Suzuki: 'You've got to win your home games'

TAMPA - The Canadiens suffered a 3-1 loss to the Lightning in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final at AMALIE Arena.

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Montreal trails the series 2-0.
After the game, defenseman Shea Weber and forwards Paul Byron, Corey Perry and Nick Suzuki spoke with reporters via Zoom, along with assistant coach Luke Richardson.
Here are a few highlights from their respective chats:
Weber on the Canadiens' puck management in Game 2:
We were much better. We definitely put the pucks in areas where we could get it back and make them work a little bit more. I thought we generated a lot more because of it. They're opportunistic, so it only takes a couple of mistakes for them to score. But, if we continue to do those things, we're going to have success going forward.

Weber on the game-winning goal by Tampa Bay's Blake Coleman with 0.3 seconds left in the second period:
It's definitely something you don't want to do, give up goals in the first or last minute of periods. That was definitely tough. But, I thought we weren't too bad after that.
Byron on failing to finish prime scoring opportunities:
We had a lot of chances. It was a close game. We made a few mistakes and we couldn't put the puck in the net. We need to put this game behind us and get ready for the next one.
Byron on coming up short after firing 43 shots on goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy:
Sometimes, the final result isn't representative of the game. We played a better game. We're all capable of playing the same way every game. But, to win against a team like the Lightning, it takes even more from everyone. If the guys can give a little bit more next game, we should be in a good spot.
Perry on what made the difference in Wednesday night's contest:
The playoffs are so close. A bounce here, a bounce there, a timely goal, whatever it is, the games are so minimal. It's just one of those things. They got a break at the end of the second, and that's a momentum swing. I thought we played well tonight. I thought we had a lot of great chances. We were skating, we were forechecking, and we had the puck a lot of the night. If we continue to do that, we'll keep wearing them down.

Perry on the message to the group down 2-0 in the series:
The message is: "Don't stop doing what we've been doing all playoffs." You look at what happened in the first round. We were down 3-1. We stayed focused. We stayed with our game plan. We never changed, never did anything, and continued to push. It's no different now. It doesn't matter, first round, second round, third round, Final, whatever it is, you continue to play your game and continue to do the things that got you here. If you do that, you're going to be successful. I said it in the room. I said: "It's fun. This is hockey. Enjoy it." The games are so minimal. They're so close. We get one of those bounces next game, you never know what can happen.
Suzuki on his message to fans who won't be in attendance for the upcoming games because Quebec Public Health authorities denied the request for more spectators in the Bell Centre:
I know they'd love to be in the building, but it's just not the case in the world we're living in right now. We love playing in front of our fans. We feel the energy out in the streets. It's been a lot of fun to play back at the Bell Centre. We know the 3,500 that'll be there will be cheering us on and the rest will be supporting us.
Suzuki on the approach to Game 3 and Game 4 on home turf:
We don't want the series to get away from us. You've got to win your home games. We're going back home to play two games there. We have a good opportunity to bring a 2-2 series back here, so we know what's at stake and we'll be ready to go.
Richardson on another disappointing result in Florida:
Their goaltender played extremely well. We didn't get some bounces that way. We had a little bit of a puck management thing right at the end of the second, which was unfortunate. We had such a good period in the second. We were playing our style of game. But, I thought the guys had a lot of character. They came out and played hard in the third. Unfortunately, it didn't go our way. But, I was confident that the guys would bounce back, play our style of game and play it hard, and we did. We're getting better. We just plan on getting better the next game and winning Game 3.

Richardson on Suzuki and fellow youngster Cole Caufield delivering solid efforts after struggling in the series-opener:
With respect to Nick and Cole, I wasn't concerned at all. There were people mentioning that the spotlight and the moment was too much for them, but they showed that it isn't tonight. They both had chances to score. Nick got one on the power play. They did fine against the Brayden Point line again when they were out there. They definitely pushed the pace and really showed a lot of character.