Around The Room...
Rod Brind'Amour when asked if he expects any carryover from the last two regular season meetings between the Canes and Caps...
"There's a reason they're a good team and one of the best this year. They don't give you games. You've got to earn them. I don't envision them taking any extra penalties. That's just not how you win. This is going to be a physical series, we understand that. It's the playoffs, we expect that. But I don't expect a lot of unnecessary penalties.
Shayne Gostisbehere on what makes Washington successful...
"It's a balance of their veteran presence and the new guys they got. They've got great coaching as well. It's a mix of leadership too. Obviously with Ovi and his goal chase, that brings a group together. Then, having success too. It just tumbles all into one good thing. It wasn't just a flash in the pan thing. They did it consistently all year. When we go against them, we've just got to play our game. It's going to be two really good teams going at it."
Andrei Svechnikov sharing his thoughts on the Capitals...
"Washington's a physical team. We're not just sitting here, we're going to be physical as well. Obviously, they've got some big boys. We've got to put the pressure on them and keep hitting their defense and everyone else. We just have to play our game."
Seth Jarvis talking about Washington's physicality...
"You've got to expect it, especially now when maybe some of the stuff won't get called as much. I think you just need to be prepared for it. You don't want to engage as much as possible between the whistles, but stick up for yourself and stick up for your teammates. Not backing down from it, but [we'll be] trying our best to not engage with the extracurriculars."
Andrei Svechnikov on the waiting process...
"I've got to (break-in) my new skates, so I don't mind a couple of practices... Sometimes it's better to play right away, sometimes it's better to have a couple of days off. It doesn't matter, really."
Shayne Gostisbehere's perspective on Carolina's gap between games...
"This part of the year, rest is a weapon. When you play a hard playoff series, like we just did, physically, you're drained. Mentally too. It takes a lot to get up for these games and to play in these games, especially when some of them are going to overtime. I know it said five games (in Round 1), but really it was almost like six. Whenever we do play, we'll be ready."
Rod Brind'Amour on how he feels about the state of his team going into Round 2...
"I feel good because we're here, right? That's the obvious thing. But everything starts fresh. Power play is 0-for-0. The penalty kill is 0-for-0. It doesn't matter now. What are you going to do against a new opponent? Goaltending is kind of the same. Whether you had a good game or a bad game, we're starting fresh. We like the two goalies we have. We like Spencer too, as a three goalie and as an option. We feel good in the net, just like I know they do. They've got some good (goalies) that they've thrown out all year."
