6 PM: Gerard Gallant spoke after practice and said (NYR):
- On Chytil skating, “yea, that is good. He looked good for the practice, it was a hard practice, so hopefully tomorrow, we’ll see, he’s still day-to-day but hopefully tomorrow it’s a good thing and he gets a chance to play, but not sure yet.”
- What message did you tell the team, “I was disappointed. We win a hockey game and it’s great to get the two points, and I feel a lot better today, but we got one more game to play, and let’s be ready for arguably the best team in the league. We played them pretty good, lost 4-3, won 4-3, be ready to compete and battle hard and get a huge two points tomorrow.”
- What areas are you looking to tighten up, “a lot got to get better, the majority of it from last night. I hate to sound like this, but I didn’t like our effort last night, it wasn’t enough. I always come back to making excuses, we play, what was it, three games in 3 and a half days or whatever it was, road trip, back to back, it’s a little tough, especially coming on an afternoon game, but, again, no excuses, we just didn’t have enough effort and we maintained a lead, did a good job there, battled hard and they score a late PP goal to tie it and we come right back. There was some good things but we know as a team and group and coaching staff we have to better.”
- Was it more mental or physical, “I don’t know, probably a combination of both, to be honest with you.”
- Does more need to be done to help Igor, “Certain games, it’s not every game. We had a bad one last night and gotta to move by it, but it’s not every game…we know what we got back there in goal, he’s been arguably the best goalie in the league this year. Georgie has played pretty good for us too, we are happy with our goaltending, that has been a strong point for us and it’s won us some games when it’s had to and he definitely did the other day.”
- On spreading the offense and players around when Chytil comes back, “no, just trying to get lines, familiarity, some of the guys have played together most of the year. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, it’s his first practice with the team, he looked okay out there, looked strong, but until the medical guys tell me he is good to go we’ll see.”
- On Zibanejad, “he keeps doing it, I think he had a bit of a slows start from the first game of the year, but that was a long time ago and he’s been a real consistent player for us at both ends of the ice. Probably plays a little bit too much hockey right now but the good thing is we got the one game and then they got a good break. I think we’re first or second in the league in games played, a lot of road games. Again, I hate making excuses for my team, but there is something to it once and a while and this break is going to do us real good.”
- On Lafreniere with Kreider and Zibanejad, “I’ve gone back and forth way too much and it’s not because it’s what I want to do, it’s because sometimes it’s what you have to do. I look over there and saying who is going to be the best fit there tonight? I wish I could just roll my four lines all year long, but with Covid and everything else and injuries you try different people in different spots. Laffy’s been fine, working hard, competing hard, got a big goal last night. Obviously, you just want to keep seeing more, that is what you are hoping for. Our team is playing pretty well as a team, but I can’t worry about individual players right now, I gotta worry about our team getting two points and playing the best they can, and let’s get back on track and get going the right way again.”
- How much does Kreider deserve to be an All-Star, “It’s incredible, I think he’s first in goals or tied or somewhere in that area. Kreids has just played really well, played strong, he’s playing exactly to the identity of the player that I thought he is, goes to the net, scores big goals, PP, makes the PP go. Mika and those guys don’t score those goals from the outside if he isn’t around the net and they all do their job very well on the PP. They got a passer, shooters, move the puck real good. The bottom line is when you are around the blue paint and screening the goalie it gives you a good chance to score and Kreids does that real well, as good as anybody in the league.”
- Is it about just getting through tomorrow and then focusing on things after the break, “100%, hopefully tomorrow goes real well and we get two big points and then we get 14 days or something like that to get back on track and put the lines and d-pairs together, assess what the first half of the season was like and what we gotta get better at and there are definitely some things. I like our record, but we gotta get better at some things.”
12:05 PM Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba didn’t practice with what the team called “maintenance.” (Stephenson)
Filip Chytil was on the ice and skated with Alexis Lafreniere and Julien Gauthier. (Brooks)
Tim Gettinger filled in for Chris Kreider on a line with Mika Zibanejad and Barclay Goodrow. (Walker)
Artemi Panarin was with Ryan Strome and Dryden Hunt and Greg McKegg was with Kevin Rooney and Ryan Reaves. (Walker)