The following quotes have been transcribed by the Philadelphia Flyers public relations department. We can’t guarantee their complete accuracy because we didn’t write them ourselves, but we provide them as a post-game service.
Flyers Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky
Q: Is that the first time you’ve been in a shootout here, or, I forget, maybe you saw one in the preseason. Is it the first one you’ve had here in a regular season game? Do they have them in Russia?
“Well it’s not my first shootout ever, obviously; and in Russia it’s pretty typical. Not every time, but it happens a lot in the European league.”
Q: On the goal that ended up winning the game, what happened on the goal? Were you able to see the puck all the way?
“I saw where it went and I thought that I stopped it with the blocker. I was surprised it went in.”
Q: Did it hit your blocker?
“Yup.”
Q: What do you think of the shootouts? Does you like them?
“I don’t really care, it’s part of the game. I didn’t think about it being a favorite or not.”
Q: Is there an added intensity when you know it’s just going to be one-on-one and it all comes down to you?
“Well, you know, the same situation happens during the game when I have one-on-one, so it doesn’t feel any different during the shootout as it is during the game.”
Q: From a goalie perspective, what did you think of the call on [Chris] Pronger?
“I have no idea because I wasn’t there. I didn’t see it [and] I didn’t see it on the replay so I cannot really say anything about it.”
Flyers forward James van Riemsyk
Q: What did you think of the call on the disallowed goal?
“It seemed like a weird one. It looked like from where I was sitting he was kind of calling for the puck and wanted a shot in front. I don’t really know what the exact call was on it but I don’t think we really got an explanation on it. Tough way to lose a point.”
Q: Richie said you didn’t really deserve to get the points, is that how you felt about the performance today?
“Yeah, we were inconsistent out there. We definitely didn’t play as well as we’re capable of. We put ourselves in a position to have some points but it’s kind of tough when you don’t get them.”
Q: The power play was really working for a while but now it’s 1-32 or 1-33, what do you see
“Sometimes it comes in stretches and stuff. We just got to keep it simple out there, getting those pucks to the net, getting guys in front and we’ll start having more success.”
Q: What’s been different for you in the past three games? Is it confidence?
“Maybe a little bit of that. Also, I think our line just has some great chemistry, kind of naturally, all of our three styles fit together pretty well.”
Q: A three-game goal streak…do you think you’re playing better?
“Sometimes, it’s funny how hockey works sometimes. You may not necessarily feel you’re playing a ton of a lot different or better, but sometimes you get the bounces and sometimes you put some points in, so obviously I want to keep doing what I’m doing, keep going to the net. I feel like I’m going to the net a lot more, that’s one difference I’ve noticed a lot, so I’ve got to go to the net a lot and keep being hard in front.”
Flyers Center Mike Richards
Q: Are you upset that you didn’t get the win tonight?
“It would have been nice to get it, but at the same time, I didn’t think we played well enough to deserve it. Tough game, I mean we didn’t play our best, but we still seemed to be right there to win the hockey game. Our power play didn’t generate enough offense, nor momentum throughout the hockey game. We didn’t skate well enough to win. But, it would have been nice to get the two points. I’m a little bit frustrated, but we have a game tomorrow so we need to turn right around and focus on that.”
Q: Did you get an interpretation on Pronger’s penalty in OT?
“He gave me one. I didn’t think it was a great explanation, but… He said it was a penalty, the new one they put in place there. I don’t know, when [Pronger] is facing me, it’s tough to call that, I think, especially on the power play. You have people moving in and out every game. But, what was done is done. Like I said, we probably didn’t play well enough to deserve to win that hockey game. We were just hanging around and didn’t do a whole lot of great things and we got to get ready for tomorrow now.”
Q: Did you see Pronger make that commotion?
“I saw [Pronger] calling for the puck, and I knew he wanted it. As I was walking up, he made the motion that he was by himself, which he was, and it was more of a shot for his stick. I just tried to float it in there. He missed it and then it went in.”
Q: When he made the motion, you mean with his left hand?
“Yeah, he was calling for the puck, I thought. We worked on that in practice. If he is open, he calls for it, and we just try to lob it in there to him.”
Flames Goalie Mikka Kiprusoff
Q: The save in overtime, when you got the paddle out on [Kimmo] Timonen, unbelievable save. Can you go through it for me?
“Yeah, I got that save, their guy was pretty open and I found a way to get it. Kimmo had a wide open net there but he took his time and I was able to just make a desperate save with my stick.”
Q: What did this mean for this team, you have been so close for so long now to getting a win and to get this. What do you think this does in terms of momentum and just an overall feeling for the team?
“They’re really one of the top teams in the league and it was a big challenge for us. We talked about it before the game and we’ve been working pretty hard, but the last two games, we weren’t able to get wins there. We have to keep pushing and play as a team and we woke up tonight.”
Q: Now you’ve climbed that mountain but the next thing is to keep it rolling. You go into Pittsburgh, should be a tough game, but at least you’ve got momentum. How will it affect this team?
“The same way, you can’t get too high, but again, we still have to outwork that team, they have a lot of skill there too. Just keep control and play hard.”
Flames Defenseman Matt Giordano
Q: Now you’ve got Pittsburgh, it just doesn’t stop. You have a very good team in place there in an afternoon game, what are your thoughts in terms of momentum after this?
“This could be a big momentum shift in our season if we go in there and get two points tomorrow. We’re really excited, they have a good team, they have a lot of good players. Not much different than the team we just played, another top team, and hopefully we can gain some momentum and keep it going.”
Q: They have some dynamic offensive players in [Sidney] Crosby and [Evgeni] Malkin, what do you have to be concerned about?
“Just taking away the middle of the ice and not letting them come at us with speed and staying out of the box. I know we took some penalties tonight, but we played hard, we really battled and stayed in the game and found a way to win it. It’s pretty exciting right now.”
Flyers Head Coach Peter Laviolette
Q: Peter there’s two ways to look at this. You were either robbed of a point in overtime or you didn’t deserve the point for the way you played, as some of your players suggested. What did you think?
“I think we played a hungry hockey team tonight in Calgary that skated hard and worked hard. We’re capable of playing better. I don’t know if we stole a point. I wouldn’t go as far to say that. I think everybody in the room knows there is an expectation that we play to a certain level; we didn’t play to that tonight. Therefore, in our five on five game during regulation, we left a point there for overtime and a shootout. We’re capable of a lot better than that through the course of 65 minutes.”
Q: That call on [Chris] Pronger, do you see that as, more or less, more of a subjective kind of call or do you think they are clearly defined parameters for that?
“I know why there is a rule that got put in place for that but Chris Pronger is looking out at the shot, like it was going to be called or should have been called right away and not three or four seconds afterwards. After he put his hand up for a second, I’m not sure if he was motioning for something or if it was intentional. I haven’t talked to Prongs [Chris Pronger] yet but it was up for one second, he put it back down, there was a battle in front of the net that ensued after that, a slash by their goaltender on the back of the legs; things were going on. And then eventually a puck came in and that didn’t have anything to do with anything. If you’re going to call that, then I guess you call it right away in my opinion but certainly not the intent of the rule to when Sean Avery was doing it a few years back.”
Q: He was more turned…
“Well he was turned and facing the goalie doing everything he could. Prongs [Chris Pronger] had no idea where his head was. I mean they are allowed to stand there and move him; I don’t know.”
Q: What explanation did they give you?
“They gave that explanation.”
Q: What’s going on with the power play?
“Power plays go in cycles at times. Right now we’re not doing the little things. We’re losing some battles. Tonight I think it was more of a reflection of our 5-on-5 play, we didn’t generate a whole lot. I thought Mike Richards’ line did with [Andreas] Nodl and [James] van Riemsdyk, they generated. There’s a lot of work that goes into the power play and 5-on-5 and that’s where we came up shorter than we do on most nights.”
Q: Speaking of [James] van Riemsdyk, he’s looked really good the last couple games. Is there one thing that you’ve seen from him, or is it a confidence thing?
“Typically for me, when somebody really starts to make a difference in a game, their skating ratchets up, which puts you on the physical end of things, on the puck, and now you’re playing hockey.”
Q: What about [Nikolay] Zherdev? You used him on the power play a little bit, is that something that he’s earned as it goes on? Did you like that?
“The power play had been so hot with two units of three forwards and we just stuck with that, and now we’re struggling. We were trying to get everybody in there in the beginning of the year on the power play and it was not doing well. Then we cut it down and said, here’s a group of three, we know they work, here’s a group of three, let’s try them and get them going. Then our power play was operating probably about thirty percent or over somewhere in that stretch of things. Recently though, the last few games, it’s back down with opportunities to get men out there tonight.”
Q: What does he [Nikolay Zherdev] look like to you?
“I thought he had the puck on his stick a lot the last couple of games.”
Flyers Defenseman Chris Pronger
Q: Can you walk us through the penalty?
“The puck went into the net. That’s what happened.”
Q: Starting with Kiprusoff hitting you in the back of the leg, you turned around to hit him and then…
“The puck went into the net.”
Q: A couple of your teammates said they thought you weren’t trying to distract Kiprusoff.
“It doesn’t really matter, does it. I’m not going to get into a he said she said with the refs.”
Q: What were you doing, were you waving to [Richards]?
“What does it matter to you? The puck went into the net, exactly. It went in the net. That was 5 seconds before the puck went into the net. I wasn’t turned around at him, waving in his face. I was right here with my arm out; put my arm back on my stick; the puck went into the net. What did you see? Same thing? Ok, thanks.”
Q: Were you upset because of the lack of a call on Kiprusoff?
“Well that’s for you to decide, not me.”
Q: You know that you are going to share company with Sean Avery now.
“Whatever.”
Q: But still it’s 2 points that you didn’t get.
“It’s one point, Coatesy. We are sticklers for details today.”
Q: Is it infuriating?
“Well it’s infuriating. It should’ve been two points, absolutely, instead of the one. There’s no question about it. All you have to do is watch the replay.”
Q: Richards said you guys didn’t deserve to win today.
“We didn’t. We didn’t play our best game, we didn’t play to the level that we can play. We can sit here and talk about how we should’ve got the two points. We should’ve…the goal should have counted, this and that. It didn’t. We didn’t get the next goal to win the game. For whatever reason, we didn’t play to the best of our abilities tonight. Hopefully, we can rebound tomorrow.”
Q: What’s going on with the power play?
“You tell me.”
Q: 0-31?
“I’ve guess it’s cooled off then. Is that what that means. I don’t know. I couldn’t tell you”
Q: Were there other calls today that surprised you?
“Not going to get into a referee standoff. They have a hard enough job without me breathing down their necks. The league office should worry about it more than me.”
Q: Did they give you any explanation on the ice?
“No. No.”
Calgary Flames Head Coach Brent Sutter
Q: How great was it to get that win in that fashion?
“Well, we were rewarded for our game tonight and maybe we haven’t been rewarded on this trip so far. We stayed with it and we did a pretty good job in our own zone against a team that has as much power as they have offensively. I thought our overall game was pretty good.”
Q: In the shootout, how did you select who would take shots?
“We just decided to change it up between [Niklas Hagman] and [Alex Tanguay]. We went the opposite way the other night in New Jersey, so we thought we’d do Tangs first and Hags second. I guess there’s no real set formula you use, it’s just a gut feeling you have. That’s what I decided to go with.”Q: Were you surprised the Flyers selected to shoot first?
“You know, it’s a preference of the team. It’s just whatever is working for you. The home team has the call on it so they chose to shoot first. Obviously they scored first, but we battled. In the shootout, we battled to come back and to win in. That’s the way our game was tonight; we just kept battling and battling and we got rewarded for our effort. Again, it’s just a continuing process here. We’ve played some pretty good hockey in this road trip and haven’t been rewarded the way we’d like to. But, we’ve stayed with it and tonight we’ll get some sleep and be out there at 1:00 against Pittsburgh so we have to be ready for that one.”
Q: When that goal was disallowed, did you see right away the call that was made?
“When [Chris] Pronger took his hand off his stick and waved it in front of Miikka [Kiprusoff], the ref was standing right there and then the shot happened immediately after and went in the net. That’s the new rule that they implemented when I was actually in New Jersey two years ago, against [Martin] Brodeur. The only difference was that [Sean] Avery turned around and faced Brodeur when he was doing it. But, Pronger was in front of Miikka the whole time but then right at the end he took his hand off and waved it in his face. That’s that call they make now.”
Q: Can you describe the emotional swing within those two or three seconds on the bench?
“Obviously, in a 2-2 hockey game, to have a goal disallowed is a break for you. It was the right call made on the ice. It was pretty obvious that he did it. The ref made the right call. I guess if they didn’t make the call we would’ve been down one. So, it’s a break but it’s also good fortune because it was the right call on the ice.”
Q: If they hadn’t called it would you have let them known?
“Absolutely. That’s what’s been implemented for the last two years.”
Q: Would you say this is the team’s best performance overall on this trip?
“We played pretty good in New York, we played pretty good in New Jersey, and we played good in Detroit too. But, tonight we kept battling and were able to win it. It’s tough to say whether it’s our best game because this whole trip we’ve played some good hockey and just haven’t been rewarded. We know we need to get some wins and we know we need to win hockey games. But, we have points in three of the four games we’ve played and that’s a good thing. We just have to build off it. Now, we move on to Pittsburgh. Overall, as a group and as individuals, it’s probably our best game as far as each individual and the way everyone played.”
Q: How important would a win be tomorrow?
“Well, we know they have a very good hockey team. We know they have two of the best players in the world on their team in [Sidney] Crosby and [Evgeni] Malkin. We need to make sure that we go out and play like we can. If we go out and play with the same effort and commitment we’ve had on this trip then we will be fine. Tonight is a very good confidence day for us so we have to use that to our advantage.”Q: You’ve had some tight games go against you. How nice is it for your team to have a game like this that goes your way?
“Again, it’s just about staying with it. The easiest thing to do is get down when you feel like you’re not rewarded. But, the guys haven’t. They’ve been upbeat. We’ve kept things loose. Let’s just keep going and keep playing hard. Let’s just give ourselves a chance every night. We’ve done this on our trip and we’ve been able to get points in three of our four games. To battle back tonight was huge for us. The shootout was exactly the kind of the way the game was because we battled back and found a way to win.”
Q: Can you talk about the play of your captain [Jarome Iginla] as of late? He’s been scoring goals and putting the rumors behind him.
“What’s important is that we have to play and don’t put any extra baggage on ourselves. Obviously, Jarome is a very powerful person. There’s been some speculation from media and rumors but it’s never been discussed in our dressing room or amongst the team or anything like that because we know that’s what it is, just outside perception. Jarome just needs to play. He played hard again tonight. Even if he doesn’t score, there’s this mindset that when he doesn’t score he’s not playing well. I’ll tell you what, he played pretty good tonight and he was a key player for us tonight. That’s huge. If you look at his overall game in the last ten days or two weeks now, over the last five or six games he’s played as good as I’ve seen him play since I’ve been a coach here.”
Flames Forward Jarome Iginla
Q: On tonight’s win
“Yeah, it feels great. It’s one game but at the same time we just lost one in New Jersey in a shootout, and when you lose a shootout you think of the mistakes and you think it just doesn’t feel the same. They can go either way and lots of the time they do and tonight they went our way. It feels great, guys played hard, we were able to come back in the third period on the road. We were able to get some important penalty kills and everybody just stayed focused and worked and enjoyed the atmosphere, and it turned out tonight, it’s a start.”
Q: Very odd overtime. First of all, penalty on [Chris] Pronger, which according to the rulebook is a penalty and then Kipper [Mikka Kiprusoff] makes an unbelievable save. Can you talk about those two circumstances?
“Yeah, the overtime was a little bit different. When you see that one go in, you’re not sure right away. You don’t know all the rules and it’s nice to see it waived off right away and then go to a 3-on-3. 3-on-3 is a little bit different, it feels like you’re staying back once they have the puck because the puck is hard to get back, it’s one or the other. I think you’ve got to stay on offense but Kipper made a huge save there to give us a chance in the shootout, and we were down in the shootout and with three shooters it can be over pretty quick. Hags [Niklas Hagman] got a big goal and Bourquey [Rene Bourque] sealed it so it felt great to see that go.”
Q: You’ve got to take this momentum going into Pittsburgh, big challenge there against a very dynamic team.
“Yeah it is a good challenge but tonight was a good challenge too. We know how good Philly is and how well they’ve played this year. It was a great atmosphere, the crowd was into it, and we enjoyed it. We just played hard and made some good plays, and if we turned over then we worked back. We weren’t really hesitant tonight, we’ve got to keep that up against another very good team.”
Q: Jarome, is there a sense of relief after a win like that?
“I don’t know, I think we try to enjoy it. I think we try not to think relief but at the same time there is a little bit when you’re in a shootout, you know they can go either way. The one in New Jersey went the other way, and all of the sudden it’s not that good of a game where we held them to 15 shots in regulation, so it was a pretty game, it just didn’t go our way. This one, it was a physical, intense game, a great atmosphere in here, we’re playing one of the top teams in the league. To be able to come back in the third period and tie it and find a way to win the game it feels good. Our habits have gotten better, our game has gotten better, we haven’t gotten all the results but it feels like it could be the beginning of a streak where you don’t always get rewarded but you stick with it and all of a sudden they start going your way. It’s kind of like all your goals for goal-scorers come in bunches and things. It kind of feels like our team is coming that way, our habits are getting better and this is a big boost to come into a tough building and play a really good team and get a win.”
