dave tippett on playing with the lead: "we were much better tonight than we were the other night. turned over a few pucks in the third but overall we were pretty solid. that's what we were looking for from our group tonight. we knew we were playing a desperate team..."

tippett cont'd: "we knew we had to play a strong defending game and for the first two periods, we were pretty solid. our penalty kill tonight was really solid too which was a good sign."

tippett on puljujarvi: "i've been talking to him quite a bit and he's such a good kid. *smiles* he says it doesn't bother him, but it's great to see him get on the board. he's one of our top guys being around not just chances himself, but helping create chances for other people..

tippett on puljujarvi con't: "so you'd like to see him get rewarded for that work and tonight, he got rewarded for it. his first goal was a real nice goal, great second effort....

tippett on puljujarvi con't: "anybody, if you feel like you're not scoring, there's that extra little bit of pressure you're putting on yourself. it's good to see he got a couple, he's got a big smile on his face. hopefully that pushes him along now."

tippett on bouchard's game: "really solid, really solid. that's a tough thing to jump into a game like that. every game, these points are critical for us. i think he got 17 or 18 or 19 minutes. i was really, really pleased with his game....

tippett on bouchard con't: "got an assist on a real nice shot from the point and just jumped in and didn't look out of place at all. that's real nice from a young player."

more tippett on bouchard: "i would say a little control, not quiet, a controlled game. he doesn't spend any extra energy when he doesn't need to but he's really smart. he's in position a lot of times...."

tippett on bouchard: "he's a young player that's going to continue to grow, he's going to be a real good nhl player. he'll slowly get up and going here and he had a great start tonight. it's all up from here."

tippett on bouchard: "you know what he's done? he's matured. he's gone from a junior player to a man playing in a man's game. mental maturity and recognizing how hard you have to work in the pro game..."

tippett on bouchard con't: "physical maturity and the workouts and the physical condition he's in he can jump into a game and not feel like he's behind. he's just a top prospect that's continuing to mature and he's going to be a real good player.'

tippett on puljujarvi's development: "i don't know what happened in the past, but he came in, he had a great attitude and i know a lot of the players reached out to him this summer after he signed. he's come in and it's been seamless."

tippett on puljujarvi's development: "he's a big guy, he likes to have fun, he's smiling all the time and he's fit in very well in the dressing room. i've just seen a good player come in that's enjoying playing and enjoying his teammates."

tippett on 3-6 start: "there were some things we were doing that we liked on our team, but we were making a mistake at the wrong time, or taking a penalty at the wrong time that put us behind the eight-ball...

tippett on 3-6 start con't: "there were some learning experiences we had to get through, but i don't mind our game mvign forward here. the first game against Ottawa was kind of a sloppy game, but the game tonight was much better. we've got to continue to get better.

tippett on 3-6 start con't: "it's a short-season, but you've got to continue to get better if you want to compete for a playoff spot. this will be a real challenge, this road trip coming up, and hopefully we're up for that challenge."

tippett: "it's not so much about the other team. everything we address is about what our team is doing. any team is a good team, any team can beat you and you can beat any team, but it's about how we play. we want to continue to build our game..."

tippett: "whether it's a top team in the standings or a team lower, you've got to compete, you've got to do those same things to give yourself a chance to win."

tippett on having lots of dmen: "there's going to be some stuff that comes up this year, injuries or fatigue... you're going to need everybody. i think it's a luxury to have people that can play and i think you're going to find along the way we're going to use everybody."