Derian Hatcher Quotations

My abs are sore. They speed around, and they handle the puck, too. It's really tough to handle the puck when you're moving.

I was standing buy (O'Neill) when he scored. I thought I had him but I didn't. I need to be better (there).

Now you're in a situation where every game could be your last. Everyone talks about playoff experience. I'm not going to say it means a lot, but I'd rather have it.

Obviously, right now we're a fragile team. I don't think there are any questions about it.

Obviously right now we're a fragile team. I don't think there's any question about it. As we go on, that's something we have to fix to win games.

There are times you go through the season and, I'll say it, it starts dragging a little. The playoffs, every game, every shift means more. It always means something, don't get me wrong, but in the playoffs it just means more.

There are times you want to take your stick and whack people and you just can't.

We're going in there and we're going to have to win a game. You don't even think about Game 2. You pour it all out there for Game 1. If you can steal Game 1 the pressure really switches over to them for Game 2.

We have to be consistent, because consistent teams win in the playoffs.

He worked hard all game and he got his breaks off hard work.

The pace we're on, sure, anything could happen.

I said it before the game, it wasn't a must-win game, but it was definitely a big game we wanted to win. Between the second and third periods, when we were down 1-0, we felt in here that if we keep playing that we were going to win, and even when they got that second one we didn't stop. That's a great sign.

Playoffs are an emotional roller-coaster ride. One minute you are on top of the world, and the next you are down deep somewhere. That is exactly what it was tonight.

I think more than anything, we almost wilted a little bit. We were down 1-0 and we weren't playing bad. We were on that edge. But after they got the second goal we kind of wilted, and as a player that's the toughest part to swallow.

It definitely wasn't there tonight. We scored a goal and I think that may have been our worst enemy. It hurts a lot...there's no excuse for it.

I think with the year off and the rule changes, everyone, with maybe a few exceptions, had to play his way on (the team).

I think he played great. He was the difference in the hockey game. Especially early on when he made some big saves.

It felt good. It's been frustrating. If I had been here and we hadn't been locked out for a full season, I don't think it would have been quite as bad. With the circumstances, it made it a little worse on me.

I think it?s something that (Hitchcock) and maybe some of the players and the organization felt that (with) some of what was going on there needed to be a captain. One of (Hitchcock?s) biggest concerns was to have that voice in the room. The voice about the way we?re supposed to be playing and the system we?re supposed to be playing. Someone to preach and to hold guys accountable toward the team.

I think it's something that (Hitchcock) and some of the players felt that, with some of what's been going on, that there needed to be a captain, a voice in the room that represents the team.

We just buttoned up. We knew what we had to do.

That was probably the single most embarrassing moment I've had in my career.

We needed the two points that's for sure. There is no question about it, no one is happy about blowing the lead in the third period, but we needed the points. We got the win, and everyone wishes we didn't give up the lead, but we found a way to win the game.

We came in with the right attitude, but once we got that first goal, collectively, I think we felt it was going to be an easier night than it turned out to be. It was our own worst enemy. There's no excuse for it, but it was pretty evident that that's what happened.

We can't play good for one game or one shift and then not play well in the next one. We've been up and down a lot this year, and that has to stop now. We have to be consistent.

We know what lies ahead of us. We know who we're playing and where we stand.

(Consistency) was a problem before and now with the new rules. I think it's going to be a bigger problem. You flip the channels on TV and it's a different set of rules in every game. I'm not blaming the referees, but it's hard for players to adjust when there are different sets of rules every night.

Easy. Everyone has to take it upon themselves. We have three games left.

Every team going in thinks they have a shot. Whoever ends up in the Stanley Cup final, it really wouldn't surprise me.

These next couple games will determine where we are. But I actually think we're on our way. You can see it, the focus is there and guys are working hard.

That's why I have a hard time believing the season will be canceled. The owners are smart businessmen. If it gets canceled, you don't even know how long it'll last because I doubt anything would happen over the summer. I think the players understand hockey isn't baseball or football or basketball. But I don't know where it goes from here.

That's how he does it. That's the outlook of the team, and it starts with him.

Right now we're a fragile team, there's no question about it. It's something we need to fix, and the only way to fix it is to win games.

Skating with the team is a step in the right direction, so in that sense it felt good. I'm assuming that Peter will be back for probably a game, and hopefully I can play a game or two in the exhibition. It's definitely important to try to get everyone going before the start of the year.

Everyone has to take it upon themselves. There was a lot said before the game and between the periods, but now everyone has to take it upon themselves. We only have three games left.

I want to say by being consistent, but that really doesn't say anything, does it? I guess I don't really know. I don't know how you can guarantee something like that, an intangible like being consistent. But I know if we're not consistent, we're not going to win this series.

I guess they'd probably have to lose all their games and we'd have to win all of ours. We basically took it out of our own hands.

Hey, it's the playoffs. Guys are going to hit and guys are going to be hit. You have to take it. You can't afford to take penalties at this point.

He sees me, turns away. You can't stop. If he keeps going and takes the hit, it's not even an issue right now.

He's very intense. That's where it starts, his intensity.

I don't know if you're supposed to love your coach. Right now I love him, but we'll see in a couple weeks.

I don't know if anyone felt that he could come back.

I remember that pretty vividly. We knew what we had to do and every player wanted to do it. That's what it's going to take.

It's only going to get tougher and tougher to score goals. The later we go into the season and into the playoffs, the tougher the games are going to get.

I told the ref that if I knew I was going to get the penalty anyway, I would have punched him.

It might be my all-time lowest defeat. We were flat-out beat, out-competed. Every player should be embarrassed. I mean that. To have that effort at home is unacceptable. . . . We should be embarrassed to show our faces in public right now.

It wasn't fun. A lot of it is focus. We want to play how we play.

You have to use home ice, especially early in the game. You want to get a quick lead. Obviously, that team thrives on taking the lead.

We were playing with a desperation. We definitely got a break or two, but maybe that's what we needed to get going. That's why this is back to being a series.

It says a lot with all the crap we went through, especially recently. No one's happy about the way this season ended up, but now it's a clean slate.

We found the net tonight and I think that allowed us to put some spark back into our play. We will be ready tomorrow night.

This team has played like this for years and years. They wait and wait and capitalize on mistakes. There's no secret. They've been playing this way for a long time and they're good at it. They challenge you to beat them.

This is what it's going to be like. You better get ready for the next one.

I don't think they should have done that. I know all of our guys were worried about him and a lot of their guys were, too.

He barely hit him. Sometimes, your momentum carries you. I don't think he hit him hard. If he ran him, he would have gotten 20 games.

He believed in me a long time ago. I had five good years with Ken Hitchcock in Dallas. And the terms of the deal mattered, too. I have a family and I didn't want to be moving around every two years.