SAY WHAT: 'I THOUGHT WE PLAYED GREAT'

NOAH HANIFIN ON TOUGH LOSS:

ON WHAT CHANGED AFTER THE FIRST PERIOD:

"We had a lot of opportunities to score and put them away, and we didn't. We let them crawl back a little bit. It's a tough loss. ... I think the one thing we're looking to improve on is our compete and work ethic, and I think we did that tonight. There's always more to improve on, but I thought it was a step in the right direction."

JACOB MARKSTROM ON WHAT HE SAW:

"I thought we played great. Obviously, they're going to push back there. … But the biggest difference tonight was goaltending. (Mike Smith) made a couple save when he needed to, and I didn't. It sucks when you feel like you didn't bail your team out. It sucks getting a loss out of this game when the guys played so well in front of me."

ELIAS LINDHOLM ON WHAT CHANGED IN FINAL 40:

"The bounces were going against us and after the first period, I thought we were sitting back, got too passive and gave them some room for the skilled guys to skate, and that's when they're good."

RYAN HUSKA ON TEAM'S EARLY ENERGY:

"I think it's where it needs to be. That's the challenge moving forward. The effort in the first period was really good. The emotional attachment in the game was very good for us. That's what we need for a full 60 minutes, not a 20-minute stretch."

ON OILERS BATTLING BACK:

"You did have the expected push-back, for sure. You know they're going to come in that situation, but those are times you want your group to weather the storm and make a push on their own. I thought we gave up too much room and allowed them to get in our zone too easily as the game went on."