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In this edition of NHL Recap, these are the top quotes from players and coaches following all games played on Feb. 21, 2022:
Colorado Avalanche @ Boston Bruins
Final Score: Bruins 5-1 Avalanche
The Boston Bruins earned its second consecutive win with a 5-1 victory over the NHL’s top-ranked Colorado Avalanche on Monday. The Bruins opened the scoring at 17:30 of the first period and held a lead for the remainder of the game with a dominant performance, outshooting the Avalanche, 45-29.
Bruins forward David Pastrnak: “I think it was the best game of this year, if we’re talking about the full game and 60 minutes. We just stayed in the moment. We were really energized, and it was a great win for us. A big two points.”
The Avalanche’s seven-game road winning streak comes to an end with its loss on Monday. It was an uncharacteristic game for Colorado, who struggled to keep up with the Bruins’ relentless effort.
Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog: “We were a little bit sloppy coming out of our zone, and then that kind of translates to the neutral zone and obviously to the offensive zone as well. They were good tonight. We weren’t on our A game. When you have one team that plays their best and one team that doesn’t, then it’s going to be lopsided at the end of the day. We know we’re a better team than we showed tonight. We’ll get back on track here Wednesday (at the Detroit Red Wings).”
Carolina Hurricanes @ Philadelphia Flyers
Final Score (OT): Hurricanes 4-3 Flyers
The Carolina Hurricanes extended its winning streak to three games with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday. The Hurricanes held and blew a one-goal lead three times in the game, but came out on top in extra time on the back of goaltender Frederik Andersen, who stopped 38 of 41 shots for a .927 save percentage (SV%).
Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour: “It’s kind of what I thought might happen. We came off an emotional game last night (4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins), but ‘Freddie’ was good, kept us in the game in the first period. You could tell we didn’t have a lot of energy, a lot of juice, but these guys dig in.”
The Flyers continue to struggle amid a five-game winless skid. Although it fought back from one goal down three times in regulation, it couldn’t finish the job in overtime to get back in the win column.
Flyers head coach Mike Yeo: “We’re putting ourselves in a position to win because of things that we’re doing. We’re not closing out games because of things we may not be doing at certain times of the game. We just have to remain incredibly resilient right now and determined to keep getting better, and I’m going to ask the same of the players.”
Winnipeg Jets @ Calgary Flames
Final Score: Flames 3-1 Jets
The Calgary Flames reached double-digits on its winning streak, with 10 consecutive wins, following a 3-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. The game looked headed to overtime, until the Flames tallied the game-winning goal with 47 seconds remaining, then added an empty-netter with 11 seconds left.
Flames forward Elias Lindholm: “Today was a tough game. We didn’t have a lot going on, not a lot of chances, but we stick with it and found a way, just like last game, so it was nice.”
The Jets kept itself in the game until the very final minute of the third period. The regulation loss is a disappointing result for Winnipeg, who have dropped its last two contests.
Jets defenseman Nate Schmidt: “It’s hard when you’re 40 seconds away from at least getting a point but it’s a hard-fought game. It was a good hockey game. There were a lot of chances for both teams and both goalies played well. It’s starting to get to that time where you need to start accumulating points this time of year.
Toronto Maple Leafs @ Montreal Canadiens
Final Score: Canadiens 5-2 Maple Leafs
The Montreal Canadiens strung a third consecutive win together, taking down its rival Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-2, on Monday. The Canadiens played a strong game, start to finish, and showed the confidence that Montreal fans have been waiting to see this season.
Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis: “I think you need some swagger and I think we’re building a lot of swagger right now. And swagger is not like cockiness or arrogance, it’s just like believing in yourself and feeling good about yourself, and I think we have that. Swagger is so important in this league to be successful.”
The Maple Leafs lost its second consecutive game in embarrassing fashion. Toronto found itself down, 5-0, before responding with two goals in the third period.
Maple Leafs forward John Tavares: “Probably as disappointing of a game for us this year. We have to clean up what we’re giving up off the rush. It’s obviously something that is continuously giving the other team opportunities and life, and certainly for them tonight they generated a lot off of that.”
Seattle Kraken @ Vancouver Canucks
Final Score: Canucks 5-2 Kraken
The Vancouver Canucks got an early jump on the Seattle Kraken, faltered slightly, and then took over in a 5-2 victory on Monday. After scoring 11 seconds into the first period, the Canucks allowed two goals to the Kraken before the end of the frame, but responded with four consecutive goals (two in the second period, two in the third period) to seal the win.
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Canucks forward Tyler Motte: “We play simple, we play hard and fast, create a few turnovers, and we’re going to continue to generate a little bit of offense. For us, it’s making sure we’re taking care of the [defensive] side of it, too. We’re not giving them much there. Contributing offensively is obviously huge for our group. We don’t want to put too much pressure on our top guys to score every night.”
The Kraken keep falling with a fourth loss in a row, this time to the Canucks. Seattle struggled to maintain possession of the puck and find quality scoring opportunities on Monday against a hungry Vancouver side.
Kraken defenseman Mark Giordano: “We had a rough night with the puck all night. We usually break the puck out a lot cleaner, don’t spend time in our zone and they were desperate. We knew they’re going to be desperate coming off a bad loss, you can tell right from the start.”
