“I think our perspective in here is it’s a sign that we just play a game for a full 60 minutes,” Nurse said. “We’re capable of a lot. So bringing that through, from the start of the game through full 60.”

“It’s not for lack of effort,” he emphasized. “The group comes in each and every day. It’s a very focused group, throughout camp, throughout the beginning of the season, practices for games like this. It’s a group that really cares about winning, obviously, and does a lot of the right things to prepare for games, and whether that’s physical, mentally, so, yeah, I mean, it’s not for lack of effort.”

“Sometimes, you know, the process of our game can be better early in the year one. That doesn’t always lead to results. I think sometimes you come into the year with high expectations, and you chase those results. Sometimes it takes away from the process you want to play with every night. And I think for us, we just (nned to) focus on the process of the game. We’ve definitely made some steps in the last couple of games, and we got to build off of it.”

“(They’re) a team that attacks a lot with speed, and they’re counterattacks are very good,” noted Nurse. “If you’re turning the puck over and feeding their transition, it’s tough to play against, and they’re very creative in the offensive zone too. For us, defending well will have to be something that we focus on.”