It's not easy coming back from a long lay-off but it was great to be back playing. It was my first time back here since I won in 2003. I had great preparation and I've been hitting the ball well in practice, but at the level we are playing at results are the bottom line.
Quotes about lay-off (7 Quotes)
It was a black mark for hockey, but for a lot of guys, it was a blessing in disguise as they could rest up. There's quite a few guys in the NHL that really benefited from the lay-off. On our team, we had a deep playoff run and we had guys like Lombardi (concussion) who got banged up. That time off, it helps, and guys could physically and mentally recover.
When you have had a long injury lay-off, first and foremost you have to come back and you have to be right and you have to be playing at the level you were before you got injured.
We had to change Lewis's focus, make him approach the lay-off as an extended close season, an opportunity to really get in shape. He's done just that, which means that in the long-term we should get benefit from it. In the short-term, the benefit will be England's.
We don't mind the lay-off at all. It'll give us time to prepare for the Oil City game.
The more he pitches the better he is. If he has a very long lay-off, it takes him a while to get back into the rhythm, so we throw him as much as possible. He's a rhythm man. ... today, he threw pretty good.
We played like we had been off for 13 days. Tonight was the first time during the lay-off that I felt we did not give maximum effort. I was very disappointed in our effort tonight and we will certainly address that when we get back and before Saturday.