Say What - 'Didn't Play Very Well'

Ryan Lomberg on losing in his return to Florida:

"It totally stings, losing this one. I wanted this one. Obviously incredibly thankful and appreciative of all the fans out there, cheering me on."

On facing another difficult opponent Sunday:

"It’s a challenge, and it’s not getting easier, right? We’ve got a big test tomorrow against the Hurricanes. It’s about being able to put this one behind us, get back on the horse, and bring our best effort next game."

On Dan Vladar's work between the pipes:

"It’s too bad, we obviously let him down. He stood in there and gave us a chance. We hung him out to dry quite a bit today, disappointing from the group to do that to him. An incredible effort by him."

Dan Vladar on his 39-save effort:

"It’s obviously better when you see more pucks than not, so I felt pretty good. The thing I think we’ve got to take from this game is the third period, where we had a really good pushback. I’m really proud of this group. Some guys said in the locker room after the game, if we play like we did in the third, we are putting ourselves in a really good spot for tomorrow. That was our hockey, for sure, in the third period. For me, I’d rather win 8-7, that’s my mentality. Came here for two points, not to hear from everybody ‘good job’ or whatever. Not good enough, from our point, I’m pretty sure that we will be better tomorrow."

On whether the early start played a factor in the loss:

"Those afternoon games are kinda tough, ‘cause you don’t know which way (it’s) going to go, ‘cause you just wake up and come to the rink. Nothing’s changing for me, I’m just trying to give our team the best chance to win. It wasn’t enough (today)."

Mikael Backlund on the 3-0 loss to the Panthers:

"Not our best game. Reigning champions, you’ve got to bring your best game, we didn’t do that (today). We weren’t playing with any pace, we were too slow. They’re a good team, so it’s gonna be hard to beat ‘em if you don’t bring your ‘A’ game."

On fighting an uphill battle:

"Vladdy kept us in the game, we just never could change momentum. They did a good job pushing us back. It just wasn’t the way we want to play. We expect more of ourselves."

On being shut out in back-to-back contests:

"It’s not a great position to be in, but the only way we get out of it is to play the way we can, like play the right way. We’re not going to be able to cheat, and go for offence. We’ve got to stick with our game plan, trust our team game and get more bodies to the net, make it hard on the goalies."

Ryan Huska on the loss in Florida:

"We didn’t play very well today. I thought Vladdy was unreal, if he wasn’t on the way he was today, that game gets away even moreso than what it did today. I just felt like we were a slow team, and didn’t look like we were prepared to play, so obviously, that’s on how I handled it this afternoon."

On how to play with more speed:

"Pace, a lot of times, is just puck movement. If you’re anticipating where that thing is going, you get there one step quicker. For the majority part of the game, I thought they were the team that was winning races to loose pucks. They were more competitive on it than we were."

On Vladar's work ethic and 39-save effort:

"Competitive, like he never quit on any puck. Like you saw some of the saves he made today, some of those were ridiculous saves. He had the competitive side to him today."