NHL Peachy: 2015 Eastern Conference Finals Off-Day Transcripts - (TBL - Hedman, Killorn, Coach Cooper) Our Coverage Sponsored by Maine Woolens
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An interview with:
VICTOR HEDMAN
Q. Victor, after allowing this thing to digest a little bit after last night, what are your feelings now on, I guess, what is a bit of a lost opportunity last night, but you had a new opportunity coming again on Friday?
VICTOR HEDMAN: Yeah, we've got another opportunity; that's obviously the good thing.
Looking back at the game yesterday, I thought we played well for two periods. Started chasing a little bit too early there in the third. You know, we have to be more patient in our game for 60 minutes. But if anyone would have said before this season that we would have a Game 7 in the Conference Finals to make it to the Stanley Cup Final, we would have taken it.
So we're looking forward to the game on Friday. It's good we have an extra day of rest today and get back to practice tomorrow and then get ready for the game on Friday.
Q. Victor, talk really quick about that extra day of rest. Coach Cooper last night said that this team could use some rest, needs to get a little healthy. For you personally and for the team, how do you think this extra day is going to help?
VICTOR HEDMAN: Well, all the extra days you get during a playoff is obviously going to help. It's been a tough stretch, with game days and then travel days. So if we get this extra day, just kind of relax and focus and let go of hockey a little bit, I think it's going to help you both mentally and physically. So if we get this extra day, I think it's going to help for all of us.
Like you said, it's a grind, and we have to make sure that we will be well prepared for Friday.
Q. I'm just wondering if you could talk about how Game 7 versus Detroit might serve as a benefit in terms of approaching a seventh game and what's on the line, and certainly being able to win and gaining knowledge from that?
VICTOR HEDMAN: Yeah, I think it was useful for this group. It was the first Game 7 for a lot of guys in the NHL, and we had our backs against the wall in that series. We had to go into Game 6 in Detroit to win to bring it to Game 7. And just the way we played in those two games I think showed a lot about how we need to play to be successful.
We're prepared for this, to play a Game 7 in a Conference Finals. We're really excited about it. We're obviously disappointed with the way the third period turned out yesterday, but if we can put on the same effort like we had in Game 5 in New York, I like our chances on Friday. We're just really excited about it, and we have to approach it the same way, like I said, like we did in Game 5.
Q. It seems you guys have had a little more success in the games at Madison Square Garden in the series. Do you think playing on the road helps you defensively focus, maybe more of a road mentality?
VICTOR HEDMAN: I think so. You obviously want to play good in both home and away, but we really like the way we've played in New York in this series so far. We know we lost the first one, but won the next two in there. So we know we can beat them in New York, and that's going to be our mindset going in.
So, like I said before, we have that same mentality like we had in Game 5 going into that building. We know it's going to be a really tough game, the toughest game of this series, but we're prepared for it. Nothing we haven't seen throughout these playoffs, you know, Game 7 against Detroit, and this team finds a way to go forward. When we have our backs against the wall, this team seems to find a way to win, so that is the approach and the mentality that we have to have.
Q. You mentioned you guys are so good with your backs against the wall, and you guys have really responded after losses this postseason and the season. But it seems you guys have trouble after a big emotional win responding the next game and following up with that. Do you have any explanation for why that is, do you think, or is it being young and inconsistent or how would you explain that way you play?
VICTOR HEDMAN: Yeah, we've got to be consistent for 60 minutes. I think yesterday, for the first two periods, I think we had a lot of chances. We were outshooting them, and we had a lot of chances. Lundqvist made some big saves for them. But, you know, we just have to make sure that we put in an effort for 60 minutes or more if we have to.
Like you said, we need to have that consistency on Friday to have a chance to win in that game. We've got to make sure that we know that game is for 60 minutes, not 40 minutes. So the way we played the first two periods, I think we've played well enough to at least have a tie, but that's how hockey works sometimes.
And then they came out in the third and we started chasing a little bit too early and they got that third one. And the first TV timeout came and it was 4-1. So we have to make sure that we bear down and focus on our own end for 60 minutes.
Q. Just one quick follow-up, you've been in this situation before in Game 7 in 2011 in the Conference Final and obviously a tough loss there. But does taking four years to get back to this point give you an appreciation for how hard it is to get to this moment and how special it is?
VICTOR HEDMAN: Yeah, you know what? I was just thinking about that today. It's been four years, and it was my second year in the league. Like I said before many times, you feel like you're going to come back the next year.
But it's a tough league, and a lot of good teams. It's really tough to get this far into the playoffs. We're one of four teams left for a reason, and we know we have the skill. We know if we play at our best, we have a good chance. It just never stops surprising me how well this team has responded to -- when we have our backs against the wall. You know, we expect to play our best game of the season on Friday.
Q. It's no surprise to you how formidable your task is. How hard is Madison Square Garden to play in as a rule, and how does it compare to the other places in the league you go to?
VICTOR HEDMAN: Well, it's just a hostile environment. It's a loud building, and it's a tough building to play in. But throughout this season, I mean, we've won there four times and only lost once.
So we feel confident in our game and comfortable playing there. So we just have to shut everything out. It's still the same game, still the same measurements of any other rink. So we just have to go out there and play our game to be successful.
Q. Just kind of looking at the scores in the series, I'm just wondering going into the series, did you ever think that the games won 6-2, 6-5, and games lost 5-1 and 7-3, just with these two teams playing in the Conference Final?
VICTOR HEDMAN: That's certainly not the way I thought about it. You know it's going to be close games, but when you get into playing back and forth and open chances both ways, there is a lot of skill on both teams to put the puck in the back of the net. So I'm not surprised that both teams have scored goals, but we have to go in there with a 1-0 mentality come Friday. We have to focus on our own end. We know we have the skill up front to get chances and to score goals.
So like I said to the other guys before, we have to make sure we bring that Game 5 mentality like we had in the last game up there.
ALEX KILLORN
Q. You guys had the best record at home throughout the regular season, but now you seem to be playing a little bit better on the road. Why do you think that is? What's changed there both at home, and what is it about the road that you guys suddenly have seemed to figure out there?
ALEX KILLORN: I don't know. That's a tough question. I think we've obviously had quite a bit of success on the road, I think. When you play on the road, you seem to play more of a simple game, get pucks deep. I think at home maybe we try to make more plays or whatever it is.
But I think on the road we play more of a simple game, and I think we've had a lot of close -- more close games on the road, just because once we've had a lead, we liked to protect it. We've been pretty -- we've had a lot of success on the road, and hopefully we can do that in Game 7.
Q. I don't know if I should be surprised that there have been such high-scoring games considering what both teams did in the regular season. But how do you view just the kind of wild scores that we've been seeing in this Conference Final?
ALEX KILLORN: Yeah, I don't think anyone would have expected these scores. It's tough to kind of explain, I think. You know, once they got that third goal last night, I think it kind of deflated us, and that's not a good thing.
We have to be better. We have to come back stronger after those goals. I think we played a strong two periods, but it seems like either way, once a team gets up two goals or three goals, it kind of just opens things up for the other team. Trying to do too much offensively kind of gets away from the way they've been playing.
So I think that's why you've been seeing high scores once there's a two-goal lead or a three-goal lead, things just really open up.
Q. Would you prefer for the game to get back to what we saw, I guess, in Game 5 where it's a little more controlled and maybe a little more disciplined game?
ALEX KILLORN: Yeah, I think that's the way we want to play. We want to limit their scoring chances. We're going to get enough scoring chances to win the game. I think in the first two periods, we kept them to like six scoring chances, so if we can do that, I think we'll be just fine. We need to play more with a defensive mindset.
Q. Just wondering what is your process personally for moving past a loss like last night? I'm sure it's a frustrating type of experience.
ALEX KILLORN: Individually or as a team?
Q. Yeah, for you.
ALEX KILLORN: For me, I'm kind of -- the way I am personally, I could turn the page pretty quickly. I got home and watched some of the game and kind of slept on it.
But today is a new day. I've already gotten over it. I think you have to have a quick memory in the playoffs, especially with the quick turnarounds. We know what we have to do. Game 7 is a huge game, and I think it's definitely not going to be indicative of what happened in Game 6.
Q. Did you watch the third period at all when you went home?
ALEX KILLORN: Yeah, parts of it, I did.
Q. What did you see?
ALEX KILLORN: I think the main thing that stuck out is the beginning of the third period when we're fighting for our lives and a chance to finish the Rangers, I think in the first six minutes or something we didn't have a shot on net. I'm not sure exactly the timeframe, but we didn't come out nearly as strong as we could have, and then they end up scoring that goal. And it seems like from there it was over. So that's kind of what I saw.
Q. I was asking you about the Rangers being 7-0 all time at home in Game 7s and the opportunity for you guys to write a bit of history for yourselves on Friday?
ALEX KILLORN: I guess that means they're due to lose one, right? But, no, I mean, they're a team that, as we've seen when their backs are against the wall, they've played well.
But we've also shown in the short history that our team has been together, we've been able to bounce back.
So I think there are going to be a lot of people watching. We know we're going to get the best out of Lundqvist, like he always does in Game 7s. But we think if we play the way we did in Game 5, I think we'll put ourselves in a good situation.
Q. Just a quick follow-up, just the bug that seems to be running through the room, Braydon being sick on the bench there, how are you guys handling all of that? Obviously, the timing isn't great?
ALEX KILLORN: Yeah, it's tough. We've had a few guys under the weather, not that that's any excuse. I think most of the guys have been ready for games and stuff like that. But these few days we have here, I know today is a day off, it's going to be to be huge, not only for injuries, but for guys that have been feeling kind of sick. So we're going to use these days to get our guys back healthy.
Like I said, we're not going to use that as an excuse as to why Game 6 went the way it did.
Q. As you mentioned, you guys are so good with your backs against the wall and bouncing back after losses in this postseason. But it seems after big, emotional wins, you guys don't have a consistent effort the next game. Do you why that might be at all? Is it just a young team trying to mature? How would you explain that?
ALEX KILLORN: No, it's tough to explain. I think it's something we've noticed early on in the series, early on in the playoffs. I think you're right, whenever we've had a big win, it seems maybe we get too high on ourselves, I think. I don't know what it is.
Obviously you turn on the TV and after a big win, everyone wants to tell you how good you are. I think maybe that in some ways goes to your head. But I think in Game 6, I don't think we felt that at all. I think we came out strong. They just had a good surge in that third period, and we weren't able to handle it. I think we just can't get too high after these wins, in the same sense that we can't get too low after these losses.
Q. Not that anyone was really blaming your goaltender last night, but he did get pulled. What's the confidence level in him to bounce back in this game like he did in Game 5 early in the series?
ALEX KILLORN: I think he'll be fine. I know there was one game, it was a very similar game, I think it was Montreal, I'm not sure, I think it was Game 4 at home. It was kind of a similar situation where they had a few lucky goals -- not lucky goals, but they had a few goals that you couldn't blame on Bish. We took him out just because of the situation of the game. And I think the next game he came back and responded huge.
He's going to respond big in Game 7. He's done that all year. I don't think you can put the blame for any of those goals on him. It's just kind of the way the game worked out.
COACH JON COOPER
Q. Just wondering, can you give us some insight into how today fits in the preparation, what's being asked of the players, and what are you the coaches up to?
COACH COOPER: Well, the coaches are being coaches. There's never really a day of rest for the staff, and you're always trying to find different ways how we can do -- what we can do better to help us prepare to win Game 7.
Players, it's a full day off. They're -- we need the rest. You know the old saying, rest is a weapon, this is kind of how we're using today. Then players will go back -- players will get back to work tomorrow.
But, as I said, the staff, they're doing everything possible to see if we can find some things that will help us win Game 7. I guess the one thing is, it is the 7th game, and I don't think there are any secrets between the two teams anymore. It's just going to be one of those games where let's strap 'em up and play 'em, let's see who comes out on top.
Q. Alex Killorn kind of hinted at this word out there about this bug running through the room, said there's about three or four guys kind of struggling with it a little bit. Can you give us an update on the health of the team? I know you said last night you could use the day off to get healthy. I don't know if you meant that injury-wise or if that was a reference to the supposed bug that's running around. But can you clear that up that whole thing about the bug? Do you have a bit of a flu thing that's running through the room at this point?
COACH COOPER: The one thing about getting rest, it can mean in a whole bunch of different -- a whole bunch of different meanings, whether it's a physical injury or an internal virus.
We basically -- we're preparing for Game 7, and anything that's happened in the past or may have affected our team, that's not in our mindset at all. We're just trying to do our best to win this series.
You know what, maybe after it's all said and done, more things will come out of what's happened in our room. But we're putting the best lineup we can as possible.
Guys, I think through a playoff series, especially when you get to the Conference Finals, people have all sorts of things wrong with them. I'm sure the Rangers have guys that things are going on with them that's not coming out in the media. So it's probably happening to both teams. As I said, this extra day for us is definitely a benefit.
Q. Talk about J.T. Brown a little bit. Boy, every time he's on the ice, it seems like he's creating something, whether it's a scoring chance or just seemingly playing at a high level. Talk about his play and what you've liked about it?
COACH COOPER: It's funny about J.T., because he was kind of one of those guys that was in and out of the lineup a little bit this year. We didn't have a ton of injuries up front during the regular season, so we carried 13 forwards, and J.T. was one of those guys that was out probably a little bit more than not.
But the one thing I know about J.T., I learned a ton about that kid in the playoffs last year when we played Montreal. When we were trying to get back into the series and we were basically running down the three lines, J.T. found his way on to one of those three lines and he was a huge contributor for us.
The one thing we always had in our back pocket is J.T.'s a team player. He's a phenomenal teammate, and you win with guys like that. He understood his role here during the year, and I was fairly certain that by the time we got to the playoffs, this guy was going to be an everyday-er and a big contributor.
I'm sure he sat here said, oh, he'd like to get on the score sheet a little bit more. But there's so many things he does for us, his speed, his tenacity, his determination, they're just huge factors for us and our team. It's only a matter of time, I'm just hoping one of these pucks go in for him, because if there's one guy that deserves it, it's J.T. Really proud of the way he's handled himself this year, and he's getting rewarded here in the playoffs.
Q. Rangers are 7-0 all time at home in Game 7. That could intimidate some people. But I wonder if you think with your group there's a healthy dose of cockiness and confidence that I think has helped you guys succeed as a young group. Do you think they would actually look at that as an opportunity to make a little history?
COACH COOPER: Our group's so young, I'm not even sure they read your column, Pierre. They're too busy playing video games. In all seriousness, though, I think it's to me and to our team, their 7-0 record or whatever it is, that hasn't happened against us. Everything is in the past.
It's like the first six games of this series, when you really think about it, do they really mean anything? They really don't. It's just it's come down to a one-game series. Game 7 is the only one that matters.
So, there was some other stat that was out there that Lundqvist had some record in his Game 5, 6 and 7s, and we found a way to break that in Game 5. I don't think -- I think maybe for the Rangers, you get to hang your hat on that and have a little confidence to say we've done this in the past, we can do it again.
And you're going to look at our team and say we don't care, we haven't been a part of that history, so it doesn't affect us. It can be spun both ways. All I know is that I guess you look back and it's an impressive feat to see what they've done. But they haven't done it against our group and our team, and as you said, we've got a pretty young, confident group. When they've been pushed against the wall, they've found an unbelievable way to push back, and we're looking for that again on Friday.
Q. You were talking about needing rest here on these two off days. Does that really apply especially to Ben Bishop because he made 19 starts in a row and this is his first real deep run in the postseason, could he use maybe the physical and mental break maybe more than anybody else on your team?
COACH COOPER: To be honest, I never really thought of it that way, but you're probably right in the sense he has played a lot of hockey. I don't even know if it's really the mental aspect of the whole thing as it is -- or the physical aspect as it is the mental aspect.
When you have to get yourself up every single second day, that can be pretty trying on a starting goaltender. I think he seemed to have past that test, because in every series we've gone, the kid seems to have upped his game. I know we look here and say, well, he gave up five last night. I don't think any of us on this call could sit here and say Ben was the big reason we gave up the five. It was a lot of the five guys ahead of him. He's the last line of defense. He did everything he could to keep the puck out of the net. It was our five guys in front of him that didn't help him out.
The one thing about him is, he's a mentally tough kid. When he's been challenged, he's responded. But there's no question for this day to have everybody just take a breath, relax, I think -- because if memory serves me correctly, I think this may be the only one or maybe we had one more in this 40-plus days we've been in the playoffs of having a complete off day, you know, if you don't take in the travel and everything else that goes into being in the playoffs. So I think there is a much needed day, probably especially for Ben.
Q. You've been effusive in praise for Anton Stralman, and he's a guy who's, I believe, 6-0 in Game 7s in his career, and he plays with such calmness and such poise and patience. Is this the time when that sort of manifests itself? Do you guys need to take your cues from a guy like that in the situation that you're in now?
COACH COOPER: Well, I think Stralman -- I don't have enough words to talk about Anton Stralman, how much he means to us as a team. But you know how it is when you see somebody, when the pressure is at its highest, and somebody walks out of there as calm as can be, that's Anton Stralman. And our team, you just hear the guys on the bench praise him and how -- the things he's done for us.
Just having that confidence that we get to throw him over the boards every second shift, it's just a luxury for us. But the one thing, I look at now -- it was July, and we were looking at who are we going to bring in? Who are the winners? Who are the guys that have been there before and have found a way? And at the top of that list was Anton Stralman.
When we were fortunate enough to ink him, I knew that was a turn for our team, especially after watching the run that the Rangers had last year and going to the Final. Even though he didn't get the praise that some of the other defensemen on the team got, I thought it was just in total Anton Stralman style. He just goes under the radar, yet he was kind of their hidden MVP to me.
To pull in these guys with the winning pedigrees, including the Brian Boyles and the Morrows, and the guys that have been there before, but it's Anton Stralman that's at the top of the list. I think the emergence of Victor Hedman, a lot of that can be put with being paired with Anton Stralman. And that pair to me is as good as any pair in the league.
Q. You mentioned last night a young group learning, going through a lot of firsts together. How much did the experience in Game 7 against Detroit help a lot of these young guys, especially -- not like the Stralmans and Morrows who have been there before, maybe feel a little more calm tomorrow night or Friday night?
COACH COOPER: I think when you have success in them, that was the biggest thing for us. Like we went through a Game 7 and won. Right away you just know you can do it, regardless of who the opponent is. When you get to this time of the year, it doesn't matter whether you're playing Detroit, Montreal, Rangers, whoever it is, these are unreal hockey teams, well deserving of being in the playoffs. Any team can take anybody out on any night. But for us, knowing that under the highest pressure situation when your season has the potential -- can potentially end or you can go on and play for the Stanley Cup, our guys have responded.
When we had the success and found a way to win, I think that was what really pushed us in the Montreal series and I think helped push us in the Rangers series. We know we can do this. It's just a matter of we're going to have to do it again in a short couple of weeks.
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