POSTGAME QUOTES BOSTON BRUINS VS Saturday, December 9, 2017

BOSTON BRUINS HEAD COACH BRUCE CASSIDY POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE On the team’s defensive effort being one of the strongest of the season so far... Yeah, I mean, I thought we did a good job against Tampa. I mean, it was back to back for them. But still, I mean that’s not our concern – we play the schedule, right, so I thought we did a good job. Second period, a little bit of a lull, obviously, but I think our focus tonight was limit their odd-man rushes, those type of opportunities. So, our focus was a little more working hard to get above the puck, so we didn’t take a lot of chances. So, yeah, I would bid right up there. Like I said, have to think back if that was our best, but certainly in there, in that category. Again, Tuukka [Rask], you can usually tell by how calm and composed he looks – means we’re generally calm and composed in front of him for the most part. It’s not scrambly, so he doesn’t have to become scrambly. So, that’s usually a good indicator, and I thought Tampa he was, Philly, and so we’re getting the result for him, playing in front of him well, scoring a few more goals, and he’s earning his breaks in nets now, too.

On Jake DeBrusk’s game tonight... Well, I think it’s good for his teammates to know that he’s going to get in there, whether people think it’s right or wrong or - I didn’t see the hit, just stuff happens quickly. He’s in there looking after one of his teammates, so guys appreciate that. I mean, I said it before, in the playoffs the discipline level goes up a lot and obviously the regular season you need your level of discipline, but at that time and juncture in the game, I think everyone’s fine with it and it will help him in the room.

On Jake DeBrusk coming back from the minutes with a ... Well, that’s the thing right. So we kill a – those are the types of penalties I think you’ll end up killing generally. Some of the lazy ones sometimes you don’t, you know, the guys dig in a little more. They don’t want him to feel bad for doing those things, sticking up for a teammate, so you dig in and then getting the goal, I think it was written that there was a certain player drafted ahead of him, so I think he took it upon himself to maybe show that he’s here for a reason, he’s a good player in his own right, and he was pretty excited about it. Good for him; he’s a young guy and we like that excitement level out of those young guys.

On the third period penalties... I don’t know. Marchy’s [Brad Marchand] I saw quickly, obviously something happened in the neutral zone that annoyed him. [David] Backes I didn’t see at all. I haven’t even looked at it. I actually forgot about that; I was looking at the one where Jake [DeBrusk] jumped in and a little bit of Marchy’s but, you know, they made the calls, we have to kill them and that’s the way it goes.

On the team maintaining resolve in tonight’s game... No, and that’s a credit to our older guys. You know, we kept our resolve; it’s a good word. I thought we were really stiff in the third and our penalty kill has been good all year and we needed it to be tonight in those stretches and we were, like I said, able to draw a penalty on one of the majors. These are games you look back on, when you’re able to kill those for two key guys in our lineup in the third there that we lose for stretches. So, someone else just has to step up and [Sean] Kuraly and [Danton] Heinen played a little more maybe down the stretch and if those two guys are here. So, it’s a good word, I like that.

On if he sees similarities in the team’s play now and when he first started as the head coach... I do, and I’m actually getting to know our team now, that we were hoping to ice from the start of the year. So, a bit of it is, the run has to do with having your good players in the lineup every night and they’re playing well, so that makes a coaches job easier. Ours was always, we talked about finding the right chemistry in the lines and who was going to play with Zee [Zdeno Chara], [Brandon] Carlo, or [Charlie] McAvoy. So, yes, and I think tonight we didn’t have as much offense from the back end, but having said that, Torey [Krug] made some good plays. Grizz [Matt Grzelcyk] got up the ice early for a great chance, Torey got up for the second, so we still had some pockets of that play where we want to be a four-man attack. So, yes, we never want to lose the Bruins identity of hard to play against, but we also want to be able to score when we need to and not, if we get behind a goal, not be that team that can’t come back. So, we need to have that built in that we can score and trust ourselves to play good offensive hockey.

On the Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo pairing… I think their gaps were good. That was a focus of trying to kill plays at the blue line for our D. When we are talking about our D, forwards is to try and match their speed early so they are not flying at you and take good angles. But for our D, get them at the blue line. We’ve really been emphasizing that, and add a guy like Grizz [Matt Grzelcyk] in the mix that’s a skater, can get up and use his acumen to kill plays and his foot speed, so – and they are both good skaters, Torey [Krug] and Brandon [Carlo] – so we want them to do that. We don’t want them to have to rely on having to battle down low all night. They are going to have to sometimes in D-zone coverage. But on the initial rush, let’s be up, contest rushes. In order to do that, you have to skate and get your gaps. So good for them. I know they won’t be as successful defending if they don’t have good gaps and aren’t able to kill some of those, those plays. And then transition from there. That’s the last thing to go to your point, where I think we can be better, is transitioning from those turnovers as they are kind of, I think, the next hurdle for us to get where I thought we were last year.

On if Torey Krug has been pushed by having Matt Grzelcyk on the team… I do. I think it will in the long run. He may lose a shift or two, which will annoy him. Any player with pride will. But once that part is – you digest that and say, well, I don’t want to lose any more shifts, so what do I have to do to earn the coaches trust or get those shifts back. Because he has our trust, but earn – be the first guy over the boards every time in situations. So he’s going to push himself, and he should. That’s what we want. And then hopefully we get to a nice balance where we don’t have to overuse one guy in every situation. We want Torey to be our 1A in those situations. Charlie [McAvoy] is pushing him too, and now you have Griz [Matt Grzelcyk], so we have three different guys. It’s only going to make us better, and I’ll tell you why. Because those guys – we have guys that aren’t pouting there because of that either. Like I said, there’s a difference between being annoyed and having pride and want, and having a guy that pouts and shuts it down. And we don’t have that. I’m fortunate as a coach that they can wrap their heads around it eventually and just want to outplay the next guy. Even yet still be happy for his success. So it’s a nice problem and you are seeing some of it now bubble up.

On Tuukka Rask… Like I said, everything with Tuukka [Rask] looks composed. Not a lot of moments where there is mayhem. And when there is, we’ve kind of shut them down and he’s shut them down quickly, smothering pucks, not allowing rebounds. Like I said, a little more focus in the game when he needs to come out a couple times and once a game almost – maybe it didn’t happen tonight – where he had to win a race to the puck and get it out of harms way. Start of the year that didn’t happen so you’re just seeing a guy putting out fires for us and that’s their ultimate job, is be the last line of defense. I do, and yes we are better in front of him. I’ve said it before. I thought we played good games in front of him at the start of the year, with the exception of maybe the first two weeks. But some things happen where pucks are going in off us as well. So it’s where we need him to be. We are a better team when he’s on his A-game. And you get Anton [Khudobin] on his A-game and we’re dangerous.

On why the Backes’ line is having success… David [Backes] likes to communicate, and I think those two guys are very receptive to talk. They are kind of playing the way he wants them to as well as we want him to. The inmates don’t run the asylum necessarily, but we want him to play his game that’s going to be most successful. [Riley] Nash gives a good two-way game and can chip in offensively. I think [Danton] Heinen is actually an offensive guy who is learning the defensive side of it so you’ve got a lot of elements of guy that can play on both sides of the puck. And you’ve got some physicality, they are all winning battles. You put that together and they’ve got the puck more than the other team does and they know what to do with it when they have it. They’ve always known what to do with it when they don’t.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD BRAD MARCHAND On the Bruins giving a full 60 minute effort tonight… Yeah we played a good game, all the way through, especially in the third when we had the lead so it’s another example of how we are learning and building and continue to be a good team.

On if his hit warranted a five minute major penalty … No I don’t think so but that’s not up to me. The ref is making a split decision call and I think he made the right call by not kicking me out because I think he had that option too but the guys did a great job killing it off and we got back to work.

On if the hit was built out of frustration… It’s just how hockey is. He was turning up with the puck and as he was almost there, Chucky [Charlie McAvoy] stripped him, I was right there coming in fast and committed so that stuff happens in hockey. It was a penalty, they called the right call and you know that’s the game.

On Jake DeBrusk’s first fight… Yeah he did a great job sticking up for Chucky [Charlie McAvoy]. He answered the bell and that’s awesome to see. Then he came back and scored a huge goal for us. You know he’s really come a long way and been great for our team.

On the penalty killing by the Bruins… Yeah the penalty kill was big, it has been all year. That’s a pretty big staple of our team to have a good penalty kill and special teams. Another example, they have a good power play. They got one late in the third but with the amount of penalties they had and the kills we had to do, the boys did a great job.

On the defensive effort of the team tonight… Yeah they’re really good offensively. Tuuks [Tuukka Rask] did a great job, made some big saves at the right time. A lot of guys blocked shots tonight which is what you need when you have defensemen that can shoot the way they can and move across the blue line. Some of those players on that team are really great so we had a good game.

On the key to the Bruins winning eight of the last ten games… I think the depth. Different guys have stepped up at different times and won games for us. Different lines have done really well and kind of taken control and that’s been the biggest thing. We’ve had a lot of injuries and it’s given guys opportunities and guys have taken advantage of that.

On similarities with this team and last year’s team when Bruce Cassidy took over… Yeah very similar. We have a lot of different faces on this team this year and again we have had a lot of injuries and a lot of our older guys have been out early with injuries and it’s kind of expected that you’re going to need a little bit of a learning curve and guys are going to need some time to grow and adapt to the league. The fact that they are able to kind of stay above water there when we had so many injuries and new guys, that shows the character of this group. Now that we are pretty much all back together, it’s really allowed us to grow as a team and allowed us to play good hockey. So it’s going to help us again moving forward, the fact that guys have had an opportunity to play early on and you see guys stepping up huge. Heins [Danton Heinen] again tonight and Jake [DeBrusk] so the young guys are doing a great job.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD JAKE DEBRUSK On having an impact after being out of the game for 17 minutes... Yeah, it was a bit of a different scenario to say the least. You know, it was something that happened and I honestly didn’t try to get an instigator or anything like that, you know, it was just one of those things you can’t control and I watched the period in here and just felt a little out of sorts and just wanted to get back in action and wanted to make the first shift a good one and was lucky enough to cash in on a goal.

On reacting to the hit on Charlie McAvoy... Yeah. Yeah, I think it was a clean hit, it was just a really hard one and I didn’t like it and like I said, I verbally asked him [Casey Cizikas] if he wanted to go and he said yes and he dropped his gloves, so that’s how it happened.

On getting the fight out of the way... The fight? Well, I mean a fight’s a fight. I think I had zero penalty minutes coming in and now I have 17. So, it’s kind of funny that way. Yeah, it’s a big night; it’s kind of funny that way, but no, it was just more so standing up for a teammate. Like I said, I thought it was a clean hit. I didn’t think it was dirty, but just heat of the moment.

On fighting right next to the Islanders’ bench... Yeah, well he was pushing me in there and that was different. I’ve been in a couple fights before but never that close to obviously their bench and guys were yelling at me and stuff. It was kind of crazy but at the same time it was just, part of the beast.

On if he knew Casey Cizikas’ reputation of being a tough guy before the fight... I kind of knew it as it was going on. I could tell when I grabbed on to him there and then he was kind of swinging that he was pretty strong. And then I realized who it was and he’s a feisty guy and it wasn’t necessarily who hit him, it was just heat of the moment and just went after him.

On what his dad will have to say about the fight... I don’t know; I’ll find out. I think he’s going to say good job, way to protect yourself, and I don’t think he’ll cry but I think he’ll be happy with this one.

On if he was surprised by the instigator call... Yeah, well, I asked him. We kind of made eye contact and I asked him if he wanted to fight, but I think it was just more so me coming over there. I mean, it’s how it’s called and it’s how it was, but I thought that I tried to avoid that. Obviously don’t want to get a 10-minute or a 17-minute. So, sucked missing the whole period but was happy to come back in the third.

On the move he made on his goal... I just wanted to get the puck on net. I was kind of trying to honestly generate maybe a rebound. You know, it was kind of a weird play like you said. I didn’t really know where the net was. I kind of had an idea, but I just turned and just shot as hard as I could and it went in. So, it was nice to see that and obviously missing a whole period and then coming back, it was huge.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD On a good team effort... Yeah, it was. I think we made some good plays coming out of our zone. We tried to keep them on the outside. They’re going to get some chances, they’re a good team. But I thought we stayed with it and we made some smart plays. As much as possible we try to give Tuukka [Rask] the shot – you know, seeing the shot - so we try to box out in front and create some space for him. So overall I thought it was a good effort.

On Tuukka Rask… Yeah, he’s been great. Making those saves you can see he’s clear, he’s ready for anything, for every shot and he looks confident. And again, tonight he was great.

On the penalty kill being critical in tonight’s game… Yeah, it was. They had a few…well, we got a few five minutes [penalties] so they got some decent time on the power play. So we had to do the job, especially in a tight game like that you know special teams are all really important. Tonight it seemed like it was our penalty kill that had to do the job more than the power play. It was again a good effort by everyone on the ice.

On the team’s defensive play… Yeah, it’s hard to say if it’s the best but it’s been, it was really good. I thought tonight we talked about the one thing that we had to really take care of was our D [defensive] zone tonight and we definitely did that. Especially against an offensive minded team like the Islanders with so many gifted players. You can’t give them space and room, especially in the slot and I thought we kept them on the outside for the most part. Obviously they’re going to get some chances, they’re good players, but I thought it was a really good effort.

On Jake Debrusk…. No, for sure. I thought it was great to see him stepping up for Chuckie [Charlie McAvoy] there and then getting that goal. He was in the penalty box for a while and sometimes your legs can get stiff and cold, and he didn’t miss a beat. Then he was ready for when I guess he got a tap on the back, and came back on the ice. It was a huge goal for us. We needed that. So kudos to him for stepping up and making those two big plays.

On what the key has been to this winning stretch… I think plain and simple going back to playing good defensively. And getting some guys back definitely has been helping us, have more depth that we thought to have at the beginning of the year that hasn’t been there because of the injuries. Definitely nice to have. And I thought the team effort overall has been key.

BOSTON BRUINS DEFENSEMAN ZDENO CHARA On what his team did well defensively in tonight’s win… Defend. We defended well. I know it’s a pretty simple answer. We did a pretty good job not to give them high quality chances. Don’t forget we had to kill two of those five [minute] majors, I think ended up being three penalty kills. I thought for the most part we did a really good job defending.

On Tuukka Rask playing well and what it does for their team… Well you need a big save from your goalie and he did, he made some big saves and obviously that’s going to be a difference in the games, especially at the end. Like I said they had some power play opportunities, they also pulled the goalie.

On the penalty kill drawing penalties to get back to even-strength… It makes it a little bit easier. You’re right those majors ended up being kind of three-minute power plays for them and then we draw a penalty. We cut it in half twice. That’s something that shows guys are working hard even away from the puck. Even when we are shorthanded we are capable of being dangerous and that’s what happened we drew some penalties.

On what it was like seeing Jake DeBrusk step up and fight on behalf of a teammate… It really showed that he’s a great teammate. You don’t have to be a big guy to drop gloves and stand up for your teammate and he did. Good for him, he showed a lot of character in that act. He did pretty well. Obviously the toughness is something he has in his family, it’s a great sign of being part of a good team.

BOSTON BRUINS DEFENSEMAN TOREY KRUG On the team’s defensive effort... Yeah, it was great. We did a good job – obviously they’re a good team with some firepower and some really skilled guys, so we did a good job of defending from the inside out and Tuukks [Tuukka Rask] played a heck of a game. He got a chance to see a lot of pucks and played it with a lot of confidence and our penalty killers were great. We obviously, they logged a lot of minutes for us.

On Tuukka Rask’s play lately... Yeah, for sure. He’s a competitive guy that wants to be the best player for this team every night and he’s shown that the last few games the way he’s picked up his game and dialed it in for us.

On Mat Barzal... Yeah, for sure. That kid’s a heck of a player. Seems like the puck follows him around and you know, a couple bigger bodies that play with him and get to the net. So, it was a fun match up for Brandon [Carlo] and myself, we both skate well and tried to shut them down with good gaps and when he’s coming at you with all that speed it’s tough, but I thought we did a good job overall.

On successful entries in tonight’s game... Well, I think just making them shift one way or the other and then taking the ice that’s available. Anytime you get defenders to think that you’re going one way and they’ve moving, it’s a matter of inches, and then you can go the other way and it opens up some lanes and, you know, we tried to do that collectively as a whole and at times we did a really good job of it.

BOSTON BRUINS GOALTENDER TUUKKA RASK On holding the Islanders to one goal… Yeah we played a great game. It started in the first period, we had our legs, we were skating, had a lot of jump, didn’t give them anything. A lot of power plays they had but we shut them down pretty good. That last one there, they made a last play there but other than that I thought we did a really good job blocking shots and keeping them to the outside.

On if that is the best he has felt since he sat down a few games … No. Same.

On if the team is finally starting to jell with a lot of guys coming back to the lineup… Yeah for sure. We’re trying to build an identity I guess, you know you have to battle hard, you have to skate hard and you know from that I think you’re going to build that identity and that reputation as a hard team to play against. I think we want to accomplish and we need to accomplish in order to make the playoffs and be an elite team in the league and I think we are heading in that direction. Let’s keep it going.

On if he feels like he is in full rhythm now after his last four or five starts… Well yeah I’ve had good rhythm to my game. Guys are doing a good job eliminating the second chances and obviously if you don’t get rebounds all the time it helps too but we’re skating back so hard that we are kind of forcing them to take shots in bad spots and when they don’t have all the time in the world to pick the corners up, it’s kind of easier for me too. I think that’s played a huge part of that, coming back to our own zone and shutting them down the slot area and also blocking a ton of shots. We’re not shying away from that so I think all of those things together have made it.

On the team being a lot cleaner defensively than the beginning of the season… Yeah you know, this league when you make a mistake, more often than not it’s going to end up in the back of the net. We saw it last game, we make one mistake in the first period and it’s a goal. You try to be as clean as possible and I think we have done a pretty good job of that.

On Mathew Barzal… Yeah he’s one of those younger guys who will skate around, have skill and make plays. That seems to be the standard of these new kids coming into the league. Obviously being that young and people noticing you out there, you’re doing something right. He wants the puck and he wants to make plays. It seems like he had a lot of room, and the room doesn’t come itself, you have to create it and I think he did a good job of that.

BOSTON BRUINS DEFENSEMAN BRANDON CARLO On playing in the NHL… There was a game – we were in Pittsburgh, I think, for the mother’s trip – it was four on four and their four guys were…I think it was [Sidney] Crosby, [Evgeni] Malkin, [Phil] Kessel and [Kris] Letang, and three forwards out there or something, and that’s when I was like ‘Oh my gosh, this is getting a little crazy here.’ On our side of things, it was me, Zee [Zdeno Chara], Bergy [Patrice Bergeron], and Marchy [Brad Marchand], so that’s definitely when I realized ‘alright I’m here.’

On playing with Torey Krug… Yeah, we looked forward to the challenge. Before the game we knew what we had ourselves going into tonight and we wanted to keep things simple, Torey wants the puck and I was giving it to him, so it worked out well.

On the challenges of playing against Mathew Barzal… Yeah, you just can’t give him much space at all that’s the biggest thing. I played against him for three years in junior and that’s something that I realized, if you give him that space he’s going to create opportunities and you just got to have good gap on him and watch out for his speed - he likes to swing around a little bit and gain that speed so you can’t sit back too far or else he’s going to go right through you.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD DAVID BACKES On if his line clicking is attributed to on-ice communication… Yeah, a little bit. I think we’re all on the same page simplicity wise and winning pucks. It was kinda fits and starts in there. It wasn’t a roll four lines type of night with four-on-four and a couple of penalty kills. An abbreviated power play there that we were able to score on. But when we’re out there, we have to keep it simple. They’re a team that any loose puck, any transition, any shot even that’s not directed well they’re looking to go the other way and they’ve got skill to make you pay. I think Tuukka [Rask] was phenomenal when they did get those transition plays and he’s come back with a vengeance here and it’s been to see. You have two great options in that he’s done this for many, many years and you can’t ask for more. It’s great for him and for us that everyone had a little bit of contribution to a win tonight.

On choosing which he likes better: Jake DeBrusk’s fight or goal… Your first fight, he picks a tough character in [Casey] Cizikas too. I’m sure he grew up with the old man showing him a few things. He comes through there and he sticks up for his teammate, that shows a lot. Then to capitalize on a goal after not playing for 17 minutes. I was asking if he jumped on a bike there in the second period or what to keep going, because I know that can be a tough thing to get your feet back under you and get up to speed again. But he made good of that opportunity and it ends up being the game winning goal. Two points for us and that’s what we we’re looking for tonight.

On comparing this streak of strong play to the streak when Bruce Cassidy became coach… I feel like we’re playing more of a playoff-style hockey now than we did, say, when Butchy [Bruce Cassidy] took over. Once we got to playoffs this was more of the mandate of getting pucks behind them. Maybe it’s a bit of a shift in systems that a lot of teams are going through. 1- 1-3 type or 1-3-1 when they’re clogging up the neutral zone more. There’s no room to slice and dice in the neutral zone, you’ve got to put pucks behind teams and go in there and get pucks low to high and get some net front traffic. Those sorts of pillars to your game, when those are there, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing against it’s tough to play in that type of system when guys are committed to it, and we’ve got a lot of guys committed to it.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS HEAD COACH DOUG WEIGHT POSTGAME On whether he thought his team did enough tonight generating chances… Yeah, I do. We didn’t do a great job of getting pucks through and that’s – they got big, long D and they protect lanes and protect the nets. We had some pretty good looks. I think we need to do a better job getting open for our D. Whether it be tips or robounds – we got to do a better job getting pucks through … We got to a better job getting pucks through.

On giving up a power play goal… It’s unfortunate it’s on the rush like that, it’s a poor read. I think, God I don’t know what you’re doing, you watch video and prepare but you got to know what you’re doing in the neutral zone. You can’t give a guy, their best player [Brad Marchand] a break like that. Yeah that’s a punch in the gut when you come out and you work on it. That’s going to happen from time-to-time but that’s – you can’t give them a chance like that. We did a great job the first thirty seconds and got it down, that was a tough one.

On whether he thought Marchand should’ve been given a game misconduct for his hit on John Taveres… Yeah I don’t get that. Dirty hit, not a bright play. I think they just collided at center ice, it was kind of strange, obvioiusly he went hunting the head. We’ll see what they say at the league, I don’t know. I feel like they say to me he can get a five but you don’t have to toss him if there is not an injury. I guess Johnny [Tavares] just has to lay there and act like he’s hurt, but then he has to go to protocol. Tough call, they felt it didn’t hit him clean enough and I haven’t actually watched the actual slo-mo yet. It was high and at the head, so I’ll have to watch it again I guess.

On whether the chippiness of a game prevents him from putting certain players on the ice… No. They can handle it, that’s the game. That’s not part of the game, but there are going to be some games that get going. It was a one-goal-game at the time, so I’m not – you sit at the end of the bench you got adrenaline keep your head up. There was nothing Johnny could do about that, I don’t change my strategy, no.

On not capitalizing on the power play… Yeah same tune as 5-on-5, we just weren’t getting it through. We’ve got to be careful not to be drifting into the we’re running around the ice making plays and passing up shots and not getting pucks through. We have to stick with the meat and potatoes of ripping pucks and get that mentality. We moved it well, we got in the zone well, just couldn’t break through. I count that in my stats as a power play goal, I think anytime it’s within three, four seconds you earned it. We had a couple good opportunities and like seriously what’s the penalty on Cal de Haan? You got to do more.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS FORWARD ANDERS LEE On what was off about the Islanders’ game tonight… We didn’t have much offensive zone time at all. Over the course of 40, 60 minutes, that starts to take away your confidence, starts to grind you down, and it gets frustrating and you get away from your game. And tonight, we didn’t control the puck like we normally do in the middle of the zone. And credit to them for not letting us do that and having good sticks and whatnot. But it’s just one of those games where we couldn’t find it offensively. It’s frustrating coming in here at the end of a road trip and having it turn out the way it did and not coming away with the win tonight.

On what he thought was missing in the long power plays… Having one nullified kind of set us back a little bit. We didn’t enter the zone like we normally did tonight. They did a really good job on the neutral zone on our break-ins. We come in with no speed and we’re forced to dump it and it’s hard to go back and get those pucks. Especially with a couple of their rangy D-men. They clogged us up in the neutral zone on our break-ins.

On if there’s a level of excitement to get back to home ice… It’ll be good to get back home on Monday and a good place to rebound in our home building. And turn this around a little bit and get back on track.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS FORWARD CASEY CIZIKAS On what the Bruins did to throw the Islanders off tonight… Blocking shots and not letting us get in those tough areas that we talked about in front of net and jumping on those rebounds. I think we have to do a better job on that. Other than that, we had the puck, we played well. In the end we came up short.

On his fight… I think that’s my second [fight]. It happens. He [Jake DeBrusk] stood up for his teammate there. You got to tip your cap off to him. It’s definitely not easy, but it happens. It is what it is.

On if the fight was a way to spark the Islanders to get them going… You want to be physical, you want to play on that edge. And sometimes when you do that, those kinds of things happen. It’s part of the sport. It’s been around for a long time. When emotions get high, guys get frustrated, you see that a little bit more.

On his takeaway from the 4-game road trip… Big win in Florida. Kind of a tough one in Tampa there. We kind of came back and gave it up a little bit late. Pittsburgh we showed a lot of composure, a lot of discipline. Guys came up in big spots. And tonight that was just a tough one. We managed to get the puck to the net, but we couldn’t really create anything. We couldn’t get to those second chance pucks. And that ultimately led to the end result.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS DEFENSEMAN CALVIN DE HAAN On not coming away with two points tonight… It was definitely tough. They did a pretty good job boxing out. It seemed like they blocked a lot of shots tonight. Got to give them credit. Defensively, they played a pretty tight game tonight. It’s on us to do a little bit more.

On if the Islanders were doing the things they normally do to generate offense… I don’t think so. Power play-wise, we need to click a little better. I thought it was pretty sloppy for the most part the entire night. So sharpening that up. It helps give guys confidence. It’s one game. Like I said, they did a good job. It’s on us to be that much better and find ways to get wins.

On if he was surprised by some of the nastiness in the third period… I don’t know. I think it was a couple of stupid plays on their part. The first one, Johnny [John Tavares], I don’t know if he [Brad Marchand] clipped him early on in the shift. They got tangled up early on in the shift and you could clearly tell that he [Brad Marchand] was going to get Johnny back and he’s not tall enough to hit Jonny in the head. It wasn’t a clean hit. I didn’t really like that hit. And then the other one, I’m not really sure what he [David Backes] was doing either. We we’re kind of face-to-face and he [David Backes] clearly drove the middle of his helmet to my face. Not a big fan of either one.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS HEAD COACH DOUG WEIGHT PREGAME PRESS CONFERENCE On the lineup tonight… Yeah, Johnny B [Boychuck] is going to miss today. He’s getting better, not going to be in. Disappointing. Seids [Dennis Seidenberg] is going to play and [Jaroslav] Halak will be in net. We’ve got one question up front right now, but we’ll figure that out at game time. Everything else will be the same.

On if Alan Quine will play... That’ll be the answer to – if one guy can’t go, yeah, Alan [Quine] will drop back in.

On if it would be nice to finish the road trip with a strong effort… It would, yeah. You talk about a four game trip, and we are even-steven right now. So be great to pull it out and every game is tough, so we have to bring our best.

On the Bruins… Really playing well right now, I think from their goaltender out. They’ve had some crazy amount of injuries early in the year. It was tough pull for them early because of all the injuries. And it wasn’t really – it was a lot of big players out for them and a lot of bodies. So it made it tough to have continuity in their lines and so forth. Since they’ve started to get healthy and even prior, they’ve just picked their game up, and they’re playing hard. It’s going to be a tough game.

On what he liked about their practice yesterday… I liked it because we were here and obviously we had, just over the last couple of games, a few issues that we were really trying to get at. So we got some good video, some good meetings with our players and we were able to get on the ice and work through some things. Some D-zone and some PK. So I think ever since Jack [Capuano] was here five years ago, it’s always been a team, and being my first one, I don’t know that it’s like that with everybody. But what gets emphasized, it’s usually we get some good results and it was like that in Pittsburgh. I thought our defensive zone and our breakouts were really really good. We are trying to emphasize some of those things moving forward.

On how valuable time off is to implement changes to special teams… Yeah, I think there is a lot more scripted things when you are in odd-man situations. Hockey is a pretty spontaneous game, so it makes things like D-zone and neutral zone also very spontaneous. But there is a lot more routes and things that slow down a bit on special teams, and I think those are things that you have to rep out on a consistent basis. And it’s tough in this league when you have 82 and there is not a lot of practice time. One thing is video is great, but you can’t over do it. There is nothing like walking through it on the ice and going through it – physically going through those routes. It’s definitely something that you like to practice.

On who Dennis Seidenberg is replacing in the lineup… Seids [Dennis Seidenberg] in for [Scott] Mayfield.

#12/09/17#