"The message today was that we have to get back to our game. There are little details we can be a lot better at. You've got to take it one game at a time. We feel like we played some pretty good periods against Toronto, but we came out with no points in two games. ... The message tonight is to get back to our game, get back to our identity and we'll be be fine."
MIKAEL BACKLUND ON TEAM'S FOCUS:
"If we don' get back to our game like Gio said, it will be a bad road trip. Not that I expect that won't happen, but we've got to come out there tonight, have a good start and hopefully keep things rolling. It's going to be tough, same for everyone. We've got some games in hand, but we've got to win those games. It starts tonight and hopefully we can win this one and keep it going from there."
ON HIS LINE:
"I feel we can be better, 100%. I personally feel like i can be better, too, and it starts right there. Last game was not good enough being on for too many goals. But, we've got to look forward. big game tonight, two big games here in Montreal, and we've got to come out hard, set the tone and the energy and help the guys out."
GEOFF WARD ON FAST START:
"It starts with the preparation of the game. We need to come out and be ready to go. You don't want to dip your toe in the water, ever, starting a game; you want to come out and play. If you're the one dictating things, having the puck on your tape, you're moving the puck in the right direction... It's mentally being ready to go more than anything, so when you hit the ice for your first shift, you have a mindset that you're ready to go and you're good to go."
ON DAVID RITTICH STARTING:
"He's starting tonight. He's been good, he's been good in camp, he's been good up until this point in time, so we're confident he's going to come in and play a really solid game for us.to go."
ON WHAT HE TOLD HIM:
"Just go out and play your game. We're not asking him to go out and do anything different than he normally does. We want him to have the mindset of a starting goalie. We're not asking him to do anything different. ... He's looked good, he's ready to go, his confidence is high and we expect that he'll do what he normally does for us tonight. Getting him back in game action is critical. It's important for us to be good away for the puck early, to let him see the puck and feel it. But after that, what he does naturally is just going to take over and he'll get into the flow of the hockey game."
