I don't think Travis [Green] ever lets anyone off. In the middle of January he's letting them rip. But no, they were pretty good.

We definitely controlled possession of the game. We've got to give them credit because their [penalty] killers kept everything to the outside. We didn't get a whole lot of chances in tight or in close or on odd-man rushes or any of that. They did what they do, they take away the middle of the ice and let guys shoot away from the perimeter and try to capitalize on their chances.

It seemed pretty average, I mean, 2-1. I'm sure the NHL is banging on a desk somewhere, mad that it was 2-1. It didn't work tonight. It felt like the playoffs, the same kind of playoff game that we had [two years ago].

All in all, it was definitely our best effort in the last four games for sure.

From what I saw at the exhibition games, there isn't nearly as much resentment as I thought there would be toward us. I think that shows you how hockey fans feel. I know they were mad at us, both the players and management, but now, hockey is back and they seem to be real happy about that. It's a fresh start, and hopefully, a new season that will be a good one for us. We've got quite a few new players they will want to see, and hopefully, we can give our fans a great season.

The year after I got drafted, I was average, the team didn't have a very good year and we had a lot of problems. My last year of junior, that's when [Bruins scout Gerry Cheevers] started showing up more and [assistant general manager] Jeff Gorton started showing up. It seemed like someone was there almost every game and other scouts were watching in case I went back in the draft.