from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

Coach Jeff Blashill was pleased with both players acquired from St. Louis Monday at the trade deadline, along with a 2023 second-round pick, for defenseman Nick Leddy.

“I thought Jake used his two best assets -- his skating and his shooting,” Blashill said. “He shot a lot, and he was skating really good. I think he’s a guy who can end plays early with his skating, can be a bit of a defensive weapon.

“Oskar is a hockey player. He’s strong on his stick, he’s very smart and he’s very good defensively, very good offensively in the sense of winning pucks and being in the right spots.”

Sundqvist used his 6-3, 208-pound frame to cause havoc around the net on Joe Veleno’s goal that opened the scoring at 5:17 of the first period.

“I played against him a lot in Sweden, and I knew him from Pittsburgh,” Vrana said. “He’s a great defensive centerman. He’s a two-way player. He can create a lot of offense as well. He does a lot of little things that you don’t see out there that helps a team win.”

Blashill said of Sundqvist: “You could tell his veteran presence as soon as he stepped into my office. He’s super-comfortable in his own skin, knows what he’s good at, knows how to win hockey games. There is no doubt his smarts and his experience is going to help our team.”

more

below find a longer interview with Blashill than last night's post, Vrana is in the same vieeo and the extended game highlights...