PHILADELPHIA — It’s a little late. It’s 2:40 a.m., actually, and nobody is going to read this until morning. But we’re going to be honest here: the Flyers lost a preseason game tonight, and that doesn’t really matter at all. We felt there was more value in the Tomas Hyka story we wrote immediately post game than in writing a recap of a meaningless preseason game, so that’s what we did.
That’s not to say the preseason is completely meaningless, because obviously it is not. We just aligned the priorities a little differently tonight. We’re not going to sit here and write a full recap of this game though, either, because … like I said, it’s 2:40 a.m.
So after the jump, we’ll just have some post-game video and we’ll throw up the quote sheets from all of tonight’s post-game media availability. And then we’ll move on, because there’s more hockey to be played on Thursday night.
Maple Leafs left wing Jay Rosehill
Q: On his fight with Jody Shelley
“Yeah you know he was in my face all game, running around. He put the guy’s face to the boards like that and I just instantly wanted to grab him and away we went.”
Q: Is that something you expect, or is that something everyone is talking about, you have to get those hits out?
“You know, I don’t know him as being a dirty player. I have never played against him where I had to do something like that. The fact is whether it was a dirty hit or not, a guy on my line went down. With our team, guys like that are going to have to answer to somebody.”
Q: You saw Darryl [Boyce] come back and apparently broke his nose, what are your thoughts on that?
“I wouldn’t expect too much less of him. He’s a tough kid. We saw him bang up his nose in the past. He has kind of had back luck with that. But we’ve seen him come back every time. It just shows the toughness that this team wants to bring.”Flyers Right Wing Andreas Nodl
Q: With the way last year ended for you, how important do you look at this camp being, especially with as much competition as there is here for some position type players?
“I think it’s huge. I think everyone’s battling for ice time, if you’re on a team you want to play more, if you’re on the cusp of making it or not making it preseason is huge. That’s how I made the team last year and that’s kind of how I see this year…if I don’t play well enough, you never know what’s going to happen. It’s a big opportunity for everybody.”
Q: One of the new things I noticed tonight, you were taking some shots from the point on the power play. Is that something you had ever done before really?
“I did it a little bit in juniors and sometimes in college. The coaches told me to be on it and try to shoot as much as possible…I don’t think I was that bad but overall it wasn’t that good of a performance.”
Toronto center Darryl Boyce
Q: On the hit
“I was going in for the puck and just sort of got hit from behind there. It was not a clean hit for sure. “
Q: How long after that hit were you at the point where you went “Ok, I can get back in this hockey game?
“We just had to go run through a couple of tests and make sure I didn’t suffer a concussion or anything. They tested to make sure I knew what point in the game it was and what the score was and stuff like that. Nearing the end of the second period I was good to go and we just took an extra couple of minutes so I was good to go for the start of the third.”
Q: How many times is this now that you’ve broken it, because you broke it last year [inaudible]?
“Yeah, the verdict is still out if it’s broken. It’s just always looking a little messed up. I’ve broken it a couple of times for sure.”
Q: The hit looked a little late, was it sort of the element of surprise that made it that much worse?
“I think it was late for sure and my back was to the wall, so it definitely was not a clean hit. The game moves so fast out there that sometimes you think that it wasn’t late and it was clean. That’s just the speed of the game.”
Q: Any thought of not coming back or were you geared to come back?
“As I’ve said before, I’ve suffered a lot of injuries that would keep you out of the season. Injuries like this one even. If I can come back to games, I’ll definitely be back in them.”
Q: Are you a little sore now?
“I’m a little sore. I’m sure it will get worse here in the morning, but the adrenaline is still going right now. I’m sure we’ll take care of it tonight and make sure it will be OK for practice tomorrow.”
Flyers center Danny Briere
Q: Evaluations of your play and the team’s play?
“I thought the first period was a little sloppy. We didn’t come out very well. The last two periods we battled a lot harder and gave ourselves at the end. The first period cost us. I thought obviously too many penalties and we lost the flow of the game and we ended up killing too many penalties. Although, our PK did a good job. Overall, it just seemed that a lot of plays, myself included, some of the plays that are easy passes, easy plays weren’t so easy to come by tonight. The little passes and the give and goes …Part of it is chemistry as well. I just found that we weren’t sharp on plays that we make look easy usually.”
Q: Is that hard to do when you’re thrown in with players to have to make the chemistry on the fly?
“When that happens you have to compensate with intensity and hard work. In that department they had us in the first period. We matched it after that but it was just a little too late. There is going to be games like that….its those little passes that you make that usually are right on the tape or over the stick that are easy to make usually. Right now we are not in sync it seems.
Q: Were you guys pretty happy to see [Tomas] Hyka get that goal there? What did you thnk of his celebration?
“That was pretty cool…In training camp there are always special moments and guys scoring their first goals like that. That was special and fun to see. You saw the big smile after and everyone was really excited for him.”
Q: Its kind of crazy after he was released the other day and was told to come back?
“Released…Come back…In the box for five minutes and come out. That was really cool.”
Q: Impression of [Ilya] Bryzgalov the first time here?
“He seemed really calm in there. If you look at the third goal, it got deflected twice. There was not much he could do on that. It was just a bad bounce and the second goal the same thing. It was a deflection in front of him. But overall, he looked solid, very calm and composed back there. “
Q: You seem to have some good chemistry with [Jakub] Voracek out there?
“Actually I thought that went well. I like the way he plays. He’s strong on the puck and a smart player. I really enjoyed playing with him tonight.”
Q: Does his game remind of Ville Leino’s a little bit?
“A little bit. Being strong on the puck and very smart when he has the puck. At this point, it’s a matter of knowing each other…where we hang out and where we like to go. First impression, I thought something was there.”
Flyers Left Wing Tomas Hyka
Q: How did it feel to score the goal?
“It felt really good. It was my first goal in the NHL, so I am very happy and I hope that I will score in other games.”
Q: Was it crazy to get the call back from the airport to come back here and play?
“Yeah it was crazy because I was going to leave Wednesday and somebody called me and told me to stay a couple more days, so I was very happy.”
Q: What day were you called?
“I’m not sure, I was in the car, and somebody called me, so I was just very happy (laughs).”
Q: Talk about that little celebration you had after your goal.
“Oh yeah (laughs). It is my typical celebration after my goal.”
Q: What does it mean, that you want to hear it from the fans?
“Yeah I want to hear it from them, it was crazy.”
Q: Do you hope to sign with the Flyers before you go back to Junior?
“I don’t know, but I hope that I will stay here.”
Q: Did you get the puck?
“(Laughs) Yeah.”
Maple Leafs goalie Ben Scrivens
Q: You must be really enjoying what you have been doing these last few games.
“Yeah you know, I’ve been given an opportunity to show what I can do. I am pretty confident in my abilities and I’m just trying to go out there and play my game. I’ve been fortunate because the guys have been playing really well. We are going to try to keep it going as long as it can go.”
Q: That’s the mindset of a goalie right. You just see pucks coming and you’ve got to stop it. Right?
“All I can control is what I’m doing on the ice and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Maple Leafs forward Matt Frattin
Q: Preaseason games means a lot for different people but what does it mean for you to come in here and get goal?
“Yeah, preseason for me is making a statement on the management and coaching staff and trying to make the team, and they are watching every shift of mine so I’ve got to keep going harder and harder every shift.”
Q: Today they sent a couple of guys down back to the junior team, I didn’t expect you to get sent down but having to say goodbye to those guys was that in the back of your mind?
“Yeah definitely those were people that were trying to make the team, and they got sent back to the juniors and I hung out with them for the last week and a half with rookie tournaments and obviously you build friendships and you kind of wish they would have stayed up but that’s now how it works and they just have to try harder next year.”
Q: It is interesting because you make friends with these guys and you battle them for the spots on the team, isn’t it?
“Yeah I think on ice it’s totally different then off ice, everyone is fighting for a job. But off ice you kind of just make friends and hang out.”
Q: Aside from the goal what do you think you have done to open the eyes of Wilson and the crew here?
A “I think it’s just making plays, cycling down low and getting in quick on the forecheck and also getting pucks out of the zone on the wall and not turning the puck over.”
Q: You look really comfortable on the ice, is that true or is there something in your gut you’re not showing?
“I don’t know. I guess it depends on how much traffic there is and such. I feel comfortable out there, but I think that is partly attributed to how well the guys are playing in front of me and I can trust they are going to block the shots and I can focus on what’s happening in front of me. I can keep it simple and I don’t have to worry about sprawling saves or getting out of position to try and stop a backdoor pass because I know my d-men and my forward are going to have that covered. It makes my job easier when these guys play as good as they are.”
Toronto center Tyler Bozak
Q: [Inaudible]
“Great shot and I thought he played really well tonight and obviously he got two goals and I’m happy for him and would say it’s a good game.”
Q: Do you see that potential in the organization’s [inaudible]?
“Yeah, I mean I knew about him before, playing him in college and stuff, I knew how good he was, so I kind of knew what we were going to get out of him and even the last game of last year, he flew all day and still came in and played great. We knew he was a good player, so it was fun to play with him today and he did a really good job. “
Q: So when you played against him in Denver, was he like at that point, like has he advanced a lot more since then?
“Yeah, I mean obviously he’s improved. Everyone improves as they go on but you know he was one of the guys that we talked about in our locker room before the game to watch out for and you knew when he was on the ice he was always going to make plays and I mean, you saw it in his last year of college the amount of goals he put up so, just good for him to get a couple in, obviously a lot of young guys might be nervous and I know how I was when I was in my first cap so I’m pretty happy for him.”
Q: And just last, you and Colby go the same (inaudible), got a chemistry, its got to be an encouraging sound?
“Yeah, you know we’ve been hanging out a lot off the ice here too and I think it’s carried over off the ice, you know just thinking of little plays, we kind of think the same when we’re out there and go to the same areas, where you know I think he’s going to go a certain area he’s usually there, and try to support each other as much as we can, but he’s a fun guy to play with too, he slows the play down a lot and makes it pretty easy for you.”
Q: What’s one thing you learned about him off the ice that you didn’t know?
“I mean, he doesn’t hide too much around the locker room so I think i pretty much know everything.”
Flyers Coach Peter Laviolette
Q: What did you think about Hyka?
“He seems to be a young player, caught a nice break coming out of the box. Everyone likes his skill level considering on a breakaway being able to cash in like that. He can skate. He’s got skill and he’s a young player.”
Q: Is it important that Andreas Nodl re-established himself?
“He’s such a strong player and he can skate. He can be physical. He can kill penalties. I think we were trying to give everyone opportunities, different opportunities and different looks to see what they can do. We mentioned that from the start its and evaluation process for us. And we want to make sure we look at people in different roles. Camps important for everyone not just Andreas, but for everybody, for what your fighting for and where you want to be and how you want to fit in.”
Q: Is it important that Read re-establishes himself as well?
“Still, he has a lot of speed and it seems generally speaking about our team we were out done in that department tonight, where last night I thought we controlled the tempo and the speed. Players that played last night maybe that has something to do with it and were 5 days into training camp now. Typically you will start to see a hiccup there but you really want to make sure from a player’s point of view you get your rest and you get back in there and stay competitive. Generally speaking over ll the effort and energy provided last night was completely different from tonight.”
Q: What were your first impressions of Bryzgalov?
“Well I thought that he played well and there were a couple re-directs that he had no chance on especially the third one, the first one we need to be better defensively”
Q: What was your feeling of Jody’s hit?
“I haven’t had a chance to take it back and look at it again, Jody typically tries to play an honest game out there I’m not sure where to go from there. I know the league is looking at incidents so the fact that there was a call and a game misconduct I’m sure it will get looked at. Hopefully nothing happens he’s a fairly honest player.”
Flyers Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov
Q: What are your thoughts on getting out there for the first time and some of the shots you were facing?
I was excited to play tonight..it’s like Formula 1, you get on the track the first time and check to see what’s working properly and what’s not…I think it was a good test for me. I have some understanding of where I’m at right now and what I can fix.”
Q: You had a couple tough bounces?
Yeah, that’s part of the game… basically the team that wants to win, wins.
Q: How many games does it take you to feel ready for the regular season?
It takes lots of work during the practices on the ice and sometimes three or four games… it depends.
Q: What was the first goal? It looked like he got your stick side?
It hit me and I kind of blocked it and it went under my body
Q: What was the reaction from the guys when Hyka scored?
You know, I didn’t pay attention to who scored…I was just trying to forget the last goal and get ready for the next shot because the game is going on.
Q: Does it make it harder when you don’t know the other teams’ players that well?
No, you know, it’s the same puck, it’s round and the players are shooting…it’s the same thing.
Q: With the reactions of the fans….did you get a feel for it?
Yeah, we feel the support from the fans…they’re not excited when we give up the goals and they’re very excited when we score the goals and I like their reaction.
Q: [Inaudible]
I can’t be satisfied with my performance because we lost, but like I told you before it’s part of the program to understand where you are…after the long break off… after the season we have a couple practices with the team….the game is a good test to understand in what kind of shape you are and what needs to be done to be fixed to get to game condition.
