Bob Hartley Quotes (68 Quotes)

Our focus is on winning that game. We have no time for that. It's all about winning our games, not about settling any scores.

It's a matter of playing our game. Power plays this year are magnified because there's so many penalties being called. In all the games, you're going to get some power plays if you skate. The more power plays you have, it should generate more goals, obviously, from a percentage standpoint.

There's no way Jagr should get that kind of room in the slot. We actually had four guys back. It was a three-on-four, but we just didn't communicate and the puck ended up in our net.

I thought the effort was good. I think we lost our focus in the second period when we could of put the Flyers away.

He seemed to me moving a little bit towards the end so hopefully that is a good sign. He was going for a loose puck and both guys collided. They didn't have much time to react. You never like to see any players go down. The doctors were in there very quickly.

I said this morning that in this business, you have to reward the players that are playing well, and Michael Garnett is definitely giving us a chance to win. It's pretty easy to say his confidence is growing, and our confidence in him is growing also.

The mould was ready for him this season, but that's the way business goes. His potential is unlimited. But when it comes to the defensive side, we have to make him better.

He must have played a hell of a 20 minutes in Florida (the first period of the season opener, after which he has yet to play) to impress the Finnish team. I just hope the Finnish team will supply the elastic bands (used to rehab groin injuries) when he comes back.

We need three more wins. There's no way we can settle for less than this. With three more wins we're going to force other people to win their games and basically that's a situation we want to be in.

There's going to be a lot of 5-on-4s and 5-on-3s because obviously the referees want to make a statement. It makes for some interesting hockey.

Mike Dunham had a real strong game. He came up with some key saves at the a very important time of the game.

He's committed and he wants to get better on the defensive side. I want him to be very responsible. I'm asking a lot out of a 20-year-old kid, but on the other hand, he's playing like an elite player. And he is an elite player.

I'm going to say that Pat Quinn can say what he wants. I don't care.

He's a big offensive threat, he has great vision, and he plays with his head up. He's got that great, quick wrist shot that you can't teach. He's got a good power-play mind-set. ... We just have to keep playing him.

They're two great young players who will sell the National Hockey League for years to come.

It's funny how human nature works. You get a big guy back, and suddenly you think that the goals are just going to come.

Right now we are playing good hockey and making a push for the playoffs. I thought the effort was great and we are skating very well.

Hes a hard nosed player. He plays a great up and down game. It was a great shot on the first goal and then the empty net. Penalty killing is his specialty and he got that big insurance goal.

From the first day I got here, I realized he was unbelievably skilled. You combine skill and hard work and you get a pretty interesting mix. That's who Marc Savard is.

Our focus is on our two guys. We're praying about their health, to overcome this tragedy.

We have to give credit to Tampa Bay, New Jersey and Montreal. They have put on some great streaks, but by winning our games, we stay in the race and stand a chance to win.

The last three games, it seems like we can't generate a good scoring chance. And when we have it, we either miss the net or the goalie comes up with a big save. Our big goal scorers are pressing. They're tight. We know what we have and it is just a matter of getting this thing to click.

When I saw Kari make the first save against Sullivan I knew we were in good shape.

We were simply not there, but we showed character and scored some nice goals. We generated a lot of good chances and did a lot of good things.

The league is sending a clear-cut message We want a great brand of hockey, we want it to be exciting. I think we've reached that goal so far in the season and incidents where there will be an intent to injure or there will be an injury, there will be a price to play.

This morning in the dressing room they were as down as I've seen a hockey club. Tonight they showed a lot of character. I have tremendous respect for this team.

He has been our most consistent two-way player all year, and I can use him in any situation. He's an excellent offensive player with great speed and he is unbelievably strong on the puck. He cares about the team's success and winning more than individual stats. He's an important part of our club and he deserves the recognition he is getting.

Now that we have him, we use him to his full value. On a personal note, I think in my seven years in the NHL, I would rank him second or third in the most complete players that I've coached.

It's just another important win. They're all big wins. We're desperate. We didn't get the start (of the game) we were looking for. But we got back to our game and got some great goals. (It's) just another two points and there's a lot of hockey to be played.

Today is a very sad day across the hockey world and here in Atlanta. Boom Boom was an incredible man who meant a great deal to me, and I'm fortunate to have called him a friend and a mentor.

It's not like one player out of 600 is playing with an illegal stick. The list of guys playing with illegal sticks is pretty known around the league. It's like speeding on the road. You're not allowed to speed, but sit beside the 55-mph sign on I-85 at night and put your radar on it. Many people will easily go over.

You never like to see any of your players or teammates go down. There was blood on the ice and everything and when you see players and the referees asking for help it's not a pretty good feeling because you're helpless.

Tonight was not a typical Thrashers effort. We chased them all night. We didn't play our game.

In the past games our power play was a working power play. Tonight it looked like a circus act, and it doesn't work like this.

I think it's a very positive first step. He had some real good chances on the power play. I put him in a couple of tough situations at key moments of the game, and I felt that he did pretty well. But let's face it, this is step one. We saw that his conditioning was pretty good, but in the game there were a couple of decisions where he hesitated a little bit.

He was the dominant factor in this game, no doubt. The one thing we could have done was get in front of him better. But we moved the puck well, made some great decisions. But we couldn't finish.

It was 4-0 and we let them have two bad goals and things got out of control from there.

There's never an easy loss, but I thought we started the game like we wanted to start. Unfortunately a couple of plays cost us the game. Buffalo is very confident right now and they take advantage of basically every one of their chances.

The bottom line is that Thomas came up with some good saves. It's a tough loss, but there's still plenty of games left. At the same time, games like this can come back to haunt you in the end.

Obviously, this is a tough loss. Our margin for error is real small and we're going to have to run the table.

We had some guys that were playing their first game. There's a transition period and we just have to get used to the new application. You have to think out there because as soon as you get your stick up or get your arm out you're going to be sitting in the (penalty) box. It's easy to talk about and it's easy to watch it on video but once you're on the ice, you only get a split second to think about it.

We're going to pick up whatever is left of him when it is over. I just hope the Finnish team will supply the elastic bands (used to treat groin injuries) when he comes back.

You don't bother with what people on the outside are saying. I said we would make a run, and we're honest people. We'll work to the last game and see where it takes us. We'll either go home or go to the playoffs.

I think that's a fair assessment. When you're on a winning streak, it seems you can't do anything wrong, and even when you do something wrong, it seems that it's overshadowed by something bigger or better. When you're riding a losing streak, it seems you're always just one mistake from putting yourself back in that big hole.

He's the guy with the most experience. When you first look at him, he's been a captain, he can score, play defense, mix it up. That combines to one word and that's respect.

In the past years, this organization has been slapped more than we deserve it seems. But I think we're a pretty resilient organization. We showed people before that we can turn around and go through tough times as a bunch of pros. This is obviously another situation where we will have to adjust.

It's tough, because if you lose, you obviously lose ground, and if you win, you stay there. We just have to keep winning games and hope teams start getting in trouble.

I thought he stood his ground well. They have some real class skaters, and they scored some great goals.

I sat down with Michael this morning. I told him, that's the best way to get thrown in the fire. You didn't have time to get nervous and now that you've gone through this. Tonight's just another game.

To represent your country is something you always dream of. He's good enough to play, but we see him in there every day working with the elastic bands, just trying to survive.