Alexander Ovechkin on new linemates, plus the coaches

Late last night we posted some pretty funny comments from Capitals forward Dustin Penner following Washington’s 3-2 win in Anaheim. Now, here are some additional locker room quotes collected from Alexander Ovechkin, John Carlson, the debuting Stephane Robidas, and both coaches…

Ovechkin on the overall game:

“That was a huge game. We prepared for it and we were ready for it. We played one of the best teams in the league. Five-on-five, we had a good chance to score but we didn’t. Power play is the key right now, probably for every team. If you have that kind of opportunity you have to use it. We watch the video, we see what they are going to do, and we make some changes. “

-On his new linemate:

“It was great for Beags [Jay Beagle] to show his skill and you can see he had a great opportunity in the second period. When you have a good center, who is going to make it hard work for you and for himself, it’s easy for me and for Joe-Joe as well. “

-On playing 5-on-5:

“We had opportunities epically my line in the second period to create the chances, but again, when you play the first time together with a new center you have to talk, you have to communicate and I’m pretty sure next game it’s going to be much easier for us because Beag is probably going to expect from me and I’m going to expect from him and Joe-Joe in the offensive zone.

-On the Capitals scoring first in their last few games:

“It’s always important for us to get the lead. We (almost had) lead in the second 3-1, but Chimmer [Jason Chimera] missed and the goalie made a great save. Other than that I think we played a very solid game. “

-On the Caps’ third line success:

“You can see Grabs [Mikhail Grabovski] and Chim have chemistry, and Frasy does the job with his own stick. They’ve been great for us, but I hope they’re going to continue to play how they’re playing right now. “

Capitals defenseman John Carlson on scoring early:

“I think it is big for our team especially. We’ve been doing better, even if we don’t score first, I feel like we’ve been doing better on our starts. Applying more pressure and getting the game going for us rather than hoping a little bit and working a little bit and then regrouping in the second period. It’s good to see.“

Carlson on the playoffs:

“It doesn’t matter who we are playing right now, it is do-or-die almost for us. We need to put something together. We’ve played pretty well over the past two weeks or so but this is nothing compared to what we need to do to get in. I think everybody knows that and is working hard.”

Capitals coach Adam Oates on the power play:

“Consistent is a good word. We didn’t rely on it tonight. They scored the goals but our game was complete. I didn’t feel like our guys were waiting for those opportunities. I thought from start to finish the guys played a very solid hockey game.”

Oates on faceoffs:

“When you win the draw it makes a big difference. Part of that is if the center loses it, do the other guys make it so they can’t clear it. We won some draws on the PK but we just couldn’t clear it. You have to give them some credit. They have some good guys over there.”

Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau on the power play:

“We shot today. We just didn’t pay the price in front of the net until the end. We had a lot of looks, and we were shooting the puck, but we weren’t getting to any loose pucks.“

Boudreau on the penalty kill:

“We knew exactly what they were going to do. It’s no secret what they do, yet we still didn’t defend it.”

Ducks defenseman Stephane Robidas on playing his first game since November 29:

“It wasn’t my best, but the first one is out of the way. I can move on. My leg is good. I got bumped a few times, and I tried to bump them a few times. Everything is good.”

Robidas on the overall game vs. the Caps:

“[Jaroslav Halak] made some good saves. They protect their goalie pretty well. We had a lot of good shots and tried to get rebounds, but sometimes it was tough to get those rebounds. Sometimes that’s the way things go.”

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