Quotes of the Day: Price, Gallagher, Chiarot, Danault & Julien

TORONTO - The Canadiens aren't spending much time celebrating their Game 1 win over Pittsburgh.
Just hours after a 3-2 overtime victory that saw Jeff Petry clinch a 1-0 series lead over the heavily-favored Pens, the Habs were already looking ahead to Monday night. Only players who didn't take part in Game 1 skated on Sunday, while the rest of the team spent some time doing video work at the hotel in preparation for Game 2.
Head coach Claude Julien spoke to the media via Zoom, followed by Ben Chiarot, Carey Price, Brendan Gallagher, and Phillip Danault. Read below for highlights from the bench boss and veteran Habs.

Julien on the adjustments he's planning to implement ahead of Game 2
"First off, we need to recognize that we're playing against a very experienced team. This is a team that will really want to bounce back, so it's important for us to not dwell on the win, but rather to put it behind us and realize they're going to come out even better than they did last night. We realize that. As last night's game went along, we got more comfortable with the way we need to play against them. We skated better and finished strong. We had more shots, more chances, and played with a lot of energy, even in overtime. One area [we needed to improve] is the neutral zone, where we gave up a lot of speed. That's something we adjusted, and it got better as the game progressed. Our forecheck improved throughout the night as well in terms of forcing turnovers and giving us more scoring chances."

With 24 playoff games under his belt prior to Saturday's game - including a trip to the Conference Finals in 2018 - Chiarot has racked up some valuable postseason experience over the years, including some advice he's passing on to the team's less-seasoned players.
"In playoffs the most important thing is you don't ride that rollercoaster of being too up when you win or too down when you lose. It's one game. You leave it behind and you get ready for the next one. You're excited for a few minutes after the game and then you realize there's still a lot of work to be done. Not riding that roller coaster is key and something I think us older players can kind of impart on some of the younger guys, where this is their first time through this."

Price also has no shortage of high stakes hockey under his belt, both in the NHL and on the international stage, having won gold at the Olympics, the World Cup, and the World Juniors. The All-Star explained why he's always at his best when the spotlight shines brightest.
"This is why we play the game. These are the types of scenarios we want to wind up in. These are the types of positions we want to thrive in. It's been a great experience so far for our young kids, and hopefully we can continue that moving forward."

Gallagher on what his younger teammates can take away from their first game of playoff hockey, and how he expects the Penguins to respond in Game 2.
"Experience matters. We know we're playing probably the most experienced team in the entire playoffs. They're not going to get rattled by much. For our team, when you go through things like we went through last night, that's how you gain experience. When you go through those moments, you can call back on those things.

Right now it's important for the leaders in the locker room to have that understanding and relay the message that Game 1 was great and we found a way to win, but in the playoffs, there are going to be ups and downs and it's time to move on. We wake up today and we're preparing for Game 2. Essentially Game 1 doesn't mean anything if we're not able to win Game 2. We know who we're playing on the other side. We know who we have in our locker room and we're happy with what we've got. Our young guys are going to do just fine, it's just a matter of gaining that experience. A game like last night goes a long way towards that."

Danault on how the team's playoff rookies - in particular Nick Suzuki, who led all Habs forwards in ice time with 23:10 including 5:58 shorthanded in addition to scoring in his first playoff game, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi who opened the scoring - rose to the challenge in their first career postseason tilt.
"They did a really good job. I thought Nick played like a veteran. He was solid on the ice both defensively and offensively. KK was big for us too. Big first goal, going to the net. He's still learning a lot and he's growing fast too. It's good to see that and it's going to give them a lot of confidence to help us along the way."