Bob Gainey Quotes (48 Quotes)

We've been pretty clear with the players. When you're ready to play, you have to play. If you're not ready to play, you can't play.

Mike Ribeiro demonstrated during the 2003-04 season how much of a force he can be. His creativity, his passing skills and his vision make him one of the key components of our offence.

It was a terrific game to be involved in and hopefully it was a great game for the fans. You could see that kind of determination in Florida right until the final buzzer.

They kept us off balance through most of the game, through three or four power plays. We're certainly not tight in our team play.

He was possibly coming back in (Monday) night, but didn't really feel like it. He feels better today, so we'll see (Wednesday).

We gave Jose a three-year contract last summer with the idea that he was going to remain with us. Since then, things changed.

Markov raised his game to the level I thought he would.

He happened to score the goal in the third period, which is terrific, but I think he brought another presence to our defense, an elevation in our ability to find the open man.

We've got seven games before the break and five of them are at home so we need to go home and make some hay.

I haven't really thought about it at this moment. We'll make a decision on our lineup and we'll let you know.

Taking the point after being behind two goals is a pretty good result for us.

Ottawa, as they were in Ottawa, were really in control in the first period.

I think at some point, we're going to make a decision of who's going to start the first game of the playoffs. But let's get in the playoffs, we still don't have that nailed down. In the meantime, we're using all of our players to get us there.

I think he's proven over a long period of time that he's capable of that. We were able to access that part of his play.

I'm the one who's responsible and this gives time for Guy to get comfortable with the team and the players. It's more fair for myself to step in and take responsibility until the end of the season.

We have to recognize and appreciate the experience he's had with a very good team in Detroit over a long period of time, playing with great players in some of the best playoff competition. We have three young defencemen in Montreal ( Mike Komisarek , Ron Hainsey and Andrei Markov ) and his experience and knowledge will be an asset.

We're playing better, there's no doubt about that. The 3-0 loss in January wasn't a performance we're keeping highlight reels from.

Halak made a remarkable impression in his first season in North America. He has an excellent work ethic and could become an excellent goaltender in the years to come.

It was a great game. For us, the fact that we won makes the result great, but it was a great hockey game. Both teams had their moments where they had to fight from behind and it was decided by a good, clean goal in overtime. It's very easy to recognize the will of the players on both teams to play with everything in the tank.

It's important for the confidence of this team to know what we can go 20, 40, 50 minutes without giving up a goal. We went through a stretch where we had trouble putting consecutive periods together.

They had a power play five or six minutes in that really disrupted what we were trying to accomplish in the first period. In the second period, we were in the box five times I think for anything from clipping toe nails to anything else they were calling.

If they saw it, I think it would have been the normal call, a four-minute penalty.

We had created a small space for ourselves between seventh and ninth place. When I added things up in my mind, it wasn't instinct, it wasn't gut feeling. It just seemed like the right thing to do given our schedule.

Right now, every time he plays, it's like a challenge. He was well rested, he was ready and he needed to be because his counterpart in the other net was also sharp.

Jose was a victim of an unfortunate accident, and we all feel for him.

A little bit. He was supposed to be our second goalie, but he continues to make it clear that he wants to be the number one.

Whenever it's around the eye, I think it prudent and wise that all cautions should be taken.

It's come at a great time. We've been trying to take advantage of it by not backing off or being complacent. At this time of year, where we sit in our conference, those are really strong points for us.

I wouldn't say desperation was our situation tonight early in the game, it was more I think a really clear and attractive pursuit of the goals that we want, and that's the way we played in the opening 20 minutes.

You see the scores while checking the penalties, but you hope the other teams are looking at your score.

He skated again this morning and the next step is for him to join the team and be exposed to some rough-and-tumble play. I think that's sooner rather than later.

That may change, but right now we're at the time of the year when playing games, results and standings are what's important.

The Flyers have a lot of injuries right now, that's for sure. But our team, if we move the puck well, can play with a lot of speed, whereas their team is big, but they're slower than us. So it's like we have opposite teams, but it makes for good games.

The information is that he was improving, that his vision was clearing up. Blood was dispersing, but there were still parts inside his eye that the doctors could not see and that still needed time.

Our power play hung in there. Even though we didn't get the ultimate reward of a goal, we had possession time in the offensive zone, we had shots, we had scoring chances. If they're working at it and doing the things you need to do to create chances but not scoring, it's still positive for your team.

Right now he seems so stable and consistent. Tonight he probably made eight, 10, 11, 12 difficult saves, but it's hard to pick them out because he's in position, he's in position early and he's making the stops.

I am the one with NHL head coaching experience and no one has followed this team as closely as I have since training camp. As of this point, I will take full responsibility as the head coach.

You have to enjoy when you win, that's part of the package. We will, at some point, kind of let go of last night and turn our direction toward tomorrow night. I think that's fine when people have a little bit of fun.

We're not talking in terms of winning the series we're talking about taking each game one at a time.

We were hoping it was going to be taken care of at this arbitration and it would disappear. When it came out in the public domain, the decision to release the information that it was Jose Theodore was the best way to approach it.

Where we are today, we're above that (playoff) line. We're in better shape today than we were a week ago.

There really was no reason to drop him into a pot of boiling water when we can drop him in and warm it up gently. Guy will grab on to where we are and where we're going and what is needed quickly.

I think it was the right reaction to the moment. We paid a price, but it wasn't too costly this time.

We have a large group of players who are coming to an age of maturity.

I think our team has to concentrate on how to test (Carolina goalie Cam Ward.). Lets' raise the shot total, the scoring chance total and get rid of any lazy or soft play around him. Let's put more responsibility on the goalie to make more saves.

I don't think it's reasonable for him to be skating and feeling the way he would need to for next Tuesday. But five or six days after that, which is a pretty big chunk of time, is the window that the doctors are talking about.

Alex is an experienced NHL player who has had a lot of different experience here in North America and with his Russian national team and is capable of having an impact in a high-competition game. I think he's enjoying the atmosphere of the Stanley Cup playoffs, with its heightened awareness and acuteness of competition.

I thought we made some critical, glaring mistakes.