Dave Tippett Game Quotations

We're going against a team where the whole game plan going in was to take advantage of our turnovers and soft mental play. We were pushing to take that mental play out of the equation, but there were too many times it came into it.

We won't be successful in a playoff game like that. We'll take the win and learn from our mistakes. It's easy to whine and cry. But we'll whine and cry our way right out of the playoffs if we do that.

You have to fine-tune. We try to go into each game and say, 'Here's a focal point.' We want to make sure going in that things are right.

Frustration. Come out with effort and execution like that in Game 1 is unacceptable. It's not who we are as a team, and not who we expect to be. Our expectations are much higher than that.

We're obviously glad that it's nothing too serious with Mike, but we'll just see how he is Saturday. That's a decision we'll make at game time. We do have some healthy bodies around, so we're not going to take a chance with anybody and put anybody in a vulnerable situation. But that being said, we want to continue to play well as a team -- and he's a big part of our team.

He's certainly a guy that as you become more familiar with him, he grows on you. There's a lot of factors to his game that he keeps showing you as it goes on, and I think we're still in the early stages with him. But, so far, we've been very happy with what we've seen.

He was very good. He's a guy we monitor every day and watch very closely because he's taken steps as we've gone along. As the pace of the game rises, we hope he will rise with it. Tonight was a good example of him playing a very good game on both sides of the puck. He made a lot of smart plays.

Hockey is a game where intimidation is still a part of the game, and you'll go to great lengths to try to win a game. If you know a player has an injury or weakness, he becomes vulnerable. He becomes targeted.

Hopefully this is a good slap in the face for our players. We turned the puck over in the neutral zone 30 times. When you lose execution its hard to get it back. I'm disappointed in the way our top players played and execution. It's just one game and we have to move on.

He made a couple good saves. He took a lot of pressure this game on himself.

I think it's ultimately a team game that should be decided by a team. But during the season, you find a result and you just see the excitement it's given the fans and the players. It's been a nice jolt in the arm for us.

That was a pretty solid game on our part. The last three games, we've put a lot of building blocks in place. We've just got to keep building on it.

We didn't play our game in the first period. We got a lot of penalties that put us on our heels early. We went into the dressing room and I thought we regrouped, but we came out and promptly gave up two more.

We do have concerns with the perception of our game and the credibility of our game.

Blocking shots, it's going to hurt. You can't win in this game without getting hurt.

Bill knows how he's going to have to play in the playoffs. I've had long conversations with Bill about how he can most help our team. If he can get his game elevated enough and going, it's another plus for us.

There are a few issues, but I think it's the stuff you normally have to deal with. These guys are in great shape, but they still have to get in game shape. One of the big challenges is getting the body conditioned to hitting. Not only is it hard physically, it really takes the air out of you.

When you play sloppy like that, you get what you deserve. You're just looking for an honest hockey game from your team, and for the most part we got it. We didn't get it from everybody.

Very rarely do you see a circumstance in the game where a player has such an impact on both sides of the game. Brenden had a huge impact in that game for us in a positive way. But just like everything else in human nature and life, we're all talking about the negatives (Thursday) and that's what he would draw on I'm sure.

That game is a real concern because that's a big division game that you expect to play well in. That was a combination of poor mistakes, not winning one-on-one battles and erratic play. At times, you had guys scared to make a play.

Put yourself in my shoes. Your team played well and you're trying to make sure you play well again in Game 3. Do you pound it down when it did a lot of positive things? The intent was there, and we don't want to discourage that at all.

Sometimes a game like this isn't bad. It allows some teaching points, and it allows us to recognize what happened here.

I like what they're doing with the rules. The rules are taking players out of the game whose primary job is fighting and forcing teams to consider using players who can skate and play.

The message today was to prepare for our game and what we need to do to win. Tonight is the night that it was really put to the test because you cannot get caught up in everything that is going around.

He's the kind of guy that you know he's a solid player and does a lot of little things well in the game. But he's certainly a guy that as you become more familiar with him, he grows on you. . . . There's a lot of factors to his game that he keeps showing you as it goes on, and I think we're still in the early stages with him. But so far, we've been very happy with what we've seen.

The goal is to win the game and you have 60 minutes. It just so happened that we used the last 20 to do that. It would be easier on the coaches' hair color if we led a little more.

It's not that seven don't deserve to play or can't play, but rhythm in the game becomes a stronger factor that will outweigh an extra player.

They play a very energetic style, and they do a lot of good things that push the game along. But it would be nice to see them get rewarded every now and then.

They're both talented players and both of them are used to playing with more open ice. It's a game where they really should fit in.