NHL Quotes of the Week: March 16, 2008

Playoffs are coming. We don’t want to be distracted by side issues. We’re 100 percent committed to the task at hand. But we still like the Quotes of the Week.

“People are going to say what they’re going to say, but when someone steps on you with a skate, I don’t think anyone deserves that.” – Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler on the notion that his agitating style may have somehow provoked Chris Pronger’s skate attack in a March 12 meeting with the Anaheim Ducks. (Conversely, when a Canadian steps on another Canadian with his skate, the victim says: “Oh, sorry.”)

“I’m not sure. I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it.” – Czech superstar Jaromir Jagr responds to a New York Daily News inquiry about whether he wants to end his career in a Rangers uniform. (Jagr then threw the reporter further off the scent by singing an impromptu version of Genesis’s “Land of Confusion.”)

“If you want money, go to the bank. If you want bread, go to the bakery. If you want goals, go to the net.” – Brooks Laich of the Washington Capitals on the key to his recent goal-scoring prowess. (Laich’s first book, If You Want Goals, recently displaced Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret atop the New York Times best-seller list.)

“We all wish we could have played this way the last 70 games.” – Florida Panthers captain Olli Jokinen after his club recorded its sixth straight win with a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers. (And if wishes were horses, Olli Jokinen would own a ranch and go to the World Championships a lot less.)

“They’ve always played a dirty style, grab you and hold you and try to stay on top of you.” – Toronto Maple Leafs forward Alexei Ponikarovsky on the Philadelphia Flyers prior to a March 12 game between the two clubs. (Ponikarovsky then told Hockey Night in Canada announcer Bob Cole: “I’m going home! I’m going home!”)