ON THE AVS STYLE
Bonino: "They got some pretty strong forwards who play a heavy game and finish very well, but obviously we have to use our speed, get out of our zone pretty quick and don't let them play with the puck."
Fehr: "Looking at this team, they have a lot of speed. They play a pretty similar game to us as far as that's concerned. It's going to be a pretty quick matchup."
Dumoulin: "They like to handle the puck. They like to run and gun. They have some fast forwards. It's a lot like our game."
ON AREAS FOR TEAM IMPROVEMENT
Sullivan: "We've generated a lot of scoring chances, which is encouraging from our standpoint. We'd like to improve in the area of cutting down on the quality of scoring chances that we've given up. That's what we talked to our players about this morning. We don't want to be a chance-for-chance team. We have to be better away from the puck."
Cole: "We've generated a lot of chances for. We need to limit the chances against. A little tighter in our D zone, a little better puck management through the neutral zone. It's on everyone's shoulders to be a little better defensively. If that's the case we'll keep winning games at a good rate."
Fehr: "There's a lot of stuff we need sure up. I don't want to tell you all the things we need to work on. We just need to get better as a five-man unit, sticking together, making sure we're not leaving the zone before the puck's out and making sure the pucks are getting all the way in."
ON HOW LONG TO GET A GROOVE TO START A SEASON
Fehr: "There's no magic number. We're slowly getting better. We're making mistakes right now that you didn't see us make in the playoffs. We're trying to get everything figured out and get into a groove. We're definitely getting there."
Cole: "Ideally it takes 0 and you start winning games right off of the bat. There are always summer habits lingering for the first couple of games. You try to get those out in the preseason. There is always tinkering as the first couple months go on. That's why you see the best hockey later in the year when everyone's dialed in."
ODDS AND ENDS
Sullivan on playing four games in six nights: "I don't know if I like playing four games in six nights. I'm not sure any team does. That's just the nature of the scheduling. A lot of teams are going through the same thing. We're not different. It's just one more challenge for our team to try to overcome."
Cullen on starting season with 3 straight at home: "This has been a good building for us. It's nice to get your game rolling at home. We got a couple wins the first two nights and get that good feeling back. We have to keep going."
