Is Lightning head coach Guy Boucher happy about the win?
"I’m not happy about the win. Period. It is a lack of respect for the opponent in the third period. It’s a lack of respect for our standards that are extremely high, that we want to hold and keep progressing. Everything in the third period just showed that we lacked respect. It’s unacceptable and the players know it. We are not happy about this win...It’s everybody. It’s the goaltenders, it’s the defensemen, it’s the forwards, it’s the fourth-line guys, it’s the first-line guys. It’s the standard for everybody. Giving seven shots in the first two periods, that’s what we have to do in the third. If you are able to do it in the first two, there is no reason you can’t do it in the third."
What about Steven Stamkos, who scored his league leading 21st goal in the 2nd period?
"For the first two periods we played great. We came out strong and they only had seven shots through the second period, but we’re not satisfied with this win. That third period, we have to find a way to change that. I wasn’t impressed. It’s a win, it’s five in a row, and we take pride in that, but we definitely don’t feel as good as we would have had we played the third period [like the first two]...I don’t know what it is. We have to find a way to do what we did against Boston . We had a great first period, we totally dominate the game and then just let up. We’re not forechecking, we’re not pressing, and that’s not the standard we apply on this team, so we’re not going to apply that to ourselves. Like I said, we’re not as happy because of our effort in the third period."
How about goalie Mike Smith, who won his 4th straight game?
"More than anything I think I was trying to stay sharp. That’s the way our team has played this year. We haven’t given up much, then in the third period we kind of let the flood gates open a little bit. They came at us, so we need to address that...We played some great hockey the first two periods, then like I said, we weren’t happy with the way the third period went. We sat back and let them come at us. They’re a good hockey team, so they’re going to capitalize on some chances, and we’re going to get better because of it....We have to respect the opponent. We know that any team in this league could come back at anytime. We have to play our same game through 60 minutes, not just 40."
Geez, was anybody happy about anything?
Coach Boucher?
"Ryan Malone has been working extremely hard since the beginning of the year. The last 10 games have been great. When you see a guy getting all these scoring chances and not putting it in, you know it’s real close. He kept on battling and making sure, so I’m pretty happy he has had his stick on the ice. It’s a simple thing."
Steven Stamkos?
"Yeah, it was great. He’s (Malone) been battling a lot and I thought he played another solid game for us. He played well at both ends of the rink."
Okay, well, how about the power play, which went 3 for 6? Anybody impressed by that?
Rangers head coach John Tortorella:
"You don’t want to take penalties against that power play. I know that Stamkos is Stamkos, but that thing is run by St. Louis . He is one of the best point men that I have seen in quite a while as far as running that thing. Give them credit that they played a good game."
Rangers center Brandon Dubinsky:
"You know our penalty kill has been good lately. We knew exactly what they were going to do and still let them get through those passes. It’s tough to get into a hole like that from a few power play goals."
Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist:
"They moved the puck really well. Somehow they were able to go across on us a couple of times and that hurt us. They are skilled. I think they are top five in scoring in the league. They have good players."