Mikael Backlund on the home opener:

“I’m really excited, all the guys are. Hopefully it’ll be a good one tonight. Coming off that win brings even more excitement to the room, and energy. We’re ready to come out here, on home ice.”

On the emotions of tonight’s pregame ceremony for the Gaudreaus:

“You just kind of go through whatever emotions that you go through, then you’ve got to shift focus. It’s not always easy, but it’s part of being a professional athlete. It’s something you learn over your career, to deal with different things. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s something you’ve got to do.”

MacKenzie Weegar on tonight’s home opener:

“A lot of excitement. This is what it’s all about, the home opener, start of a new season, lots of hype. I’m sure Honzek, Kirkland, for them it’ll be fun. For myself, I always get the nervous butterflies, but it’s fun, when you get out there and get a few shifts under your belt, it’s just another game. They’ve got the red carpet out for us today, that’ll be a treat walking in, giving some high-fives to fans.”

On honouring the Gaudreaus:

“Obviously, for a few of the other guys that really knew him well, it’ll be a ceremony for them to honour Johnny. I think the one way to do it is, you know, go out there and play hard for him, honour and celebrate his life. I think there’s no better way to do that then get the two points for him.”

Ryan Huska on the most special part of the home opener:

“Getting in front of your own fans, I think is probably the biggest thing. It’s a chance to get going in the atmosphere that these guys live for, the home openers kind of signal the start of something fresh, and new. We started on the road already, so we have one game under our belt, but when you’re at home, the environment, just the atmosphere in the building is something that players, they want, and they haven’t had it for a number of months. It’s an opportunity for them to feel good about themselves, and get playing.”

On making the Scotiabank Saddledome a difficult place to play:

“We’re trying to get the guys to understand the importance of playing the right way, so if we don’t give teams opportunities for free, then I feel like we’re going to be a harder team to play against. And then if you continue to see what we did in that first game of the year, where you keep staying in games, and you find a way to claw your way back and stick together, it becomes a hard place to play. What I love about our opponent tonight is, that’s what they’re all about. They play the game hard, they play it very direct and very simple, it’s something that we have to a really good job of handling that tonight, and making sure we’re ready for it.”