CGY@MTL: Quotes of the night

MONTREAL - The Canadiens improved to 5-0-2 on the season with a 4-2 win over the Flames on Thursday night at the Bell Centre.

Following the contest, defenseman Shea Weber and forwards Jonathan Drouin and Jesperi Kotkaniemi met the media.
They were followed by head coach Claude Julien.
Here are a few highlights from their Zoom-based Q&A with reporters:
While the pre-game festivities were minus the fans in the stands, it was still a meaningful experience for the players, according to Weber:
It was a little bit different than normal. It's always nice coming back in this building. It would have been pretty wild and crazy and enthusiastic tonight, I think, if it could be a full crowd here, but it's the time we're in right now and it definitely was something different.

The Canadiens' captain is pleased with the team's impressive start through seven games, but he believes there's still plenty of room to get even better:
It's a pretty good start. We were very opportunistic tonight. I still don't think that was our best effort by any means. I think we've got a lot of room to improve here, and that's a good sign because we're playing well enough to win and we're capitalizing. I think we just need to tighten up a few areas and we definitely need to be better on Saturday.

Like Weber, Drouin was asked to reflect on the pre-game ceremony:
It was fun under the circumstances. We knew that there wouldn't be any fans, but it was still our home opener. The guys were a little nervous. We were excited to play at the Bell Centre. We spent a lot of time on the road. It would've been fun to have fans in the building, especially with the road trip we had. It would've been exciting for the new guys. We're looking forward to that moment, but we know the fans were watching on TV.

The Habs' assist leader so far this season also identified a couple of specific areas that he insists still need work:
We were opportunistic in the first period. We scored two power play goals and took control in the second. But it wasn't our best start and it wasn't our best game. We found a way to win. We still have things to work on in the defensive zone and the neutral zone. The season just started, but we have to continue to improve if we want to reach the next level.

Playing alongside veteran Corey Perry has been a genuine thrill for Kotkaniemi, and he appreciates the experience:
It's a really big thing for me. I'm a young guy who gets a chance to play with a guy like him. He's so calm with the puck. I think he just always makes the right move when he's on the ice. He's just really easy to read in terms of what he's going to do next. He always finds me when I'm open. I'm just really enjoying my time with him.
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The 20-year-old Finn collected two more assists on Thursday night and he's feeling good about his game:
I'm really happy. I just feel it's really easy to come to the rink every day and have fun with the boys. I think all four lines are rolling really, really good, and it just feels really easy to play right now and just have fun with the guys.

The Canadiens' special teams units were extremely productive against the Flames, scoring a pair of power play goals and adding a short-handed tally as well. Julien gave them a nod during his postgame press conference:
We work hard on special teams. We spend a lot of time on them in practice. We talked about our power play from last season and we wanted to improve it. I think we have more elements on the penalty kill this year. It also helps to use players that are rested when we're short-handed.

Julien shared some kind words about Kotkaniemi as well:
He's more mature. He's a young player who became a lot stronger than he was during his first season. We can see that in his battles along the boards. He can hold his own. He's also gaining confidence in himself. He has good skills and a good shot. He has many different tools that give him confidence. I think he feels a lot more comfortable in his third NHL season.