SAY WHAT: 'PUSHING OUR IDENTITY'

MIKAEL BACKLUND ON CHANCES LAST GAME:

ON BIG TEST TONIGHT:

"We're all excited to play. It's exciting that they have a good team here. It will be a fun challenge. The whole rest of this trip are the top three teams in the East probably, so it's going to be a good challenge for us as a group and for me, too. These are the games you get up for the most and we don't come here as often as well, so a big two points every night for us and hopefully we can keep this road trip going on a winning note."

OLIVER KYLINGTON ON PAIR WITH CHRIS TANEV:

Tanev played his 600th career game on Sunday
"It says a lot about his character and the way he plays the game and how hard he plays the game. He's such a great person off the ice as well, and all in all, a good hockey player and good person. He deserves the best and plays a big role on our team. I'm fortunate to play with him and we have good chemistry together, and we've just got to build off that."

ON GETTING UP FOR TONIGHT:

"I think we have room for improvement in our game. Obviously, it's been great with two wins off the COVID break, but at the same time, we know that we can improve much more and get up to another level in our game."

COACH KIRK MULLER ON JOHNNY GAUDREAU:

"I know he's a skilled player, but I've enjoyed the competitive side, getting to know him this year. When you interact with a player one-on-one and you see the questions he asks and how much he's involved in the game... When you say 'competitive,' that means with the puck as well. If you want to score in this league and make plays, you've got to compete and work hard, and he does that.
"It's the clips like the last game in Chicago, coming back and tracking, taking a guy out. Darryl was saying about being a 200-foot hockey player, what I like to see is when he doesn't have the puck, the work ethic and the commitment to the game without it. He's had a good season so far both with the puck and without, but the competitive part has really come out this year so far."

ON FACING THE PANTHERS:

"We have a lot of respect for this team. They're having a really good year and their top players are playing really well. This is a good challenge and over the course of the season there are certain games and opponents that you want to match up with well. They're an Eastern term, but ... we look at this as a real test to see where our team's at right now"

ON BEING A BENCHMARK FOR OTHER TEAMS:

"I think that's fair to say. The one thing about our group is that we compete and play hard every night and we challenge the opponent to bring a work ethic. It's an identity that Darryl is (instilled) with the guys since training camp and we have to play that way.
"We have to play hard and work hard and when we do, we've had some good results. But you have to do it every night no matter who you play against - it's a tough league - so it's about reassuring and pushing our identity as a hockey team."