NYR Olympians look back at Sochi

Again, busy day today, so just got around to transcribing and editing some of the the interviews today from some of the Rangers Olympians. I've whittled it down to some pertinent (in my opinion) quotes, not the whole enchildada. Hmm.. why am I hungry all of a sudden?

From Ryan Callahan: “I don’t think we met the expectations we had going into the tournament. The first three games I thought we played the way we needed to. I thought we were getting better as we went on, which is important. Canada outplayed us most of that game. That’s the tough part of that tournament, one game and you’re out of it. We had bigger expectations.”

Callahan, on current and evetually maybe former teammate Ryan McDonagh, who we've all seen was terrific, especially playing the right side instead of left, with Suter for Team USA.

“He played unbelievable over there. Defensively his awareness on the bigger sheet was impressive. Those are some of the best games I've seen him play.”

Henrik Lundqvist, who said he felt great and was happy to get back to New York:

On Canada's 3-0 win in the gold medal game against Sweden: “In the end, missing our top three centers, we were not as deep as Canada, they had a lot of players.”

Lundqvist loved Carl Hagelin's play, comparing his speed to Erik Karlsson, quite a compliment. "He played awesome. He used his speed the right way. He looked so fast out there."

Hagelin, who said the Games gave him confidence, nonetheless favors the North American-sized ice.

“It’s easier to get to the net. Here, you have to make a decision right away with the puck.”

Rick Nash, the only Ranger with a gold medal, said that winning with Team Canada under national pressure in Vancouver in 2010, "was a relief" compared to this victory.

“One of the big parts going into the tournament was guys accepting different roles that they don’t have with their clubs and making a fast transition,” said Nash, who killed penalties and played on a fourth line with Matt Duchene or Martin St. Louis and Patrick Sharp. "The biggest difference was just the minutes played.”

And two-time gold winner Nash didn't anticipate a problem going back to a more offensive role in New York, which the Rangers will need in the final 23 games---and perhaps the playoffs. "I want the Cup," he declared.

I'll hold off of McDonagh for tomorrow, plus a report from practice, when we see some lines and d-pairs and keep tabs on the tradewinds...See ya then