POSTGAME QUOTES BOSTON BRUINS VS PHILADELPHIA FLYERS Thursday, September 21, 2017

BOSTON BRUINS HEAD COACH BRUCE CASSIDY On the slashing/faceoff penalties… I thought the faceoffs were better tonight. I think the guys are getting used to it and starting to abide by the initiative that the league wants to have cleaner draws. The slashing, I think it’s another good rule to be honest with you, to find that happy medium. There’s a lot of hand injuries now and I think its something they needed to curb. I think eventually players will learn that as well like they adjust to all the rules.

On if all the special teams makes it difficult to evaluate players… It gets difficult, if that’s what you’re getting at. Some guys get lost in the shuffle. I think [Zach] Senyshyn is a good example tonight. He’s not on the kill. Second unit that went out a little late, and now you don’t have a center because our second unit is [Danton] Heinen and [Kenny] Agostino. Maybe you throw [Riley] Nash out there to make sure you’re covered. At the end of the day, just off the top of my head, I know he’s a guy that we would have liked to see more of. So yes, it does – and now you’re using your best players a lot in kill situations that you don’t want, necessarily, to get injuries that way. And every team goes through it, you got to balance it.

On the team’s defensive depth… I don’t want to be disrespectful to the D-corps, but I think it is deeper up front. We’ve got a lot of first year guys coming into the back end. [Jeremy] Lauzon, [Jakub] Zboril, Emil [Johansson], who hasn’t played yet, Griz [Matt Grzelcyk], and [Rob] O’Gara, second year, but O’Gara missed the end of last year so not quite as much depth. [Paul] Postma is a good add. He’s played in the league and so has Tommy Cross. Losing Torey [Krug], depth or not, he’s our best puck-moving defenseman. He’s a very good offensive defenseman, and a good 200-foot player. I still think there are good players, and we’ll have six of them opening night that are just going to have to get the job done.

On Jesse Gabrielle crossing the line… It happened in development camp, so here’s a guy who walks on the edge, and I thought played a very good hockey game tonight. At ice level, he had a few other guys frustrated. If that is what makes him tick and he can stay on the right side of the line, then we’re ok with it. But clearly he crossed it tonight. I think if as a young guy, you try to take on the officials in the , you are going to lose, and he lost tonight.

On Tuukka Rask… Yeah, he was excellent. Real good, looked composed, rebound control was good, was square to pucks. A big positive for us.

On Rask’s puck handling… I think once in the second period he came out and there was a misread, and part of it is if the goalie is going to come out and play it, the guys coming back into the zone, if he’s going to do them a favor, the D have to do him a favor and return and get available and peel off. I think that was an issue one of the two times.

On Anders Bjork…

His shift length will get up there, and that is one of the things he will have to learn is that it’s difficult to be an impact player every shift in the National Hockey League so sometimes the puck doesn’t follow you. You do your job, then live to fight another day. I think away from the puck, he’s going to realize how good these players are as well, enough to have a better stick and angles. I’m not surprised, all young forwards go through, for the most part. Obviously, Bergy [Patrice Bergeron] didn’t at 18. He’s one of the rare guys that probably at that young age was able to defend very well. Those are teachable things; very correctable things.

On Kenny Agostino… He’s a guy that had success in the American [Hockey] League offensively and a bit in St. Louis in his short kind of stint there last year. Yeah, I mean, it was a big play at a big time for him. He made a few other plays tonight, so maybe this will kind of get the ball rolling for him. He’s another guy we haven’t talked about a lot. I’d still consider him a young player, he just has more pro experience than some of the other guys. But he can help the team.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD PATRICE BERGERON On his game tonight… It’s nice to get the first one out of the way. It’s tough to get anything going, when the flow of the game is a little stopped.

On his takeaways about the faceoffs tonight… I think that the faceoff is definitely an adjustment. I think that the faceoff is a skill and you work your whole career to develop that and you work on your hand-eye and timing and everything and try to take that away. You have to adapt I guess. It’s something that I’ll definitely do, but I don’t think I’m a huge fan.

On if he believes that he’s a target with what is being done with faceoffs… I don’t know. I wonder what they’re really trying to get out of it. I understand that it’s feet above those lines and sticks and whatnot. That being said it also kind of sucks. Hockey is a fast game and they’re really slowing it down.

On if faceoffs feel awkward for him… It’s like anything. It’s an adjustment. So we’re all going to have to adapt. It seemed like it was the same thing for everyone. Everyone on the other side, they were talking about it. So it’s not like we’re the only one. It’s definitely something that’s drawing a lot of attention. You just have go back and work on it and make sure I adapt. If it’s going to be like that, I need to make sure that I find a way to be good at it and help the team by winning draws.

On what’s tough about the faceoffs… Like I said, faceoff is a skill and you work on timing, you work on hand-eye, and you know when the linesman is going to drop the puck. And I was thinking more about him kicking me out than dropping the puck. That’s what makes you second guess. It just makes you hesitate and everyone is just standing there. There’s no battle right now. It’s like faceoffs when I was 12- years old. Everyone is just standing still and no one is really moving.

On practicing with Anders Bjork but not getting any 5-on-5 time with him…

Did we play with Anders tonight? I remember maybe three shifts with him. There was no flow to the game. It’s unfortunate, but we’ll just have to work on it in practice and get used to that. I think that everyone will get used to it, the refs also.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD JESSE GABRIELLE On his game misconduct… Obviously, I had guys coming up to me all game. It was a lot of fun. Another guy was on the ice and his stick came across the bench and he gave me a little stick tap. Instinctively, I grabbed for a second. Granted it should be a nothing play, but I got caught and it is what it is. Boys got the win and it’s not going to happen again.

On already being in the box for a minor when he got the misconduct… I just tried to defend myself like everyone does when they get a penalty and he kind of had enough of it and it is what it is.

On whether or not his comments got him the misconduct… I just tried to explain that the guy stuck me first and I got caught and it’s not going to happen again. That’s something that can’t happen. I can’t let the boys down like that. Especially when it’s a tie game. It’s just stuff you learn from and move past and learn from it.

On playing a team like the Philadelphia… It was fun. It was fun up until you get over that line just a little bit. The whole game it was going good. I was getting underneath a lot of their guys’ skin. A lot of NHL guys were coming after me and it was a lot of fun. Like I said, it’s just a learning experience. You live and you learn. It’s not going to happen again.

On the preseason being a time to learn where that line is… Yeah, I thought I rode that line really well the entire game up until that point. I just takes one thing like that to get caught and it’s tough. I wish I was out there playing, but the boys got the win and like I said, it’s just something to learn from.

On building on his play prior to the penalty… Yeah, I thought I played a good game. Good scoring chances, a couple of 2-on-1s. It would’ve been nice to capitalize on them. But I think that I was playing the right way and like I said, it’s something you learn from. A guy like Marchy and Zee and those guys came, and you know Marchy likes to play like that too, so he came up and gave me some encouraging words. And like I said, it’s something you learn from. It is what it is.

On what Marchand said to him… I try to learn from him. He’s my favorite player and I try to emulate my game after him. I just try to be a sponge around him. When you can watch him play and experience it and have him on the bench. Like I said, I’m just trying to be a sponge and learn from him. I went up to him after the game and talked to him about it and said you just got to find that line. He said you’re going to get caught sometime and you just got to learn from it.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD BRAD MARCHAND On Jesse Gabrielle…

Yeah, he’s a great kid. You know, you watch him out there tonight, getting everyone off their game out there. It was a lot of fun to watch, and, you know, it’s nice to have guys like that on a team. It’s fun when they’re on the team and, you know, you hate on the other team.

On advice he gave to Jesse Gabrielle… They were kind of just looking for him at that point and, you know, it was a tough one. You know, I think with the preseason games and that hit that he laid early on, they kind of wanted to control the situation so the last two minutes just trying to be safe there. But he had a great game. He almost had a there, shorthanded. He was buzzing around and made some good plays. He’s a good player.

On his time in the AHL and figuring out what you can and can’t get away with… Yeah, it’s just tough now. They don’t give you a whole lot of room out there, even early on they were all over him. You know, you say one or two things out there and they’re really clamping down on him [Jesse Gabrielle]. They were watching him all game, refs were in there tight on him, you know during the whistle and stuff like that. So, makes it tough for him to do his thing but, you know, he played his role well and had a great game.

On the calls during the faceoffs… It’s really taking a lot away from the game. You can’t have a winger taking all the faceoffs. I mean if you look at the percentages of how many times guys got kicked out tonight, and what it’s taking away from the teams, it’s not worth what’s coming with it. And literally both teams were laughing out there about how bad the rule is. It’s becoming a big joke, so there’s got to be something tweaked with it. You know, these games are painful and I thought it was a bad rule before I played, but it’s even worse after going through it and actually seeing what it’s like. It’s basically an automatic win for the other team. The only thing you’re worried about is not moving before the puck is shot. Maybe that’s what they want – more offenses to win. But, you know, you’re taking away the game and it’s the reason the guys make the NHL. It’s a big skill to win draws and they’re taking the skill out of the game and really just dumbing it down to just whacking at the puck. I know NHL and they want to increase the scoring, but you want to make it exciting for the fans and what’s going on out there is not exciting at all.

BOSTON BRUINS DEFENSEMAN BRANDON CARLO On tonight’s game… You know it was pretty good for being just the third preseason game. Obviously there’s guys getting in the lineup for the first time tonight, and then a couple of us that have played twice now, so it’s just kind of finding the groove a little bit more and trying to clean up the little things like moving the puck and doing those certain things. Um, overall pretty good.

On the amount of penalties the team had to kill tonight… Yeah, you know they’re really bearing down this year and getting pretty strict of everything out there. I mean even faceoffs, I’ve never really seen anything like that out there where it’s at least one penalty per game with the faceoffs. At the same time, we have a pretty strong penalty kill, so I feel like it’s a lot of fun for us to go out there and compete in that way. I’m one of those guys that loves to go out there and block shots and do that side of things, so as long as calls are going both ways, you know, it shouldn’t be too big of an issue.

On killing so many penalties throughout regular season…

It gets kind of crazy out there, but, you know, that’s the way the game’s going right now, so maybe they’ll back off a little bit during regular season. But overall right now, as long as we just continue to do our jobs we’ll be fine.

On leading the defense this year… I think for myself with more experience, you know, you have a little bit higher expectation after you’ve played a couple games, so I look forward to the challenge and stepping up in certain ways regardless of how that is. I feel like everyone in this group, including the young guys and prospects, can definitely come out there and handle themselves … You know, it’s so much fun for me to get that opportunity and know I got to compete to keep my spot, and, you know, it’s fun to watch the other guys compete as well.

On getting a flow going with the faceoff and slashing calls… Yeah, exactly. Most of these guys played in the Montreal game and I heard it was the same thing. You know, I think it’s fun. I enjoy going out there and killing penalties, so that’s a fun attribute that I like to play with my game. But, overall like you said it was a little more prominent tonight and hopefully it doesn’t continue down that path. Hopefully they back off a little bit come regular season.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD KENNY AGOSTINO On how it felt to score while fighting for a job… Yeah, no, it feels good obviously. Kind of a sloppy game so to get the puck with a lot of space and time to make a play was nice for sure.

On if he was trying to do anything in particular on the play that he scored on… Yeah, you know, you try to work on moves in practice and that is one of my go to ones I’ve been working on and I was able to pull it off.

On if it feels good to do something early in camp… Yeah, for sure. I mean, definitely a few plays out there, but overall, like I said, it was kind of a really sloppy, ping pong style game. So it didn’t feel great overall, but you know, we’ll take that opportunity and we’ll take the win.

On if he wants to do some things to differentiate himself from the other forwards… Yeah, for sure. You want to do what you think you do well and I was able to capitalize on my opportunities tonight.

On if the goal gives him a little bit of a boost for the rest of camp… Yeah, I think, you know, whenever you are able to produce, it gives you some confidence. Still feel some rust in my game that I’m sure we’re all feeling right now, you know? So just trying to keep taking some positive steps forward. Got to clean up some areas away from the puck, but hopefully we can get that sorted out.

BOSTON BRUINS GOALTENDER TUUKKA RASK On how he felt in his first game back… Good.

On what felt good about his game tonight…

Yeah, you know it’s always good to, the first one is always tough. It’s good to get that under the belt and then keep working out and working hard on the ice, and get ready for the season, but you know, I felt good out there.

On if the Flyers’ goal came off of a deflection… No, it was just, what do you call it, knuckleball.

On how he sees the Bruins’ defense corps evolving… Yeah well you know, we want to push the pace up, and obviously that’s been a talk in our practices. We just want to keep the pace up and these young guys are definitely doing that. So, yeah, I think that’s about it, but once we get stuck in our own end, I think we just have to be smart and protect the house like we always talk about, and then go from there. But nothing really, nobody’s asking anyone to do too much, just make the play when it’s there, and protect the house when needed.

On if pushing the pace means he has to be more active with the puck… Well I tried a couple times today, but we didn’t connect on those passes. I think it was a couple times, one time it was a forward, and the other time I think it was a young D. So, it’s something that, I want to get rid of it quick and I want to keep it moving, and that’s what we’re working on, I guess.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD RILEY NASH On if it was a tough game to get a flow going… Yeah, I mean, the faceoffs, to begin with, you can’t get in a rhythm, it’s hard right now. I think the refs are frustrated too, just because it’s new to them. So hopefully over time we’ll build a little bit of chemistry with the linesmen and get that sorted out, but right now it’s a little frustrating. Right now it feels like you flinch, you’re gone, right? So, as a centerman, it’s hard to really get in a good rhythm in the faceoff circle.

On if the planting of the legs or the stick is the most difficult part of the new faceoff rule… Everything. You know, guys have been taking faceoffs – Bergy [Patrice Bergeron] has been taking faceoffs for 20 years, and now this year he has to try and change things up. So this year it’s obviously going to be a little bit of an adjustment. A lot of times it was like who can cheat the most and who can get away with the most, which is fine, you know everyone was doing it. So we were in the rhythm but now it’s totally different. So it’s going to take some time, and I’m sure it’s frustrating for the fans and all that, but they’re trying to clean it up – that’s what they’re trying to do and we’re going to have to adjust.

On how he thought he played tonight… I thought it was kind of up and down. I had some good moments skating the puck, fought a couple one-on-one battles that I could have won. I just need to be a little bit stronger so it’s all part of not having any body contact in the summer and just kind of getting back in the grove now.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD RYAN SPOONER On the new faceoff rule being tough to adjust to… Yeah, it’s kind of weird. I was trying to practice on it in the summertime, and just trying to practice getting in on them, and they changed the rule. So it’s going to take some time to adapt to

that, but same old stuff though, you’ve got to get down low, but it’s kind of hard to get on top of the dot though right, because you’ve got to stand back with your foot back. So it changes some stuff, but I’ve just got to work on it in practice and just get used to it.

On adjusting to the new emphasis on slashing… Yeah, I think if you just keep your stick on the ice, and just try to go stick on puck a lot more, it’s going to help. I mean, again, it’s just a habit, right? We’ve been used to doing one thing for so long, and they kind of change it, I mean, I’ve been doing that since I was two, and they just kind of changed that. It’s just kind of tough, right? That’s when I started playing hockey. So, yeah, it’s just kind of a different game and you kind of see the stuff in the preseason that, they just harp on you about all that kind of stuff, and as time goes on, they get a little bit more lenient with it. So, I’m hoping that happens a little bit, but we’ll see.

On if he thinks the referees will continue to be this strict on slashing and faceoffs… I hope not. I mean, it’s just kind of weird, because if they want to stick to it, they’ve got to stick to it. We just have to kind of change how we play, and adapt to it, and that’s all we can do right? So, it’s just kind of unfortunate that we’re kind of used to playing a certain way and they change it, but it’s kind of on the players now. We’ve just got to control what we can.

On what he worked on this offseason that has improved his confidence… Put on a little bit of size, and I’m just trying to play a little bit more of a hard-nosed game, and as a third-line center, that’s kind of what you have to do, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do. It’s going to take some time, I haven’t really played like that before, but to stay in the league, that’s going to be something that I’m going to have to do, and I want to stay here, and I want to show them that I can do that, so that’s the plan.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS HEAD COACH DAVE HAKSTOL On how he evaluated the team tonight and their power play... Yeah, but I’m not too concerned about that. We got personnel in and out of the PP in both units and we have yet to work on it, so that’s not my greatest concern. I thought we took a step forward today, you know, our first period was a little bit sloppy coming out of our own zone, tried to concentrate on that a little bit against a pretty good fore-checking team and did a better job in the second and third. I liked their second and third periods offensively, you know, I thought we were able to generate a little bit off the rush, we were able to generate a little bit down low in the offensive zone, so small step forward, but a step forward.

On Travis Sanheim’s performance compared to this point last year... Well, he played a confident game tonight. You know, he had the puck quite a bit tonight. He – one of the things he’s good at is getting up in the play, his skating ability is, you know, it allows him to get there and I thought he did that very well tonight. You know, got to go back and watch the entire game tonight, but I thought he had a very clean game tonight offensively as well and a lot comes from defending well and making a good first pass. You know, just a more confident player than he was a year ago.

On Nolan Patrick and Wayne Simmonds chemistry tonight... Yeah, I like that whole line. I thought that line played well, and the word chemistry, you know, when they go out there night number one and make the number of plays that they did, that’s a good sign.

So, it’s a line that we wanted to take a look at and they had a little bit of success tonight. You know, there’s good opportunities there, got to find a way to finish a couple of those and as we get further throughout preseason guys will start doing that.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS GOALTENDER BRIAN ELLIOTT On how he felt out on the ice… Yeah, felt pretty good. Just trying to see pucks and basically get acclimated, and in a game situation you haven’t seen that in camp at all, so playing a game was fun. Getting back in there you forget how much fun it is to play a game.

On if the first game means more when he’s trying to show his teammates what he’s capable of… I mean, a little bit. You just want to play the same anyways, doesn’t matter what team you’re on or how long you’ve been with the guys. But, for sure when it’s your first time, you want to make a good impression. You only get one first impression, right? But it’s just a stepping stone working towards the first game of the season this year.

On what he thinks of the new rules and all the power plays… Um, I think it makes you be a little bit more careful. I think it takes a little more skill at the faceoff dot, so we’ll see how that works out and shakes out. But it’s tough, you got to be careful, if you’re getting kicked out you definitely don’t want to cheat on the second guy coming in.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS DEFENSEMAN TRAVIS SANHEIM On having picked up the pace of his game… Yeah, I think it’s just getting more comfortable with the guys, the system, and the level of play, obviously it’s a little different up here. Um, just trying to continue to build, I think that’s something that at the start of camp that’s what we’ve done is just trying to continue to build on your game and get better each day, so that’s the biggest thing I’m trying to work on right now.

On how his goal seemed to fool Tuukka Rask a little… Yeah, [laughs] I think it – I just ended up getting it off my foot and just kind of kicked it up to my stick, and, um, it obviously fooled him to the blocker’s side, but I was happy to get that one.

On what he thought of Brian Elliott in his Flyer’s debut… I thought he was good. I thought he was excellent. I thought he made some really good saves and bailed us out early.

On if he feels more like he belongs this year than he did at this time last year… Yeah, for sure. I’m a lot more confident this year. You can see that in picking my right chances to jump up into the play and just trying to make smart decisions out there. Making good reads and I think it has been working so far.

#09/21/17#