Perry: 'It was an all-around solid team effort'

WINNIPEG - The Canadiens posted a 5-3 win over the Jets on Wednesday night at Bell MTS Place to take a 1-0 series lead.

SHOP: CHic Playoff Line
Following the game, Corey Perry, Joel Edmundson, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and interim head coach Dominique Ducharme spoke with reporters via Zoom.
Here are a few highlights from their respective chats:
Perry on what impressed him most about Montreal's performance in the series-opener:
Our start. It's not easy coming off a Game 7, the high, and getting ready for Game 1 of a new series and a new opponent only two days later. The way we came out in that first 10 to 15 minutes, the way we battled and the way we played, we got a couple of early goals and that kind of set the tone for us.

Perry on the notable offensive contribution of the Habs' defensemen with six assists:
As the season has gone along, we've practiced quite a bit having our defensemen involved in the offensive zone, getting it high, shots to the net, shots through. They made some great plays. You don't see Shea Weber going on a breakaway too often. It was an all-around solid team effort.

Edmundson on Mark Scheifele's hit on Jake Evans after he scored an empty-netter:
It was a dirty hit, but the League is going to take care of it. If he gets back in the series, we're going to make his life miserable, but I think the League is going to do a good job with that.

Edmundson on the personal significance of playing the Jets in the playoffs being a Manitoba native himself:
Lots of my family members, they're all Jets fans until I come to town. It's the same thing with a lot of my friends. All of Manitoba, it's a huge hockey spot. When the Jets came back, it was obviously a huge deal. To be able to play against them, and see my family once in a while, it's kind of nice. It's always nice to get a win against them.

Kotkaniemi on the importance of Evans to the success of the group:
He's a great guy in the room. He's a super funny guy. He keeps the energy up in the room. He's one of those guys, when you want to win a game, when you want to get a goal or make sure that the other team isn't scoring, you put him out there. He's just one of those guys you want out there.

Kotkaniemi on the hit on Evans:
It's disgusting. Players should have a little respect for the other players out there. I'm not saying anything more than that.

Ducharme on the hit on Evans:
You never want to see a player on the ice like that. We experienced that in Toronto with John Tavares. That was an accident. Both teams were hoping that he was doing well. I didn't get that same feeling from the other side tonight.

Ducharme on what he appreciated about the Canadiens' solid performance:
Our consistency all game long and the way we played on both sides of the puck. It was the type of game that we wanted to play, especially after Game 7 against Toronto. We wanted to start with a good level emotion, even if it was Game 1. We were in the right place and we were in control. That's why we won. I really liked the way we played.