"He said, 'Merry Christmas'," said goalie Rick DiPietro, conveying some of what the owner had to say before the room was opened to reporters following a 4-0 drubbing of the Columbus Blue Jackets. "Anytime he's watching a game and he can see that guys have poured their heart and soul into the game, regardless of whether we win or lose, he's excited about it."

As they approach the midpoint of the season, their start could be considered one of the league's early-season surprises. But DiPietro says his teammates not only expected to be in the hunt, but expect to improve as the playoff push intensifies.

"I think everyone realized that we brought in good guys and we'd be a very competitive team," he said. "I think guys are happy with the progress we've made, but I think [Friday night's 5-1 loss at Carolina] was an indicator that we're really not where we want to be yet and there's still some work to be done."

Saturday's win set a team record, their sixth consecutive in the second half of back-to-back games. It's a weird, glass-half-full stat: They're only 2-4 the night before.

"Maybe [we play well in the second game] because the night before we don't perform as we should and the next day comes and our backs are to the wall," said winger Jason Blake. "It's our job to be committed every night instead of [only when we're] under pressure."

"One thing we want to do is try to bring a competitive edge every time we play," said head coach Ted Nolan. "Brendan Witt only knows one way to do it – he competes all the time. And I think that rubbed off on Martinek. I like the way Blake's competed, that's rubbed off on Yashin.