Via the team…
Washington Capitals head coach Adam Oates on using forward Troy Brouwer on the first line for a shift…
“We talked about it a lot of times, looking for a spark, trying to get him a goal. With Backy [Nicklas Backstrom] and Mojo [Marcus Johansson], maybe just fresh legs – and we got a penalty so it kind of rerouted.”
Washington Capitals head coach Adam Oates on defenseman Nathan Schmidt’s first game…
“It was good, a couple of mistakes, but good. I mean it’s [his] first game, [Alexander] Urbom’s second game. They both played well.”
Washington Capitals forward Martin Erat on fixing mistakes…
“It’s early in the season, and we can start fixing it now. We have to just fix mistakes that we make – when it’s one mistake we can’t get another.”
Washington Capitals forward Joel Ward on the second period…
“We had some chances, got some saves. We had some rebounds and some good saves – I don’t know if we would have gotten one before they got their third… it could have made a difference.”
Washington Capitals forward Eric Fehr on moving forward…
“It starts on our end we’ve got to be stronger; we’ve got make sure pucks get out. I think we need to want the puck a little bit more. We have to win puck battles, whether it’s in our end or their end. We need to play physical, and we need to want the puck.”
Washington Capitals defenseman Nate Schmidt on tonight’s game…
“It was tough. We had a lot of good chances…It’s frustrating for our guys because they’re in there in the right spots whenever we need to be, and it’s just not going in for us right now.”
Colorado Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy on the play of goaltender Semyon Varlamov…
“He’s playing outstanding. Both goalies have been, wow, for us. What I like about Varly [Semyon Varlamov] is he’s under control. He’s always square to the shooters, he gets out of the net, he’s playing with a lot of confidence and he deserves it. The success that he has he has done it on his own.”
Colorado Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy on the play of the Avalanche tonight…
“I like our intensity, there’s no doubt about it. I thought we were very focused before the game. We jump at them right from the start. I think we had a really good start. I think the damage was made after going up 2-0. They bounced really strongly in the second period.”
Colorado Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov on getting the win in Washington…
“I think it’s so special for the goalie to beat the old team. I am excited today. We win three games on the road, we get our points and right we are pretty happy.”
Colorado Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov on facing Washington for the first time since leaving…
“I got too excited today to play against my old team, against Washington. It’s a lot of glamorous to play here. That was my first game since I left Washington. That’s why I think I am too nervous. In the warm-up, my legs were shaking. The whole first period my legs were shaking, but after first period, I feel so much better.”
Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog on the turnaround of the Avalanche this season…
“I think we have come a long way and really gelled as a group. We’ve definitely gotten a lot more confident and [Coach] Patrick [Roy] brings a lot of confidence to our hockey club. He’s calm, cool and collected and he brings that confidence to our team.”
Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog on the play of the Avalanche goaltenders…
“I am sure they have changed a lot of things working with [goaltending coach] Francois [Allaire], but I think they have always been good goalies. The previous two years, we just haven’t been a good team in front of them and I think now we have established a pretty good team defense. The goalies are standing out and have a lot easier job back there.”