Jaromir Jagr
Jaromir Jagr
Jaromír Jágr; born February 15, 1972) is a Czech professional ice hockey right winger currently playing for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League. He has formerly played in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils, serving as captain of the Penguins and the Rangers. After leaving the Rangers, he played for three seasons in the Kontinental Hockey Leaguewith Avangard Omsk before returning to the...
NationalityCzechoslovakian
ProfessionHockey Player
Date of Birth15 February 1972
CityKladno, Czech Republic
We had a chance the last four games against easier opponents than Ottawa. It's not a playoff, but it's almost like a playoff game.
I wouldn't say the effort wasn't there, we just didn't play smart enough. Not many teams play the trap against us. It's something new we have to learn ... It looks like they're already starting to play playoff hockey.
Let's go back to early in the season; would you think we can play 5-on-5 against teams that good?
I will be far from the only one who will leave after this match (the third place play off against Russia which the Czechs won 3-0 on Saturday).
I thought we were going to win. Some calls were tough against us, some calls were fair. We had a 2-0 lead, we should have been able to win the hockey game.
I finished the game, I'm OK. I knew I was not going to be a big factor. I was hoping they'd play the checking line against us. It still didn't work.
We played against very good teams, playoff teams for sure, maybe candidates to win the Stanley Cup. They're already playing playoff hockey and I don't think we're playing it yet. The two games teach us we are not there yet. We have to play smarter.
It's very important to score the first goal. We scored the first goal against Slovakia (in the quarterfinals). Sweden scored the first goal against us (in the semis). Finland scored first against Russia (in the semis). When you're down, you have to change your game plan.
It used to be much worse. It's been four years, but it is more special because we're playing a very good team tonight. It's not so much that it came against Pittsburgh, but it's more about how we're playing as a team.
It was the kind of game that was played in the neutral zone rather than on net. Neither team had a lot of chances. They had a lot of guys back, especially against our line. We really played to their strength.
When you have a three-or four-week break in the season, you're starting I would say from zero.
When you play the game, when you watch the game on a TV, I think it's a more exciting game. It's more skating, up-and-down hockey. For offensive players, you can get more scoring chances and shots. Plus, the offensive zone is a lot bigger and it is better on power plays.
We made a bad change and he shot from the side of the net. It happened. I took the risk on one side and they scored on the other side. It's hockey. But we shouldn't be in this position - 2-0 lead with 10 minutes to go, we shouldn't play overtime.
The players don't play the position game as much as we used to play. A lot of young guys go up and down, shoot the puck, go for the rebounds. You're getting tired quicker because the body has to react where the puck is going to go. You cannot read it, because you don't have the puck on your stick.