Postgame Quotes vs.

Predators Quotes Head Coach Peter Laviolette On if he felt as though the team has improved with every passing game… There were some good things that we did and the wins are the biggest things. It’s also early in the season and we are trying to get our game in order, and hopefully we will continue to get better.

On if he thought his systems were effective tonight… I thought we did what we needed to do during the course of the game. When it came down to the last 12 minutes it wasn’t about scoring a anymore – it was about making sure we were defending. We had a couple of holes in there and when we did, Pekka (Rinne) made some big saves. They (Minnesota) have a lot of fire power coming at them, especially their top two lines. We just need to make sure we are doing the right things defensively and I think our guys did that for the most part.

On what he thought of ’s game tonight… I think he is one of the most underrated offensive defensemen in the League. It’s the skating for me that drives his engine – he has a skill level, he sees the game and he has good offensive instincts. He can really pound his legs up the ice and his goal was a perfect example of that. I thought he had a very strong game.

On how he thinks has evolved as a playmaker… I think he has always been a playmaker. I know he’s scored goals and we still encourage him to shoot the puck more. Since he’s been here, he has had that ability to see the ice and to make plays. I think he has good chemistry with his line, they seem to really click. He knows what he’s going to do and knows where the other guy is going to be and he delivers the pass and makes the play. He keeps evolving because he is a young player who is getting more mature – he could have a few goals already as well. As long as he keeps doing the right things, opportunities will come and he will get on the board at some point.

Center Kyle Turris On if there was more of a solid effort all the way through tonight… Every game seems tight, so I just feel like we’ve gained experience (by) just playing these tight games and kind of sticking with things and keeping it simple when we need to.

On there being a lot of contributions throughout the lineup… Our big wins get a lot of attention from the other teams so we have to try and help them out by creating and capitalizing on our opportunities to take a little pressure off of them. I think Kevin (Fiala) payed great. He’s flying, getting a little unlucky on bounces…I think he’s playing great, he’s flying, creating locks. Smith’s playing well. We just have to get one or two to break through and things will start going.

Center Ryan Johansen On if he thought tonight was more of a solid effort throughout the game… I thought we had a great start our last home game, and I thought tonight was even better. We didn’t score three goals in the first period, but every line was creating so much and we were doing a lot of good things. That’s the way you want to start games because it’s tough to come back on teams when they have leads.

On if this game was a good example of the way their system can be effective… I think they have a very deep team over there and a lot of good players. When our depth is showing in a game against a team like that, it’s a good sign – when we’re in control of the game, and shift after shift we’re outplaying them. I think that’s something we should be happy with.

On if he thought the effort got better throughout the past three home games… I think the effort’s always there with this group, it’s just the consistency of our game plan. We weren’t happy with our home opener, and then the last three games we took a big step in getting our game and our confidence at home up.

Forward On Ryan Johansen having multiple assists in consecutive games… (He had) just two really nice plays - especially to Ekholm. (He is) just patient with the puck, trying to wait for a perfect opportunity and, Ekholm, all he had to do was hit the net. When he’s on his game he’s one of the best players in the League.

On finishing the home stand with three consecutive wins… I think we’re getting back to our identity. The Calgary game was not good, but after that we’ve been playing better and better hockey throughout this home stand and six out of eight points is obviously good.

Wild Quotes Head Coach Bruce Boudreau On the overall effort of the team tonight… I thought our overall effort was fine; it looked like the team I’m used to coaching effort-wise. We made a couple mistakes, and when you do that against that team it’ll cost you. I thought for a team

that was pressing, we had the puck in their zone the whole third period. Like I said to the guys in there, if you continue to play like that you’ll win a lot of hockey games.

On how frustrating the second goal for the Predators was… It was a 3-on-3; I don’t know what we were doing on that play or what we were thinking on the next goal. But we have to work so hard for our goals, so we can’t be giving up easy goals like that.

On Alex Stalock’s play tonight… He’s a competitor, he competes, and who’s going to stop those goals tonight? Ekholm from 15 feet out, rebound with a power play with an open net and he (Stalock) couldn’t see through it. The other one by Forsberg – he’s one of the best players in the League. Other than that, he stopped a breakaway that kept us within one goal, and he made another good save on Arvidsson coming in, that gave us the opportunity to tie it up. I have no problem with the way he played.

Center Eric Staal On the mistakes his team made tonight… The mistakes obviously were the difference. I thought our effort was pretty good; we skated a lot better, initiated a lot more. It was just a couple of mistakes that really cost us. We’ll regroup; have a huge effort like that, with that time of pace and skating tomorrow night at home to get back in the win column.

On if it was frustrating not getting rewarded for their effort… Yeah, it can be frustrating. But you’ve got to believe if you work like that and compete it’ll even out, tonight it just didn’t happen. We got some good looks to try to tie it up; Nino’s (Niederreiter) breakaway. You’d like that for him and for us, but we’ll try to take that kind of effort and be ready tomorrow.

Goaltender Alex Stalock On if it was frustrating not being rewarded for the team’s play tonight… It’s frustrating when you play them like that, especially in the third period; We got a lot of good looks, but the puck couldn’t find the back of the net. But their goalie made the last save tonight; He was able to make the breakaway save and I wasn’t.

On how he felt overall… I felt pretty good for the most part; I controlled rebounds really well, and it was the first game I felt pretty strong. There were a few shots from up top that got tipped, but other than that I felt strong and confident.