Quotes of the day: Muller & Byron

TORONTO - On the heels of the Canadiens' commanding 5-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 2 of their best-of-seven series, Montreal associate coach Kirk Muller and forward Paul Byron met with the media via Zoom from the NHL bubble on Saturday. Read below for highlights from their media availabilities.

The Canadiens have done more than just keep pace in the 2020 postseason; they've been setting it. After upsetting the powerful Pittsburgh Penguins in four games in the Qualifying Round, Montreal looked strong in its Game 1 loss to the top-seeded Philadelphia Flyers before taking it to them with a rousing shutout victory to even the series in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal. Muller gave his take on why he thinks the Habs have been able to elevate their play since returning from the pause:

"We came into Toronto with no expectations and no pressure. We have some young guys who are led by our leaders. They came in and made a decision that they wanted to play hockey. They've been committed, they've worked hard and they've followed the system. Momentum is a funny thing; once you get it, you can ride with it. We just have to get off on the right track and try to get better every day. We're up against a really tough opponent right now; we respect them a lot. Yesterday was great, but we have to be ready to roll again tomorrow."

The Flyers didn't earn their top-seeded ranking from nowhere, and the Canadiens know their opponents will be hungry to bounce back from a rather one-sided loss on Friday. Here's what Muller sees as the key to his team's preparations heading into Game 3:

"They're a well-coached team. They're going to counter back; they're going to make adjustments. We know that; we have to focus on us. Today is a recovery day; you have to get your rest when you can. That's a first sign for our guys, but we're not going to lose our focus. We know there's a big challenge ahead of us, just starting with tomorrow. As much as we have to be prepared for the adjustments from our opponent, we have to be ready to play our game, focus on what we do well and who we are, and keep the guys committed, focused, and ready to go for tomorrow."

With Claude Julien back home in Montreal recovering from a medical procedure, Muller took the reins behind the bench starting with Game 2. Byron feels like the transition was as smooth as can be, and explained what makes Muller such an effective coach for Montreal:

"I didn't notice much of a change. He's always somebody who talks with a certain intensity; he's hard, he's been in your shoes, he battled. Anyone who watched Kirk Muller play hockey knows the kind of hockey he played. You have instant respect for him: what he says to you, his opinions. Whenever he delivers a message, it's pretty heartfelt. Guys respect it, guys understand it, and I think he's really good at teaching. His message was really good to our team yesterday. Everyone seemed to rally behind what happened to our coach and stay focused, keep all our attention on the game and worry about playing hard for him, because we knew he was going to be watching back home. The coaching staff spent a lot of time trying to get us to play a certain way, and now it's up to us to just execute that game plan."