Via the team:
Washington Capitals head coach Adam Oates on the team’s play tonight…
“We can move the puck better out of our own end. When we did get in the cycle I thought we did a good job. Our defense held their gap. I know the chances, because I just checked, were 10 all, so all and all it was a pretty even game.”
Washington Capitals head coach Adam Oates on the game-tying goal…
“What I like about the tying goal is it took a lot of hard work. We fought through a lot of frustration because they were giving you nothing. It was hard to get shots to the net. You’re going into territory that’s really difficult. Great little lead by [Tom Wilson], to [Marcus Johansson], [Brooks Laich] fights around in front. He was there a few times in the shift and we wore them down. Sometimes you have to get goals like that.”
Washington Capitals forward Joel Ward on the play of the third period…
“We definitely had a few lapses there – just didn’t have that energy there at the start. I think we carried some momentum more and more, and I think guys just started to find themselves better. It was crucial towards the end. Holts [goaltender Braden Holtby] made some pretty big saves there to at least give us some life and give us a chance to win, and then we were fortunate to do so.”
Washington Capitals forward Brooks Laich on the road ahead…
“Two good teams; two very good teams. The road going out West is always very tough. But we are certainly going to have to play better than we did tonight. Tonight we sort of escaped with a win. We’ve had a couple of wins where we were dominant, but tonight we kind of escaped with one, so we’ve got to sharpen up and do better.”
Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom on the play of the Minnesota Wild…
“They [Minnesota Wild] are playing good. Good system, they are backing off, and they are being very patient. Obviously for us, we’ve got to be patient as well. We’ve got to play our system and try to be aggressive on them. Obviously, the third period was a little bit better, I think.”
Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom on the play of goaltender Braden Holtby…
“Really good. He made a couple of saves that I was like ‘Wow, incredible.’ So, I mean, that’s the way the goalies have been playing the last couple of games. And that’s what we need – start from the backend and all the way through the team.”
Minnesota Wild head coach Mike Yeo on the end of the third period…
“I thought after that [the Cooke penalty in the third period], we did a really good job killing that. But it really put us on our heels, and you could tell that they had to press, and for the majority of the time after that, it seemed like we were hemmed in our end. [The Capitals] were really looking for an opportunity to settle things down when they really got a chance to.”
Minnesota Wild head coach Mike Yeo on the special teams play tonight…
“We came into this game, I think we would have said that if we could be even on special teams, we would have been satisfied with that. Our penalty kill responded huge after giving up a bang-bang goal right off the hop…but the bottom line is our guys competed like crazy tonight, we battled and played a good game. We gave ourselves a great chance to win a game.”
Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise on what made the difference in tonight’s game…
“I thought we played a really good game, a good road game. We got a little passive at the end and then they got that goal [to tie the game]. [Wild defenseman Nate Prosser] got picked coming out of the corner and that allowed that guy [Capitals forward Marcus Johansson] to walk the puck right open. I thought that should have been a penalty there, but what can you do.”
Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise on Wild goaltender Josh Harding…
“Right now, I think he’s playing with a lot of confidence. If he sees the puck, he’s saving it. It’s a good feeling for us. He couldn’t really do much about either of those goals tonight; there’s nothing he could do. I think our defense needs to get a lot of credit too with how well we’re controlling the puck, not giving up too many good chances.”
Minnesota Wild forward Matt Cooke on the game-tying goal and how the team can respond…
“The result wasn’t there obviously [because] they got the one [goal] late. I think we’re still at this point in the season where you need to focus on the process and make that the right way then the rest will come.”
Minnesota Wild forward Matt Cooke on how the team felt after the game…
“It’s frustrating. You go out and you do your part and guys are blocking shots and guys are taking hits to make plays and the result’s not there. At the end of the day, it’s about wins and losses.”