THEY SAID IT
McDonagh on the penalty kill in the third period:
“It was a long one; those ones happen. That's the price you have to pay to win games at times, and our group recognizes that. Everybody's supporting one another and the energy on the bench was huge. It was just kind of the dedication in all scenarios, all situations; the little things add up and that was a big difference… [Blocking shots] is part of the job. I know anybody else in that position would put their body on the line too, so that's the kind of group we have. We know the little things like that make a difference as far as winning and losing games.”
McDonagh on the play of Saros:
“He’s as consistent as they come. [He’s] a complete battler, gamer. He never gives up on a puck, and he's just an incredible worker and backbone of our team for sure. And it was great for us to kind of hang on there and get him that shutout because he's been awesome here to start off the year. A well deserved shutout win for him.”
Sissons on the win:
“I think we should take some confidence – even from some things from the Tampa game, the last two periods, and most of the game tonight. Obviously, we've got to keep this thing in perspective. It's one win in a long season and we’ve got a lot of tough opponents coming up in the next week and a half so we’ve got to stay dialed in.”
Nyquist on the play of Saros:
“Obviously, he played phenomenal. When we needed him, he came up with big saves. [There was also] commitment from the guys, I thought. I saw a lot of blocked shots. McDonagh had three or four blocked shots on the PK there in the third. They were huge blocks and that's the way we’ve got to do it to win games. I think just as a group we took pride in blocking shots and helping out, but Juuse was great.”
Nyquist on the team’s commitment and character:
“We are all committed guys here. We want to win games. Everyone here loves coming to the rink and playing the game. For us to be successful, we're going to need that and we're going to keep that going.
Head Coach Andrew Brunette on his assessment of the game:
“I thought the sacrifices and the will of our group tonight was pretty impressive, and it has been all of camp. You kind of knew it, but tonight to see it live in action – the shot blocking, the relentless pursuit of pucks, all the things we talked about – I thought you could see the signs that it's coming. But I was really impressed with the sacrifice of bodies… As a coach, that’s pretty good to see.”
Brunette on the team’s composure:
“There's some serial winners out there, and we're lucky to have them on our team – Sissons, O’Reilly, McDonagh – and [Filip Forsberg] probably doesn't get the accolades he deserves from the outside looking in. He played extremely hard, he's sacrificing his body. He's winning battles all over the ice.”
UP NEXT
The Predators head to Boston this weekend for a Saturday night matchup against the Bruins. The puck drops at 6 p.m. CT, with the game broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio.
