They Said It: Top Quotes from the Preds Ahead of Game 2 in Vancouver

The Nashville Predators will have another shot at stealing a game on the road on Tuesday when the puck drops for Game 2 against the Vancouver Canucks.

Despite falling to the Canucks by a 4-2 decision on Sunday, the Predators weren’t feeling too low, nor too concerned about their efforts in Game 1. After all, Nashville were 11 minutes away from taking a 1-0 series lead before a quick pair of costly goals ultimately saw the opposite come true for the visitors.

Still, if the Predators hope to return to Smashville with a knotted series, they know they’ll need to find another level in Game 2.

With little more than 24 hours to go before the puck drops at Rogers Arena, here are some of the best Predators quotes from Monday’s media availabilities:

Andrew Brunette on Nashville’s efforts in Game 1:

“It was a tight hockey game, and things could have went the other way. In saying all that, we could be a little sharper. I think a little bit of the rust of not playing for a week seemed to take us a while to get going a little bit, throughout the whole game. We weren't as connected as we usually are. But credit to [Vancouver], they played extremely hard… I thought if we could have got one more on the power play it would have changed a lot of different things. I thought in the second period we were getting to our game, besides maybe a couple shifts in our own zone that we'd like to have back. And then in the third for the first eight minutes I thought we were in a pretty good spot and kind of had them on the ropes a little bit. And to give them credit again, they showed some resilience and they got some big goals.”

Gustav Nyquist on managing emotions in Game 1:

“It's something you’ve just got to get used to, I guess. And those are the things that you kind of learn as you go and throughout [your career] when you get a couple games under you. But yeah, it's going to be like that… That's a lot of emotions running through your body, [playing your first game in the playoffs in an atmosphere like that. I thought our guys handled ourselves very, very well and stayed composed and disciplined.”

Luke Schenn on staying level-headed in the playoffs:

“Whether you win a game or lose a game, it's kind of onto the next game. That’s one thing I've learned over experience. And it can be a roller coaster if you let it be, but that's why you have a great coaching staff and you go over video and you kind of almost dumb the game down a little bit for certain situations or plays that you like or you don't like. And guys within the room just kind of keep things level-headed. I'm sure Vancouver is feeling great about themselves, but they're also probably talking about the next one. We lost the first game and we're talking about the next one. So, it's just kind of leaning on that experience as far as the kind of next day approach. And there's obviously a lot of things we can tighten up a little bit, but it’s just not getting too emotional.”

McDonagh on the response needed for Game 2:

“It's all about the result here at this point and all about our response. You always look at the things you regret after a game and I think we kind of regret our desperation level there. All things considered, after 40 minutes whether we liked the way we were playing or not, we still had a chance to win that game and we were in a good spot. [Vancouver] kind of rose up there and had the momentum going and capitalized on us a couple of times quick, and that's where we need to respond and understand where we're at in the game. And it doesn't have to be pretty, but the desperation and the execution and the will to get it done has to come through.”

Schenn on Nashville finding another level for Game 2:

“I think we're gonna have to come out with a better game, for sure. They're probably feeling good about themselves and got some confidence, and we were close, but close isn't good enough. I think we're going to have to come out with a much better effort. It’s probably going to be an even better environment to play in, just with the emotion and everything. It's going to be great, but we are for sure going to have to go out and play harder and be more connected as a group out there. And it's going to be tight checking. I looked up I think in the third period yesterday and our shots were maybe 15-15 or something like that. So it just goes to show how tight of a tight-checking series this is, and chances are tough out there, but every game you’ve got to elevate. You’ve got to get better and better as you go and the first step obviously wasn't good enough for us yesterday, and we're going to have to elevate and I anticipate them playing a better game [Tuesday] as well.

Brunette on having an ‘Etch-a-Sketch’ memory for Game 2:

“It's kind of funny, I don't think they understood what I was saying, [I was] kind of dating myself. I think in Ted Lasso the word is ‘goldfish,’ right? I think we've done a really good job of moving straight ahead, and credit to the veteran leadership in our group. I think they've been through so many of these different things and so many experiences over all those years that yeah, it's just Etch-a-Sketch it straight ahead and get back to us here.”

Brunette on Nashville’s power play:

“I thought we did some good things and some things that maybe we didn't have the urgency or the pace that we should have in those situations, especially, the two at the end of the second period there, where you get one and it changes the whole complexity of the game… And we've been doing a really good job of that of late, of taking advantage of those situations and understanding the big points of the game, usually that's when our power play is at its best. So, it is what it is. We got one and we'll work on it and hopefully be a little better tomorrow.”

Ryan McDonagh on Nashville’s work ethic against Vancouver:

“Everybody's working hard out there, every single player on both sides of the team. You know the work ethic is going to be there. It's the details and the little execution, little desperation in different moments and different scenarios that end up being the difference and I think it was a game where we didn't really feel like we got to our game enough. And I bet you they would say the same thing, too. So a credit to both teams. I think it was a pretty [well-played] defensive game. Offensively, you always want to try to generate more… But at the end of the day, we had enough goals in that game to win and didn't do the job to close it out there and play well enough defensively.”