Say What - 'Always Get Those Butterflies'

Kadri on the excitement of opening night:

“It's always a funny feeling starting the season off and getting ready to face the rollercoaster ride that it is an NHL hockey season. There's going to be some positives, some negatives along the way, it's just a matter of how you respond. That's what allows you to be a consistent and established NHLer. Most of the guys have that in this room. Always, the first one is most exciting. It's nice to start off at home in front of our home fans.

“Before the home opener, you always get those butterflies. That means you still have the passion and the love for the game and that's always an exciting aspect.”

On the team’s new look offensively:

“We're going to try and be predictable to ourselves and make plays when they're there. Just always make the right play, the high-percentage play when you've got nothing and not force it. It's nice, it's refreshing to have a different look offensively and try to score some goals any time we can and try to create some dangerous opportunities.”

On the ‘comfort’ of his second year in the organization:

“That's a positive about our dressing room. We don't have a whole lot of new faces, so the familiarity is there playing with each other. I think that goes a long way the longer you do it. We're excited. A few guys are going to be more and more comfortable and hopefully it shows out there.”

On the season ahead:

“I don't think you can dwell on the past. Just worry about the future and what lies ahead. Of course, we knew the situation last year. We fought hard. Just didn't get the breaks and the results we wanted. It's a new year, new look in terms of systems and how we want to operate. That's definitely exciting and rejuvenating.”

Andersson on opening night:

“It's going to be a lot of fun. It feels like it's been a long preseason. It's going to be fun to get back to it and get ready to play, get the itch back and hopefully get off to a good start.”

On playing in the Pacific:

“We've got a lot of good teams in our division, so we've got to get off to a hot start and take care of home ice before we go on the road and get together as a team.

“I don't know if I agree with the underdog mentality. We have a few changes from last year, but what do we have? Fifteen returning players? And we know what they said about us last year. We've just got to find the swagger within the guys and trust ourselves that we're a good team and we're going to win a lot of games.”

Hanifin on the positive atmosphere in the dressing room:

“You want to have fun. It's a huge part of the game and it's a long season, there's going to be ups and downs. But you've got to make sure you're enjoying the whole process and putting the work in. It makes the whole year a lot more enjoyable. We've got a great group of guys in here, we all support each other and want to have fun together, and I think that's a big key to having success.

“It's exciting. It's been a long wait for this with training camp, it's been a long process, but everyone in the room is super excited to get started. The home opener is always a special night in front of the home crowd, so we're all looking forward to it.”

Huska on a big night ahead:

“This time of year is exciting and I know they've put in a lot of work to get to this point and it's now here, so it's time to enjoy the moment and get ready to play. 

“I don't know if a coach will say that a team is 100% ready for everything. There's always things that you'd like to see them improve on. But I know their energy level and their commitment and compete is going to be there tonight.”