Sebastian Ahostating the importance of the first period...
"We got the three-goal lead [early] and it was huge. It was almost the game right there. It was a good start and we knew they were going to make a push after. We were okay [after that]. We played well enough to get two points."
Rod Brind'Amouron what he feels is going right for the team amid their now seven-game win streak...
"A little bit of everything, and I think that's the key. Every game there's something here or there, but we've played pretty consistently. They work really hard and that's the cornerstone of our group. We get contributions up and down our lineup. We haven't had Jaccob Slavin for a while, and it's pretty impressive to keep winning despite all the guys that we've had out."
Brent Burnsto the TNT post-game panel, describing playing for Rod Brind'Amour and what the first "half" of his first season in Carolina has been like...
"I've had some really great coaches and they're all just very different. [Rod's] energy is there every day. Every day he does a different speech. You never know what he's going to talk about. It could be pencils, toothpaste, or buffalo. It's all these different things that he takes from every day and it gets the boys going. You just want to run through a well off of these little speeches. His work ethic, you can see it. You never want to be caught with your shirt off when he's around. He won it here. He started building the culture and you've got guys like Stallsy, too. I was in the west the whole time, so I didn't get to see him up close, but just to see how big he is and how strong he is. He doesn't lose battles and every shift he does things right. Fishy, he's on a tear right now. Every day in the soccer game before the game, he drives guys crazy. He's always buzzing around. It's just been a really special group and it's been a lot of fun to come into. It's been good for me. It's created a lot of energy and nerves. It's been a long time since I've had nerves and at this time in my career it's kind of nice to get a little kick in the junk during the summer. It's like, 'okay, you're coming into something special'. You want to put your best foot forward and it's been really good."
Burnscontinuing on the upcoming second half for Carolina and the potential of competing for a Stanley Cup...
"You feel something building, but there's a lot of teams that have that. There's so much that goes into it. I played with some great teams in San Jose. We were close, but we never got over the hill. Obviously that's the goal. That's the dream. That's what allows you to put the squat rack on and punish yourself all summer. It's fun. As a player, all you want to do is be in the battle and be in the grind. You want to be fighting for it all year long and knowing you're in the mix. And we feel that way. We know that we have a great group. We have a great team. We have to play a certain way and it's not easy. Every night is hard, but it's been a lot of fun."
