What Did He Say? Players And Coaches On The NYR Game

If you have not already heard, the Dallas Stars continued their fight back to a playoff spot Monday night by gaining an impressive win against the New York Rangers. Going into the game, the Rangers were 8-0-0 in their last eight contests and had not lost since December 6th against the Detroit Red Wings.

The Dallas Stars handled them well from the starting draw at center ice. After giving a power play goal to the Rangers early, they managed to get on their own power play and take the goal right back. They traded goals a few more times until Antoine Roussel buried the game winner with 19:06 remaining in the second period. Kari Lehtonen stopped 28 of 30 and the Stars took a 3-2 victory, gaining two more valuable points. Click below for the post game report.

Next: Dallas Stars Continue To Shine, Knock Off Rangers 3-2

Here are quotes from some post game interviews with different Dallas Stars players and coaches:

Cody Eakin

How he feels about the win against NYR and the winning streak they have:

“It’s big for us. I think it was something we needed to do and it was a good test to see how we measure up.”

On how well he thinks the Stars skated:

“When you play against a team like that, you have to be skating well. We know it’s one of our strengths and they were pushing us with a quick transition game and really tested us. Luckily, we had an amazing goalie there to back us up tonight when we needed him.”

On his line’s success matching up against the line of Rick Nash:

“It was a good test. Everyone on our team had a big test tonight. We can match up with others pretty well, and the first line tonight was a test, but I think we did a pretty good job.”

On  their improvement in holding a third period lead:

“Well, it was playing time, and no lead is ever safe. We definitely turned the page on that I think, like last game in St. Louis. Same with this game tonight, we were able to push back against their push and force things back into their end. We did a good job putting some grief into their defense.”

Alex Goligoski

About knocking off the Rangers:

“They were playing well, and they played well tonight. It’s tough to battle a team like that when they come in and they’re rolling, but it’s a big win for us, especially at home. The way we faced the game felt good.”

On how well he thinks the Stars skated:

“We skated really well tonight. I think it was noticeable in comparison with some of our other games, especially at home. The way we drove the game tonight was fun.”

On if he feels more comfortable protecting the third period lead:

“It seems like it, we’re obviously getting the results we want. It’s funny how things snowball in hockey, good and bad. We had a tough time there for a while, but now we’re finding ways to lock them down and getting better.”

On defending Nash and keeping him out of the goal column:

“He’s obviously been doing really well. He’s a real dynamic player and you have to keep your eye on him and where he is. It’s a team effort to shut a guy like that down.”

John Klingberg

On the win against NYR:

“It’s a good and important win for us. They came into the game with eight straight wins and we had to take that from them and get a couple of important wins for us.”

On how it felt to score a goal on Henrik Lundqvist:

“It’s a big thing for me, but it’s just a goal and it feels good to score again. And Henrik Lundqvist, that’s an extra thing, it’s kind of fun.”

On if he feels the team defense is coming together more:

“I think so. I feel like I see a lot more forwards coming down low, and I feel like that’s a good thing for us.”

On the team’s confidence in winning six of the past seven:

“It’s a good thing for us. There are some tight games too, and we are able to hold the lead and get a win, which is a good feeling.”

Lindy Ruff

On if it was the most impressive win of the season:

“I would say it was. From a competing stance, I thought we did a good job, and everybody did a lot of good things.

On Kari Lehtonen’s performance in net:

“He was good. He made one great save in the third that helped us win. Granted, we didn’t give them a whole lot of great chances, but we had one breakdown and he made a heck of a save for us. Lundqvist was good as well, but I think Kari answered the bell when we needed him to.”

On the team’s recent outstanding performance:

“It is the best stretch of the season. We’re getting a little more consistent every game, we’re playing better away from the puck. If we’re going to push our way back in, we have to be [consistent]. We’ll need a little more out of our special teams, and we’re probably getting a little picky. But it has been the best stretch. We’ve found some ways to win some games, and found some ways where we flat-out deserved to win some games, which is usually the way it goes.”

On the next six out of ten games being against the Central Division:

“I’m only going to worry about one game right now, and that’s Arizona. You’ve got to take it one game at a time. To skip ahead in the schedule and look at the Central Division teams, we know we have to be better. We have to be better in the Central Division, that’s for sure. But to stay on a run, our short-term focus has to be making sure we take care of business and not get too ahead of ourselves.”

Leave your comments and questions below, and as always, thanks for reading! Go Stars.