Via the team:
Washington Capitals head coach Adam Oates on Mike Green’s goal…
“You know as a smaller subplot it’s obviously good for him. It’s obviously been something that we’ve talked about a lot. Now the zero is gone, so hopefully it leads to more.”
Washington Capitals head coach Adam Oates on the Capitals play in the first period…
“We came in after the first period and we all looked at each other and said ‘best period of the year; best first period of the year.’ They had two chances. Seven to two. And the goal was a chance. So we did a lot of good things.”
Washington Capitals head coach Adam Oates on the Capitals performance tonight…
“No matter who you are you eventually leak a little oil, and I think we did that. Over the course of 80 games I think sometimes you’re going to have games where everything the other team does well goes in, but for the first 30 minutes I didn’t mind our game at all.”
Washington Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner on the deflation of the Capitals spirit in the second…
“Their second goal [in the second period] kind of deflated us a little bit. I still thought we were okay, then they got that power play goal and there was just no life left. Not only on the bench, but in the stands. We may have underestimated these guys a little bit and when they were up three to nothing on us, we were mad, but we didn’t use that anger the right way. We used it to kind of feel sorry for ourselves. It was really strange to see.”
Washington Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner on why the Capitals had no life in them tonight…
“I have no idea. Took the team too lightly, I think. We watched the video, saw how things were going, they’ve got injuries, all that kind of stuff, and that’s bad on us. We took them way too lightly.”
Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson on the play of the Capitals tonight…
“We got to turn it around somehow. Just go out there and play hard. We wanted to make sure that we could build on something. I think we did a decent job given the circumstances in the third, but obviously not the outcome we want.”
Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green on the play of the Capitals this year…
“I think every team goes through their highs and lows. We have been very successful at going through streaks in the past, and I think that’s why maybe it seems like we are so up and down, but it’s just one game, like we said. We will address it come tomorrow, or maybe the next day, and go over the video and things that we need to do that’s going to make us better. I am sure the coaches will have some words about it.”
Carolina Hurricanes head coach Kirk Muller on his team’s performance tonight…
“Petey [Justin Peters] played really well in net. He made the big saves at the right time early on in that first power play. Our power play looked better today and overall 5-on-5 we were better. Everyone was engaged and committed. Our big line came up big. Skins [Jeff Skinner] with a couple of goals, Eric [Eric Staal] and roots [Tuomo Ruutu] and that. Overall we are pretty happy with our effort tonight in a big game coming in here.”
Carolina Hurricanes head coach Kirk Muller on the play of Jeff Skinner…
“He was off to a great start and then he got hurt. Now he is starting to get in the groove again. It’s the first game he played with Eric [Eric Staal] and with Roots [Tuomo Ruutu] and they came through in a big game so that was great to see. He’s a goal scorer and if you give him a chance he’s going to score. He’s going into the tough areas to create those opportunities and that’s a big plus for us.”
Carolina Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner on how his line played tonight…
“I think the line clicked pretty well. Rutty [Tuomo Ruutu] and Stallzy [Eric Staal] did a great job. They kept trying to find me for that third one. I didn’t want it I guess. Personally it felt a little bit better. I think a lot of that stems from how we were playing as a team. I think everyone was moving. We got off to that good start and we kept building from there.”
Carolina Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner on how goaltender Justin Peter’s played tonight…
“He made some big saves. It changes the whole game if one of those goes in. He was big for us especially early and then down the stretch he was solid for us. He played a great game.”
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Justin Peters on playing at Verizon Center…
“It’s a fun building to play in. The crowd is great, it’s a great atmosphere. It’s a lot of fun to go out there and play in this building.”
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Justin Peters getting a big road win…
“We have a lot of road games coming up here, a big stretch. We have confidence and we want to build that confidence coming on the road knowing that we can play a good road game and get some points.”
Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Andrej Sekera on the Hurricanes special teams play tonight…
“They [Capitals] have a very good power play so we talked about it before the game and we tried to execute also on our power play and our penalty kill. I think we did a pretty good job.”