Gerard Gallant met with the media following the win over Dallas and said (NYR):
- On the game, “It was a good victory, two good points. There was some sloppy play in the second back and forth, wide open, but I thought in the third we played really good, obviously, had some great goals and obviously Gauthier’s speed was a big factor on one of those goals.”
- On challenging for offsides, “it was an obvious offside, the guys inside called it and we saw it on the bench. We knew it wasn’t a good goal.”
- What did you start doing better in the third period, “Honestly, no, we just talked between periods about not opening it up so much. It was back and forth, a lot of odd-man rushes against us, we had some for us obviously. We just talked about tightening that up a little bit. Fortunately for us we got the fourth goal and that was huge.”
- How good was the passing, “They moved the puck real good, the PP was really key with a couple of goals and obviously the top guys, when they make those plays and passes we have good results.”
- On the Zac Jones goal, “it was good, he joined the rush like we talk about. He’s an offensive guy that can move the puck and he filled in that slot and made a great shot, so, good for him to get his first goal, real happy for him.”
- How important was it for guys like Gauthier and Jones to score, “it was good for their confidence, that is what it’s all about. Young guys gotta play on your roster and they both played real good tonight. That is a big part of getting them back in and they take advantage of it.”
- Is Gauthier improved over his play in training camp, “I don’t think there is much difference, honestly, Gauthier is Gauthier the way he plays his game, he’s fast and the good thing is he got an opportunity to come back up and so far he’s taken full advantage of it. He uses his speed, he got a goal tonight and he made a hell of a play on another goal. Just keep playing like that and be consistent. We like the player and when training camp ended things change and you are only allowed to keep so many and we wanted to try something different and right now he’s back up and he’s playing real well.”
- On the start of the game, “first four minutes I thought we were standing there and watching them a little bit and after that, the last 15-16 minutes of that period, I thought we played real good, real solid hockey.”
- On splitting up Schneider and Zac Jones in the third, “yea, we wanted to get a little bit more balance out there for sure.”
- Is that something you will consider moving forward, “I haven’t even thought about it. Me and Murph will talk after, but I’m guessing it’s just for today.”
- Have you thought about the goalie tomorrow, “yes…but I’m not telling you (laugh).”