school game, it happens, it’s part of the game, you’re not seeing it much anymore but guys got to stand up for themselves.

On Jeremy Lauzon’s NHL debut... I thought he played well. I thought he was good with the puck. We played in training camp together a couple times, so we were kind of familiar with each other, but I thought he was good, I thought he moved his feet, I thought he held his own. It was a good first game and a building step.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD JAKE DEBRUSK On the team coming together chemistry wise and getting some goals… Yeah, I think that anytime you get secondary scoring it’s huge and obviously Z with two tonight, but personally, I thought, like you said, our line was doing well tonight and I think it helps to play more games together and kind of understanding how we play. I thought each one of us had looks tonight; we’re just looking to build now and continue against Montreal.

On the dynamic Heinen brings to the line… I think he brings smarts. I think that, you can tell in the forecheck he’s always kind of in the right spots, or around the puck. Tonight the pucks were kind of bouncing on certain areas, but he still got on the boards, so I was happy for him. That’s probably the biggest thing I’d say is smarts overall. He’s got high hockey IQ and he’s a good passer as well; so, it’s always nice to have that on the line.

On his goal… Yeah, I think that Krech was looking at me and as soon as I made eye contact I knew it was coming, so I was just trying to position myself and I was trying to go upstairs with it and that’s pretty much what happened. It was kind of a flubby puck and I think it kind of took Elliot off guard, so I’ll take it and it was nice to score.

On the fighting at the end… Yeah, I think they’re a proud team over there. I think that anytime it’s Philly vs. Boston there’s some of that. I was in the box for most of that, so I got a nice view. That’s just the way hockey is and they’re a proud team over there and they obviously didn’t like how the game went and that’s just how it goes.

On him and Krejci trying different combos… Yeah we bounced around a lot last year too. I remember we had Spoons there for a good amount of time and as soon as we started to find some kind of chemistry, we got Rick [Nash]and I thought it took a couple games as well to kind of get in the mix. I like playing with Krejci obviously. We’re just trying to find, like you said, that player there and I think Heinen was doing a great job. I like playing with him and I know Krejci does too, so. We’re all pulling for each other and trying to get on the boards as much as possible and help our team win.

On the other Boston teams making it to World Series / Super Bowl… Oh, for sure. I think anytime you can see that atmosphere and really feel the city kind of rally around a certain team it’s special and good luck to the Red Sox and I hope they win. They’re looking fine right now and it’s an exciting time to be in Boston. I think anytime, I’m Canadian so I don’t really have too many things going on on that side, but I guess the Blue Jays, but now it’s obviously the Red Sox ever since I got drafted here. Like I said, it’s an exciting time to be in Boston and it’s a lot of fun and it is motivation… BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD NOEL ACCIARI On the meaning behind the [purple] suit… It’s Hockey Fights Cancer month, and my best friend Drew Brown passed away last year of Ewing’s Sarcoma, so it’s in honor of him. I got some cool stuff; I got DB7 in here [inside jacket] and just kind of make a tribute to him in any way I can.

On how often you think of him… I think about him all the time. On my sticks, I have a number seven drawn on the butt end of the tape, and he’s always with me, so yeah, I take him with me everywhere.

On the importance of this game… Yeah, I mean he’s with me every game, but I think all this month will be special just because everyone just acknowledges Hockey Fights Cancer, and it will be a good month.

On being a quiet guy but speaking publically about Drew… Yeah, this will probably be the most talking I talk about it right now, but I am quiet.

On wearing the suit again… No, I’ll make a couple more appearances throughout the month with this as a tribute, but he’d be laughing at me right now with this on. He’d be like ‘what are you wearing?’ But, you know, that’s alright.

On Drew Brown’s legacy… He left his legacy…when I went to the funeral and wake, just the amount of people that showed up and how many people that he’s touched, and Providence College. You know, he was a character guy and he always brought a smile to your face and always laughing…I can still hear his laugh, it’s definitely missed.

On November being a time to celebrate Drew… Definitely. I talk to his parents frequently, and always keep them in the loop, and always checking in and stuff like that. I haven’t had time to snap a picture of it [the suit] and send it to them, but yeah, I think from here on out, every month of November, and especially that date, is going to be special to me.

BOSTON BRUINS DEFENDER JEREMY LAUZON On his debut… Yeah, we got the win and I just kept it simple. Played hard defensively and tried to put some shot on the net. I think, overall my game went well.

On anything that stuck out to him… No, not really. I think, didn’t really realize it. I approached the game like any other game and just tried to play my game.

On the trust from the coaching staff to let him contribute on the penalty kill… It’s pretty good. I think in the future I’m going to be that type of player that can play in the PK. So it’s really nice to have the chance to play it in my first NHL game.

On the 2-on-1 play in the second period… Yeah I think I cut many 2 on 1 plays down in the AHL or juniors and I just did the same thing here and it worked out.

On feeling comfortable in the game… Yeah I felt really comfortable I think I was a little bit nervous for sure at beginning of the period. But, I just tried to keep it simple and make hard plays and that’s what I did in the first. I think my partner came through. I think we played pretty good together, he was talking a lot to me so it helped me. After that it was just building shift after shift.

On if he has family here… Yes I have my parents, one of my brothers, and my girlfriend. SO, yes it was pretty special.

On how many brothers he has… I have two brothers and one sister. Yeah, so one of my brother played junior and the other one was drafted to Pittsburgh. The one who was drafted to Pittsburgh is here because battle with a concussion.

On the family watching on tv… Yeah, probably and a lot of friends back home. I come from a little area in Quebec. So, I think my city was watching me. I’m from Val-d’Or. Probably six hours north from Montreal.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS HEAD COACH DAVE HAKSTOL On saves during second period… Second period was a pretty even period, they capitalized on one of our mistakes and then a second mistake to give them the power play. Did he make a couple saves, absolutely he made a couple good saves at key times, I thought Moose did the exact same thing for us he made some good saves. The first goal was a big turning point in the hockey game.

On failed power plays… Well guys were trying, we didn’t execute well enough to get one and that was a real opportunity at that time of the game to put ourselves right back into position in a road game to be within one goal and give ourselves an opportunity to tie the game, we didn’t do that.

On defensive performance… That was a battle between those two lines and the defense that were involved all night long. There wasn’t a whole lot given up there either way there and that’s probably what you would expect. We had a couple other lines that didn’t win the battle on the night and we needed that to happen on the road here. We were pretty solid five on five defensively, their going to generate some opportunities with the skill and ability that they have, when we had a couple breakdowns Moose did a great job in those situations tonight. The first one that went in went off a stick probably twenty feet out so he didn’t have much of a chance on that.

On lineup… It wasn’t necessarily about the matchup it was about the makeup of a line with Weal, Lindblom, and Simmonds. Decisions come down to a few different things. Mich is a guy that played some good hockey for us early in the year, his play fell off a little bit, he’s a guy that we talk about getting back in our lineup sooner than later, the decision was not to go with him today. Jordan Weal stayed in that spot at third line, he’s been doing a solid job there he’s been giving us some offensive opportunities and production.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS DEFENSEMAN ANDREW MACDONALD On how he thought he played… Pretty good physically, skating wise and stuff, so I can’t complain about that.

On the Bruins power play goal… Uhm, you know, weak side D his responsibility is the back door, so we have to maybe leave that guy for a minute, depending on where that pass is coming from. So you know, that’s kind of the way that we’re set up right now so, you know, a guy made a good play, looked like he reached for it and kind of tipped it at the same time. So you know, I don’t know, maybe we do a better job of maybe getting in lanes and keeping them honest. We’re going to have to look at it I guess.

On if the winning team came down to who made the less errors… Yeah, I mean it was pretty tight checking in the first period, like you said. There wasn’t a lot of real estate out there, not a lot of chances, so yeah I think it was – you know the games can certainly open up a bit, but based on how that first went it seemed like it was going to go that way and it eventually did.

On if he thinks they played better than the score showed… Yeah, I mean, we didn’t have a ton of chances, but I didn’t think we gave up too many. You know, the opportunities we had we just had to bear down and score on them. You know, they scored on their opportunities. So we just have to regroup here and get ready for the game on Saturday.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS CENTER SEAN COUTURIER On Jaroslav Halak making some big saves… Yeah, we’re not scoring when we have chances and then the next thing we know we’re down a goal or two and forcing chances. But we have to keep grinding and keep creating chances and try to be more opportunists.

On if he thought they did everything to apply pressure… Yeah, I think we tried. We created some chances, you know, [Jaroslav] Halak made some big chances when he had to. You know, it’s tough. We have to score some goals here. We’ve scored, what? Three goals in three games I think? Four, whatever? Two empty netters two games ago. So we have to find a way to score some goals.

On what he sees going on with the power play… We have some chances, we just – like I said, we’re not scoring.

On the power play goal… I don’t know, I mean, it’s – I don’t know. I haven’t seen the video or the replay but – I don’t know.

On if he’s satisfactory with the amount of pucks they’re getting to the net… Obviously we’re not satisfied, we’re not scoring, so we can’t be satisfied. But like you said, we have to bring more pucks – we’re trying to put pucks on net, we’re just not jumping on loose pucks and capitalizing on our chances. I think tonight we hit a crossbar, I mean, it’s not like we’re not trying to score here.

On what he thinks need to change for positive things to start happening… We gotta stick together, no matter what. I know it’s a long season and it’s just the start. There is tons of hockey left so, you know, we need to turn the switch on but we can’t – you know, it’s not time to panic here, it’s so early. #10/25/18#