Say What - 'Special Teams Let Us Down'

Mikael Backlund on the loss:

"We played a great first period. We came out ready to go, really dominant game, just couldn’t find a way to score a goal. In the second, special teams let us down, we had some looks on the powerplay but didn’t capitalize, and on the PK, we struggled. That’s where the game went the wrong way for us."

On the struggles on the PK:

"I feel like every time we make a little - or just a mental - or some sort of mistake, it’s in the back of the net. That’s usually what happens when you’re fighting it a little bit. But it’s no excuse, we’ve got to figure it out; if you want to make the playoffs, that’s something that’s going to have to be a lot better for us."

Matt Coronato on his first NHL scrap:

"Backs got hit. I wanted to step in, and maybe help get something (going)."

On what went wrong against the Predators:

"I thought we had a good first period, I thought we were playing the right way. I think we’ve just got to find a way to be more consistent."

Andrei Kuzmenko on his broken-stick penalty:

"Emotional moment, because when I (broke) my stick, I see the puck a couple metres from me. My right hand, stick go out, but it’s an emotional moment; my left hand, I (had) stick, I pass to Backs. Stupid moment, right? I have a mistake about penalty. Next time, I understand this rule."

On the emotions of losing the game:

"I want to always win, I want to help the team. But today, two penalties, two powerplay goals, not good. My mistake, I understand, we lose this game. Today I think about the mistakes, and go to the future."

Ryan Huska on the 4-1 loss to Nashville:

"Five-on-five, I liked our game, I did. I thought we had a lot of chances. The issue we ran into - no finish, like we weren’t able to execute on the chances we did have. I thought we got ourselves into trouble - for me - on the penalty-kill side. Our powerplay didn’t score for us, but I thought it moved the puck around fairly well, and did have some chances, just wasn’t able to finish."

On the penalty-kill's struggles:

"Like I said the other day, there’s parts of it where you feel it’s coming. But when there’s a breakdown now, it’s ending up in the net. And you do go through stretches like that, you just feel like the stretches - for our team in that situation - have been much too long this year. You have to find a way to have a clean sheet with your penalty-kill. No matter what powerplay you’re playing against, you have to find a way to get the job done."

On Matt Coronato sticking up for a teammate with a fight:

"When you are a good player, you play the game with passion. And I think you kinda put a stamp on it, too, when you’re in, doing something for a teammate as well. So he’s grown on everybody in our room, he’s become a really good player for us this year. You’re not going to see him do it regularly, I’ll tell you that much, but it’s nice to know that he is more than willing to do that. One, because I think it’s important for top players, but two, I think it goes a long way in the room."