EDM@MTL: Quotes of the night

MONTREAL - The Canadiens enjoyed a successful return to the ice on Tuesday night, securing a 4-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers at the Bell Centre.

SHOP: Women's Fade Out Crew Sweatshirt
Following the game, defenseman Shea Weber, forwards Paul Byron and Tomas Tatar, and interim head coach Dominique Ducharme spoke with reporters via Zoom.
Here are a few highlights from their respective chats:
Weber on the Canadiens' strong start in the first period:
We knew we were going to have energy. Obviously, rest is key, especially in a season like this where it's tough to get rest since you're playing every second night. That's the way it's going to be for the rest of the season, plus back-to-back, so we knew we were going to be fresh, but we just harped on the little things. We wanted to keep it simple, especially early on, trying to get back into it.

Weber on shutting down Oilers snipers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl:
Kudos to our forwards. Our forwards do such a great job up the ice. That's where it all starts. Those guys are very gifted and they generate speed, especially coming out of their zone, so our forwards did a great job of slowing them down and then the penalty kill did a great job as well. They're dynamic players who can make you pay very quickly, and those are two things I think we did well.

Byron on his line's efforts to successfully neutralize McDavid:
We skated very well. We took away his time and space. KK's development is incredible. He played a very good game at both ends of the ice. It's also easy to play with Artturi. We did good work as a line tonight. It was fun to play that way.

Byron on storming out of the gates in the opening stanza:
We had a very good start to the game. We knew we were coming off a long break and we wanted to use our energy the best way possible. Our start gave us a lot of energy as well. Every player did their job tonight. It was a collective effort.

Tatar on working with Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher to prevent McDavid and Draisaitl from doing any damage:
That was our game plan. Our whole team chipped in for that. It wasn't just us. It was everybody. I think we really stuck with our game plan, which worked through the whole game. We had a really good start. Me, Phil and Gally talked about. We knew it was going to be a challenge, but we like those and we're glad we picked up two big points for the start after the break.

Tatar on overcoming his struggles production-wise:
I wish I could tell you what happened, but I'm playing with more confidence and I'm getting to see the ice more. If you're not really playing, it's kind of hard to produce or do what you want, but now I feel like I'm getting a lot of space, which makes me feel good. When you have confidence, you start to feel better and better and you're where the play happens. I want to continue working hard and hopefully do the job for the team.

Ducharme on getting to the Oilers from the opening draw:
We had a good start. It's always good to score early. I liked our game from start to finish.

Ducharme on the Canadiens' performance following a lengthy break:
I definitely expected us to start the game with a lot of energy. Since we were skating well, we had an extra fraction of a second to make plays. We gained confidence quickly. I was pleasantly surprised. The guys were well prepared and ready to play. We had energy and we skated well.