Jim Montgomery deadpanned his response on Tuesday morning, hours before he would absorb his first loss as the Stars coach. Dallas was hosting the high-powered Maple Leafs that evening, a club driven by Auston Matthews and John Tavares two days removed from scoring seven goals.
So before Toronto victimized the Stars in a 7-4 loss at the American Airlines Center, Montgomery was asked how Dallas would handle the forthcoming offensive attack.
"Hope and pray," Montgomery said before continuing that the Stars needed to eliminate time and space for the Maple Leafs in the offensive zone.
But sometimes, the hottest player in the world right now plays for the opponent, and Tavares is also his teammate.