Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan on his team's recent play:
"I think we've played some good hockey in some games and we didn't get any points but that's not good enough at this point. We need to play good hockey and find a way to get wins. That starts tonight. We know it's going to be a hard game and we need to find a way to get points."
Gulutzan on the Sabres:
"We've looked at Buffalo here in the last few games and it's a tough game. We're going to have to make sure that we at least match or exceed their work ethic. And then we have to have guys playing at the top of their game because you look at the way they've played the last few games, they're playing some good hockey here. Hard hockey. It's never easy in this league. Tonight, I think this is a work-boot game. We've got to dig in."
Gulutzan on Rittich, who gets the start tonight:
"Our plan the whole time was to utilize both goalies while (Mike Smith) is out. A couple days off, a couple good practices … he's looked good the last few days. Really good yesterday and obviously a skate today where he's getting tuned up."
Michael Stone on the team's mindset:
"The mindset is we need points. Other teams that we're in a race with are getting points and we need points to keep pace. The only way we're going to do that is starting tonight, playing well tonight."
Stone on facing Buffalo:
"They're working hard and we're going to have to match that. Obviously we're playing a road game tonight so we've got to be good defensively, not give away possession of the puck."
Sabres goaltender Chad Johnson on the Sabres play in recent weeks:
"We've found a little bit of a rhythm and guys have really bought into the game plan. We've been playing some really good hockey here, I'd probably say, the last three, four weeks. It's fun to be at the rink when things are going well for us. After the (trade) deadline, maybe everybody settled in a little bit more and things are going really well. It's fun to come to the rink right now."
Johnson on his game's progression this season:
"Early on, it was tough for everybody and I played some tough teams and just didn't get the results a lot. Like I said before when I was in Calgary, I thought my game was ready at the start of the year, just you don't get the results sometimes. It was a tough start to the year for everybody, we were trying to find our way as a team and it obviously affects myself and everybody, really, from a results standpoint. Now, I think everybody's getting results, myself included. I just stuck with my game and it's been paying off."
