[transplant99]

"The plan was to not allow him to basically get the puck,” said Flames head coach Bob Hartley. “We knew the only place in the game that it would be tough was on the powerplay, He’s so skilled and playing on the far side, he’s basically impossible to cover. But Karri Ramo gave us a couple of big saves on him and I thought that five-on-five, the five-man effort, (Matt) Stajan’s line and whoever was playing on D against Ovi, did quite a job.”

“I congratulated the boys because I’ve rarely saw a first period like tonight after coming back from a five-game road swing,” Hartley said. “That’s pretty unbelievable and very unusual, so our guys deserve lots of credit.”

“We needed to get back to the basics. That’s why we were successful earlier,” said Russell, also a plus-five on this night

“We did a better job tonight of, throughout our lineup, coming in waves. Every shift, we kinda had momentum, or if we lost it, the next shift had the task of getting it back, and I thought we did a really good job of that.”

http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/10/25...ngton-capitals

“It was nice for us to come out with a high energy start,’’ said two-goal Michael Cammalleri. “We’d just come off a long, nine- or 10-day road trip, quite a bit of travel, so I thought it was a testament to the group’s will to win to be able to get going off the start.

“It’s tough when a team does that to you in their home building if you’re an opponent. So I commend the group for that.’’

“We actually talked about it,’’ said Cammalleri of his second tally. “Colby (Joe Colborne) did a great job on the faceoff and I was trying to get the puck to the net for those guys to bang in. They were both driving net and that makes it dangerous for the goalie. He’s worried about big Colby coming to the net and Gally (T.J. Galiardi)’s speed coming to the net, and the puck winds up behind him.’’

“We knew,’’ said Russell, “that we had to have a bigger night. I thought we weren’t as good as we should’ve been the last few nights. We knew we had to be better as a team. As a D pairing I thought we did a good job (Saturday).

“We knew we weren’t happy with the way we came out to start in the previous games. We were kind of behind the 8-ball and you can’t have that happening, especially against a team like this. When they get ahead, they’re really dangerous. So I thought we did a really good job of making sure we were focused at the start.’’

http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/...662/story.html

If Avalanche GM Joe Sakic does decide to move UFA C Paul Statsny, there will be plenty of suitors. The Canucks and Leafs are both looking for help in the middle and would certainly have interest in Statsny. There have been no contract talks between Statsny's camp and the Avs. The club has been pleased with the way he has fit in this season ... Confirm or deny: The Oilers took one look at St. Louis backup G Brian Elliott and then decided he wasn't the answer especially with a $1.8 million pricetag? I know the answer.

Flyers GM Paul Holmgren is getting plenty of calls from his counterparts who are "willing to help" with his club struggling. Several teams have shown interest in RW Jakub Voracek and RW Wayne Simmonds but it's highly doubtful either of those players will be dealt. The two guys the Flyers want to move the most: D Andrej Meszaros and D Nicklas Grossman. Both have been immovable objects for the Flyers

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/10/2...ood-trade-bait

“In my mind, the next few games are must-wins,” said Eberle. “But as weird as it is to say, it’s an almost an opportunity. When it’s this early in the season, with 71 games left and your backs are already against the wall, maybe that’s a good thing.

“Maybe it will bring the best out of our team.”

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/touch...ml?rel=1662628