Via the team:
Washington Capitals head coach Adam Oates on the message that was given after the first period…
“If we’re going to get back, it’s going to take 40 minutes. Boston isn’t going to give us any easy ones, so don’t try to win it in 5 minutes. You’ve got to chip away and play. It shows character, that they believe in it and that they can do it.”
Washington Capitals head coach Adam Oates on goaltender Braden Holtby…
“He closed the door and we found another way to win for him. He shutout Winnipeg and gave us a chance there, and we found a way to win to help him tonight. He deserves a chance to give us a chance to fight back for him. He deserves it.”
Washington Capitals forward Eric Fehr on what this win means for this team…
“We didn’t give up at all today. We know how important it is to string some wins together. To come back against a team that good means a lot, and hopefully we can keep going.”
Washington Capitals Eric Fehr on what this comeback says about the Washington Capitals…
“I think it says a lot about our character. This team believes in ourselves…we’re a pretty confident bunch right now and we believe in the system. That’s why it doesn’t matter who’s on which line. We’re playing together as a team, and that’s why we were able to win today.”
Washington Capitals defenseman Tomas Kundratek on his NHL first goal…
“I definitely celebrated like it was a winning goal in the playoffs. It was my first one, and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.”
Washington Capitals forward Wojtek Wolski on the significance of this win…
“It’s huge. We need every single game right now. We were behind five, we’re behind three right now. We’ve got to keep closing the gap. We can’t wait any longer. I know there are 20 some odd games, but we’ve got to close the gap now and hopefully get in a better position.”
Washington Capitals forward Wojtek Wolski on tonight’s effort from the team…
“We needed this. There have been so many times in the beginning of the season where we gave up leads. I think tonight is a big step for us. We had a great effort from the young guys that came in. They did a good job, the goaltending was great and we’re happy to get the win.”
Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien on not being able to close the game out in the third period…
“We had a lot of outnumbered situations in the third [period] where we could have sealed the deal but our inability to score just kept them in the game and eventually [the Capitals] got the goal that they wanted. There were a lot of breakdowns, and we’ve just got to look at the overtime goal and one guy beats two guys and scores. It says a lot.”
Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien on the team’s defensive struggles tonight…
“Defensively, we need to be a lot better and we’re certainly not as good [tonight] as we were capable of, and again, that’s an issue. We’ve got a lot of guys that have to be better for us.”
Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask on the Bruins having a subpar second period…
“[The Capitals] played good in the second [period]. We just couldn’t match it. We were sloppy on the forecheck and not doing the things we’re supposed to, and they just kept coming on odd-man rushes. Then, in our own end, we were puck-watching and all of a sudden, [the puck] is in our net….you could sense in the second [period] – we weren’t the sharpest.”
Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask on how the Bruins lost the lead tonight…
“We were up by three goals and were asleep in the second [period] and gave up a couple unnecessary goals. Then in the third [period], another softie on me, and then in the overtime, I don’t know what happened.”
Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara on the team’s effort and being able to rebound next game…
“We lost the game, no excuse. It was not good enough of a 60 sixty minute effort…with the schedule we have, obviously we can’t spend too long on this game, but at the same time, we need to avoid the mistakes we were making out there.”
Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara on the difference between the first and second periods…
“When you look at the first 20 [minutes] and the second 20 [minutes], totally two different approaches. There was not enough urgency in the second period. We let [the Capitals] back in the game.”