Ken Hitchcock Level Quotations

Peter's a special player, ... He's the complete package. He's a competitive player with a high level of skill.

Peter's a special player. He's the complete package. He's a competitive player with a high level of skill.

We made some great strides last year, but there's another level out there. I think it's a group effort to get to the next level. We don't need one thing from one player, we just need a little bit more from every player. We are capable of taking the next step as a group, but it's just a little bit more from every player.

You are just dealing with an unbelievable level of fire when you're giving a team like that six, seven or eight power plays. You're not going to beat that team. You have to eliminate the reaching-in penalties. I know it's a natural reaction for most players but we've got to have the people that are doing it, not do it.

They pushed the level out there. It's not about whether we can keep up. We don't have a choice.

I've always found that veteran players play significant roles in playoffs because they know what the level is like. And over a short period of time they can get themselves to that level because they know it's a two-month season.

If Jon had the attitude he has now he would have been a 30-goal scorer. He was unable to sustain the level of play necessary to keep him in the lineup.

Once they got the lead, they were able to sit on it. I don't think we played with the emotional level that we have at times. A lot of that is New Jersey. They play a very methodical game and they take the emotion out of it.

I just think our level of intensity dropped and Toronto's went up, and that was the difference,

He's real impressive. His skill level and his skating level are incredible. I think that he's a special player, but I don't think there is much extra pressure on him right now. I think right now he's able to find his own level because we are competent back there. We have good players back there so he's going to be able to develop at the proper pace. But when you have a player who is that strong, everybody gets excited. And I think we are all feeling like this is a terrific opportunity for him and the franchise.

It's still not good enough. We know the rules and we took two penalties in the third period that we can't take, not when the game is on the line. You're just dealing with an unbelievable level of fire when you're giving a team like that six, seven or eight penalties.