How They See It...
Rod Brind'Amour when asked if he expects any carryover from the last two regular season meetings between the two teams...
"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.
Rod Brind'Amour on Washington as a team...
"I don't see any weaknesses. Good goaltending, it starts with that. And their defense is strong. You've got scorers. They've got everything covered. They're very, very balanced. They come at you with every line. That's what good teams do."
Jepseri Kotkaniemi giving his perspective on the Capitals...
"They've been playing well the whole year. It'll be a big challenge, but I think we're ready for it... They play hard. They have a tougher team. Big boys who try to battle hard. I think that's been working for them really good. Their goalies have been playing really well."
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."
Rod Brind'Amour on Andrei Svechnikov's Round 1...
"This is the time of year when you need everyone, but obviously, certain players that have that unique game, if you will, have to shine. They have to be on the scoresheet. They have to be impactful in the game, in the series, and clearly Svech was. We need him to continue to do that."
Shayne Gostisbehere on the power play...
"It's the same thing I've been telling you guys, it's just being on the same page. You could tell when a power play is clicking - when everyone's in the right spots and the puck is moving fast. We didn't have the cleanest power plays (in Round 1), but we found a way to get pucks and score goals off of entries, broken plays, nice-looking plays. When you get a blend of that, it makes the means of a good power play."
Jepseri Kotkaniemi on what he liked about the Canes' play in Round 1...
"A lot of things. I thought five-on-five we were playing hard. The power play was clicking. That was not the case in the regular season, so it's good to get that going. The PK was doing a hell of a job and the goalies were playing great. There were a lot of things that I liked."
Shayne Gostisbehere on what he'd like to see the Canes improve on for Round 2...
"Just being consistent. Some of our starts weren't the best. Obviously, Game 5, Game 3, and Game 2 wasn't the best of starts. So just finding that consistency of bringing it every night, in and out and just getting right to our game, because when we get to our game, it shows."
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."
