POSTGAME QUOTES BOSTON BRUINS VS Monday, March 19, 2018

BOSTON BRUINS HEAD COACH BRUCE CASSIDY On Ryan Donato’s impressive debut… Yeah, very. You know, he’s on the puck, as advertised, in terms of his compete. Wanted to shoot the puck. I think, early, he was trying to make some plays and then realized, just play to your strength. Did a real good job. I didn’t notice anything away from the puck. I’m sure there’s a few teaching moments once you go back over the game tape and go from there. But, like I said, I liked him a lot, and I’m sure Krech [David Krejci] did, as well. They seemed to have some good chemistry.

On Donato producing right away… The guys – you know, we saw a little bit – like, listen, this is one game, but some of the guys that come in – you saw that with [Charlie] McAvoy, just played his game. It would be great if he has similar success. Consistency is a big issue for first-year guys, and we all understand that. If he can string it together, then we’ll make that comparison, but yes, to answer your question, very impressed by that to be able to come in here. Especially your hometown, could be some jitters there, might be easier to do it on the road, almost. I’m not sure – to each his own in that area, but there’s a lot of people to, sort of, impress, and it’s a tough game, so good for him to be able to do it right here in his own backyard.

On Rick Nash’s injury… He got hit in Tampa, so we thought he was fine. He had an upper-body injury. This morning – pregame skate – we thought he’d be fine, and it turned out after pregame skate, early afternoon, he wasn’t, so, you know, we had to make a call for Anton Blidh.

On how to deal with the accumulating injuries… You know, call a player up, right? We signed one out of college; that helped. So, that’s it. It’s uncontrollable to a certain extent. It’s kind of enough, now. I would agree. We’ve had our share, so let’s get these guys healthy, get ready to play. But, I don’t know. You’ve got to play the game in front of you and you just hope the string of, kind of, tough luck, is over. But, you know, that’s it. It’s a physical game, and we’ve said all along, to have successful seasons, both regular and playoffs, you need a certain level of health. So, that’s what we’re hoping, that these guys come back, and that’s it. Until then, we plug the holes, play the game in front of you, like I said, and do our best to sustain our level of play. I thought, tonight, our effort was outstanding. Guys competed really hard, had plenty of chances, actually, got four goals – could have had more. I liked our compete away from the puck. I don’t think we gave up – wasn’t trading chances all night; we did a good job. We had a few breakdowns in front of our net, and they were opportunistic.

On Donato playing the front of the net… Well, I asked him, and he said he played the half wall, and if he wasn’t the half wall, he was net front. So, what did we do? We put him in the bumper this morning. That was out of, basically, wanting to get him on a unit, and that was the available spot. We’re not going to change what was successful, and then when Rick Nash couldn’t play, we moved him down there. I think what makes him attractive is his compete for loose pucks, to keep pucks alive and to make plays. Like Marchy around the net – Marchy [Brad Marchand] was good as a net-front guy. He wasn’t your traditional type of guy; we’ve used him there, now he is moved to the half wall with the trade of Ryan Spooner. So, I like those guys around the net, personally. Now, will he end up on the elbow somewhere? Time will tell. We will probably use him in different spots, but guys that are hungry for the puck anywhere around the front of the net, especially a shooting power play that gets some rebounds, and we’ve started to become a little more of that. We saw it the other night in Tampa; we got two goals in front of the net, got another one tonight, so we’re becoming a little more of volume, as opposed to looking for that seam pass that was a little more of our go-to play last year. That was, obviously, again, Ryan Spooner’s strength with finding Pasta [David Pastrnak], and Bergy [Patrice Bergeron] plays a little higher in the bumper. So, we’ve had to adjust, and it’s worked out so far the last couple of games, I think, in terms of production and getting opportunities, at least.

On Marchand’s ability to elevate a backhand in tight quarters… Yeah, he did it in Detroit. It was the most impressive, to me, the overtime he got earlier this year, to be able to do it while he was getting mugged. Tonight, it looked like, what happened, again, while he was getting mugged in overtime, but it didn’t go our way. But, he did do it on that strong on the puck, and he’s got fast hands. Give him credit; he’s hungry around that net.

On players stepping up when others are injured… I love it. That’s opportunity for them to step up, and I think guys have taken the bull by the horns. I don’t want to list every player, but I don’t think we’ve been disappointed by one person that’s come up here. Going back to the start of the year, the Austin Czarniks to the [Jordan] Szwarzs, they came in there and helped us in a western road swing. I think it’s been a great situation for the organization to have this much depth. Then, to wheel in a Ryan Donato, as a coach, the scouting staff clearly did a great job with the players, the young players, we’ve drafted. We’ve been able to develop them on the fly here. You need to be able to do it. You probably could look at teams throughout the that haven’t been able to use that depth with injuries. They probably haven’t been able to sustain a level of success, and that’s been the difference for us. We have been.

On not being able to keep the goals against numbers down following the shutout… Yeah, it’s a day-by-day thing, or game-by-game. I measure on how we play. Did we compete? Were we sloppy? We weren’t as clean as we can be, but it wasn’t like a barrage of opportunities, and we always look at that. And, did we get the appropriate saves? Did we have the appropriate coverage? Clearly, a couple backdoors, and there’s no chance on those. The faceoff , so bang-bang. So, you’ve just got to move on sometimes, as a coach, and not get too picky. Yes, we want to get the goals against, but it wasn’t like they got a chance, we got a chance. I guess I’ve used the term respectful to the game in the past. I thought we were very respectful to the game tonight. It just didn’t go in our favor. And, we had a couple icing calls, let’s face it, that led to goals, so maybe it wasn’t our night in terms of that, either.

On the non-call on Marchand’s overtime scoring chance… Listen, they make their calls. I was more confused about, like I said, I thought there was clearly two icings that directly resulted in goals. That was disappointing to me, but life goes on. We got our power-play opportunities; we were able to covert on one of them, so no. Hopefully, the next time we’re in overtime, a call goes our way. It’s just the way it is.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD RYAN DONATO On how he thinks his first night went… I mean it was fun. Obviously it ended tough but at the end of the day I was excited and I think it all went well personally but I’d say it’s still bitter because of the loss.

On how he was able to play so well with [David] Krejci in his first game… I mean when you play with good players, it’s not too hard. Obviously he’s a tremendous player and I think when you play with tremendous guys like that, it’s not too hard to feel good.

On what he felt when the game started… I mean during warmups actually I was kind of taken away. I mean it kind of felt like a dream and I really didn’t even get that warmed up because I was too focused on everything else and just kind of the whole situation. At the end of the day it was an unbelievable experience and it was a blessing tonight.

On looking pretty comfortable out there right from the start… I mean for me I was kind of just staying focused and keeping my head between the glass. Obviously it’s going to be a crazy experience no matter how the game goes for me and I just wanted to stay focused and kind of just repeated myself and remained in the game and not get too crazy and it worked out.

On if it took a couple of shifts to get his feet under him… Yeah absolutely. I mean it’s so much faster than what I’ve ever seen but at the end of the day it’s something that you can get used to and when you’re playing with great players like that it’s something that will come along fast as well.

On getting such good chances right off the hop… Yeah obviously you’re never really going to expect to play in your first NHL game and have chances. For me I was just going in with a positive attitude and no matter what role they had me in I was going to try and do it to my best and I was fortunate to get a couple bounces and it almost went in a couple times and obviously one went in and that was great too.

On playing in the 3 on 3 overtime… Yeah well I played a little bit at the Olympics, 3 on 3, so I was kind of used to it on a bigger sheet which was difficult so obviously the Olympics is a big stage but here it’s being at home, it’s kind of a crazy feeling that is all on your shoulders the whole game and obviously you want it to end well, but obviously sometimes it doesn’t go your way but I was happy that they gave me a chance to be out there for the 3 on 3 for sure.

On the added pressure of playing at home in front of friends and family… I mean for me it was a blessing, some people would think it’s tough because there is a lot of commotion with your friends and stuff like that but those are the people who support you and I couldn’t be happier to have those guys here and just kind of be with me through this whole process and it also makes it a lot easier for me.

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD DAVID KREJCI On how the Bruins have been dealing with the injuries that they have had… It doesn’t matter who’s out. You still have to play your game, you still have to show up. Put the effort in, put the work in. Obviously we are missing those guys, but at the same time you’re not going to stop playing when the guys are back. You just have to keep playing, keep battling, keep working hard. Eventually those guys will come back and you’ll keep doing the same thing.

On what he thought when Rick Nash got hurt… With this season, nothing surprises me anymore. Lots of injuries. But what are you going to do? Like I said, you just have to focus on your game and go out there and put your best effort. And that’s it. Injuries are a part of the game and there’s nothing you can do about those.

On how well the Bruins have played despite the injuries… I felt that we could have got two [points], we let one slip away. You know we got one from this game. We were a pretty good team going into the third [period] with a lead. This is on us, we can do better than that. And like I said, I felt like we let one slip away.

On if playing between two rookies tonight is the most extreme circumstance he’s ever been in… I didn’t know he [Rick Nash] wasn’t playing tonight, until I showed up a couple of hours before the game. Ryan [Donato] played a good game. Good for his confidence to get the first one. That is always the hardest, but he’s got to keep playing the way he played today. I thought he played well and he made some good plays. He easily could have got a couple of more, but that’s a good start for him. For me, just have to go out and try to do your best to help the team.

On what he had heard about Ryan Donato and if Donato lived-up to those expectations… Hadn’t heard much, but watch some games at the Olympics so I knew that he had a good shot. I only saw a few games that he played for Team USA.

On how impressive it was that Ryan Donato wasn’t timid and was playing aggressive tonight… He was playing well. He was battling along the walls, he was making some good plays. Like I said, it was a good game for him. For a first NHL game, you can’t really ask for anything better than he did. So it was a good game and hopefully he can keep it up. We will see with the injuries, but we thought we had some good stuff so hopefully we can carry that to the next game.

BOSTON BRUINS GOALTENDER TUUKKA RASK On some nights not going your way with bounces… Yeah, that sums it up pretty good. We played a great game and then they didn’t have a whole lot of chances. And they had some – a bounce goal, a bad bounce goal for the first one and then, you know – yeah. Yeah, tough.

On Torey Krug getting his stick in the right place… Yeah, so just a fun night to be a goalie.

On having trouble with them in the past but not tonight… Yeah, we played good. I thought we were, you know, we had the puck most the night and we were creating more chances than them and I mean, we scored four goals so I would expect a win. But, tough luck around the net a couple times and, you know, it was the game.

On if the games become more intense now that there are only a handful of games left… Yeah, well, you know, we’re just trying to play the same way night in and night out. Obviously we are playing some teams who are very desperate and fighting for the playoff spots. And we’re trying to fine-tune our game going into the playoffs and I think the past couple of games have been pretty good. We’re going in the right direction, creating a lot of buzz around the opposite team net and defending pretty well. So you know, we’re just trying to keep plugging away and really feel good about ourselves when the playoffs start.

On if the game against Tampa felt like a good team performance… Yeah, well that was throughout the 60 minutes – everybody was good. They really – there’s no breakdowns, there were zero breakdowns. So that’s I guess what you’re going for in a game and that’s a great example of that. But, no they had some shots and chances but we stuck together defensively and defended great that game.

On if he thought Columbus played as well as he thought they would… Yeah, I guess, they battled hard, they tried hard and never gave up but we didn’t give them much. They were very opportunistic with a couple bounces – it happens.

On if he can see the puck better in the 3v3 overtime… Well, yeah, you see it. There’s not traffic in front of you but there are more clear-cut chances. But yeah, you see it.

On that being the risk/reward factor in overtime… Yeah, yeah, I mean, even that goal there, it’s bouncing on his stick like he’s going high glove and it kind of goes under my hand so sometimes you don’t get to see that too clear I guess.

BOSTON BRUINS DEFENSEMAN MATT GRZELCYK On how the Bruins have been dealing with the injuries that they have had… Just a next-man-up mentality. The guys that are playing obviously have more of an opportunity, so they have to do their job and do the best they can.

On what he thought when Rick Nash get hurt... Obviously, you don’t want to see someone of his caliber not in the lineup. He’s a really good player, he’s been a great addition to our team. But we try to not make any excuses for ourselves. There’s still a game to be played.

On how well the Bruins have played despite the injuries… Yeah, it’s something we’ve had all year. We just kind of go out there and play with a chip on our shoulder. The playoffs are coming up and we are doing the best to be in the best position that we can. Obviously we want to be playing the best hockey that we can going into that, so just have to be prepared each night.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS HEAD COACH JOHN TORTORELLA POSTGAME On Sonny Milano’s goal… Yeah, you talk about trying to stop momentum, we had problems with it all night long, but when they go three-one and basically just totally out-play us, to get back and at least give us a chance going into the third, it was important.

On the lineup changes… Yeah because I thought we sucked. That game belongs to Korpy [Korpisalo]. It could’ve been 9- 4. So he was outstanding. I’m thrilled for him as far as what he’s doing now and the situation this team is in, and where he’s upped his game. I don’t want to take anything away from the guys; I don’t think we played well at all tonight, but they still found a way to score timely goals, make some key plays at key times, but let’s face it, we stole two points.

On the difference in the team between last game in Boston… I don’t know. I still think there were some struggles. It just looked as a whole group, we didn’t seem to have our legs. The turnovers hurt us, we turned the puck over quite a bit. But, give them credit, they just ended up finding a way. I still think we’re a nervous hockey club through it. You know, we score the fourth goal, they come right back and all we have to do is get the puck out, they tie it up right after, but we just stayed with it…You know, we have played games, outstanding games and we lost. I thought we sucked tonight and we won.

On the effort of Pierre-Luc Dubois tonight… Yeah, he was okay.

On Korpisalo… Yeah well their power play just gained tremendous momentum. We really struggled trying to kill penalties and Korpisalo… I believe [Ryan] Murray got the hat... Murray makes two great plays. They need to make another hat for the goalie because Korpy is the mainstay tonight. That’s a silly looking hat too. That’s the first time I’ve seen it.

On congratulating Korpisalo… Well I always do with the goalie. I feel they’re the main piece to any team winning a game. I’m not a big guy to go around to everybody. In certain situations I’ll find guys, but Korpy deserved a bunch of people congratulating him tonight. He was just outstanding tonight.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS FORWARD CAM ATKINSON On the atmosphere in the building… Yeah, it’s a tough place to play, a tough place to win regardless of who’s in your lineup. I know they had a bunch of guys that are down but they are still finding ways to win – I think they’ve won eight out of their last 10. So we stuck with it and that’s what good teams do. It wasn’t our prettiest by any means but we found a way to get two huge points.

On how significant the momentum was after Columbus scored in the second… Huge. To get one there, you know, it was 3-1, to get two with a couple minutes left in the period gives us life coming in to the third.

On going to get the second point in overtime… Yeah, I mean, that’s what you got to do right if you want to get two points? No, they have a good amount of weapons on that side, sometimes they like to cheat a little bit, but that’s how they get their points – a lot of high end skill. But we just stuck with it, Mur [Ryan Murray] made a great play and just found a way to get to the back of the net.

On the difference between the last game in Boston and this one… I think just maturity. You know, we’ve learned a lot as a club from start to where are now. Our depth is huge throughout the lineup, like I keep telling everyone. You know, Korpy [Joonas Korpisalo] played an outstanding game, he kept us in the game the whole night. Just a resilient group, it’s good to see.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS DEFENSEMAN RYAN MURRAY On tonight’s win… Yeah, we just kept chipping away. We probably didn’t deserve to win that game, but we found a way in the end.

On his pass to Sonny Milano… Yeah, he’s a crafty guy and we kind of just locked eyes and I think he knew that I saw him, so he just got open and showed me his stick. I mean it was a heck of a play by him to get open because a lot of times guys will just crash the net, but he got open back door.

On the goal at the end of the second period… Yeah, it’s always big to get one at the end of the period, so we just kept chipping away and found a way to win.

On staying mentally strong during the game… Yeah, I mean honestly they were all over us. They played well and they had a ton of chances. I don’t know how many they had but it seemed like every shift they had a grade-A scoring chance, but Korpy [Joonas Korpisalo] played a heck of a game. I mean he made some massive saves, but we just chipped away and found a way to win.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS HEAD COACH JOHN TORTORELLA PREGAME On Seth Jones’ status and tonight’s lineup… Out. Same lineup. Korpi is [Joonas Korpisalo] in net.

On Ian Cole… Well, we knew he was a good player. We never know how they fit, but he has played very well for us.

On Seth Jones’ timetable for return… Day to day. Day to day.

On if they have been able to put a finger on why they’ve been scoring so much… No. You just play. You don’t worry about putting fingers on it. You don’t overthink it; you play. Guys are playing better, and if we could put our finger on to score goals, we would have done this a long time ago. So, it’s a funny game how confidence comes and goes with players and get a couple of bounces here and there, and you gain momentum off of it. We don’t do much talking about it; we just hope it continues.

On if the team is getting to the harder areas better now… No, I think we’ve been there. I just think some guys had struggles during the year confidence- wise. It’s going to get harder and harder to score goals as each game dwindles here, because it really starts tightening up. So, we’ve just to keep on doing the things – I think Thomas Vanek has helped us. He has made some really good offensive plays for us, and guys are just beginning to play better, so hopefully it will continue.

On how Jones’ absence affects the lineup… Well, you miss him. I mean, he’s a key part of our team, but we don’t have a game plan for with Jonesy in and with Jonesy out. It’s the next guy up, and you play. Obviously, you put guys in Jonesy’s spot on the power play and the kill, and it adds to people’s responsibilities, but that’s all. We don’t change our concept or our thinking; we just go play.

On getting offensive production from the defensemen… To score in this league and to get away from the one and two-goal games, your defense has to be involved. We have two pretty good ones with Jonesy and Z [Zach Werenski], as far as numbers are concerned, but all our D – sometimes it’s not just the numbers guys put up; it’s just showing that look of four men up the ice, where it can back a team off a blue line. That helps you score goals. The D might not even stay in the offense, but just showing that four-man look on the attack ends up getting you ice in the offensive zone, and that helps.

On if he wants his team to remember the last game in Boston… What happened? I don’t even remember. No, I don’t even remember. Nope. We’re just ready to play our next game.

#03/19/18#