NHL Peachy: 2015 Western Conference Final Pre-Series Transcript - Anaheim Ducks (Getzlaf, Kesler, Fowler, Beauchemin, Perry, Coach Boudreau) Our Coverage Sponsored by Bergen Linen
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An interview with:
RYAN GETZLAF
RYAN KESLER
CAM FOWLER
FRANCOIS BEAUCHEMIN
COREY PERRY
COACH BRUCE BOUDREAU
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. Just talk about the anticipation, six days in between series, getting ready for Game 1.
RYAN GETZLAF: It's been a long time coming. Obviously we've had breaks towards the end of the year and during the playoffs.
It was much needed that you have time to rest your body. We've gone through the last three days of preparation, now we're just waiting for tomorrow.
Q. Do the Blackhawks seem like one of the teams that can raise their level of play because they've been there so many times in this position?
RYAN KESLER: I've played them a couple of times. They're a team that knows how to win. Skilled team, fast team. Every round I think they up their level.
We have a couple guys in our room, like Getz, that have won, have gone almost all the way.
I think we know how to win in that room. We just need to play our game.
Q. Ryan, I don't know if it was a case of you getting under Toews' skin or vice versa, spiced up that Vancouver-Chicago playoff series. Do you consider that a true rivalry and how much do you look forward to playing against Toews again?
RYAN KESLER: Toews is a good player. We match up against each other. When you play in the playoffs, you play against the same guy for six, seven games in a row, obviously there's going to be a rivalry there.
If I play against him in this series, I'm sure, you know, we won’t hug each other on the dot, let’s just say that (laughter).
Q. A lot of fans have teams that they despise or hate. This will be the fourth time in seven seasons you've played the Blackhawks. Talk about that.
RYAN KESLER: Do I hate them? I think we're here for one reason: to win. I think we've done a good job of keeping our emotions in check, not let that so-called hatred come into your game. I think that's when things get a little hairy for us.
Q. Getz, talk about the focus of this team. You talk about three great days of practice, the preparation. You've had six days off. How focused is this team and how intense have the practices been?
RYAN GETZLAF: It's been good. We've had our buildup, again. We've had to approach it almost like a football team where you have day one, day two, day three. You work on different things every day in preparation for a team.
It's been no different for us. We had our tough practice three days ago. The last two days have been more of a structural thing.
But we're prepared again. That's the big thing. Everyone knows their role. Everyone knows what they're doing going into this series, and now we're just going to play.
Q. Getz, to follow up on that, is that new this year, the way you guys have sort of broke preparation and practices down?
RYAN GETZLAF: I think the preparation's been a little bit new in the fact that I don't think I've ever had this much time off during the playoffs. As well as at the end of the season, we had two three? or four?day breaks at the end of the year. I've never been in that position. In that aspect, it's a little bit different.
Our preparation remains the same, to prepare for the team we're playing. We've just been able to do it over a three?day period.
Q. Getz, against the Blackhawks, they win some, you win some. Very tightly drawn. Is it their talent or in their scheme, the way they do things, as well?
RYAN GETZLAF: Combination, I guess. They're a good hockey team. You look at over the last three, four years, anyone who has been good, the matchup is always going to be back and forth a little bit. There's years where they scored a little bit better for a year, times they don't.
You're playing against Chicago. They're a great team. They skate really well. They do things a little bit different than other teams because they've been together so long. That's what you've got to pay attention to in these matchups.
Q. Getz, going back to what you said about not having this much rest in previous playoff years, we hear about how much of a grind the playoffs are, the bumps and bruises, everybody is playing hurt, has the way the schedule worked out this year made an appreciable difference for this team? Do you feel like you guys are healthier and thus better suited to do the job than maybe in past playoff years?
RYAN GETZLAF: Sure (laughter).
I mean, there's always years where you're going to feel better than others. Anyone who has been there, long in the playoffs, knows that you need luck, you need to try and stay somewhat injury-free. You're always going to have bumps and bruises along the way.
When you have breaks, it helps guys that play a lot of minutes. You have those days when you can turn your brain off and not think about hockey. For me, it's been nice, it's been good to be able to have those days in between series where you don't have to think about the next opponent right away. You can relax, turn things off, then get prepared again.
Q. You talked about the discipline earlier. I think it's been one of the most impressive things I've seen in the first two rounds. Has it been different in the playoffs for this team than it was for the regular season? Is it different this year than in years past?
RYAN KESLER: Yeah, I think regular season, we got a little too emotional at times. When Perrs or Getz would get hit, or Beauch, we would try to get them back right away.
Like you said, there's times in every series that we played that things got a little hairy and we kept our composure.
That's our mindset now of this group, we're here to win. Just keep winning hockey games.
RYAN GETZLAF: As for the playoffs, I think the whole feeling's different when you talk about a team that's confident in what they're doing from a period-to-period standpoint. We just keep playing.
Like we said, during the year we got carried away at some point. We would take one penalty, then we would take two or three. This playoff run we've been able to kind of maintain, kill the penalty, so we want to continue doing that.
Q. Ryan, Joel Quenneville compared you and Perry to the Sedin brothers. Do you have that feeling at all, you have that second sense about where you're going to be?
RYAN GETZLAF: Yeah, definitely. We've been playing together for 10 years now, played in a lot of big situations together, trust each other. I think that's the biggest thing you learn when you play somebody that long, you trust where they're going to be. They trust you're going to get them the puck when it's supposed to be there.
We've been able to develop that chemistry. Hopefully that can continue.
An interview with:
CAM FOWLER
FRANCOIS BEAUCHEMIN
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. Obviously Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, biggest stars in the league. What makes them special and different from, say, other top forwards that you go against throughout the year? What separates them, what makes them different?
FRANCOIS BEAUCHEMIN: It's especially how fast they do things. They're both really quick players and great puck-handling skills. You give them an inch, they'll make you pay. They want that puck on their stick to make plays.
Toews is obviously a great shooter. Plays hard around the net.
Really want to be tight on those guys, not give them any time and space. You always talk about time and space against the best players. Especially those two, you have to be doing that.
Q. Maybe they're not the traditional duo, play on separate lines. Does that make it more challenging because they play apart from each other rather than with each other most of the time?
CAM FOWLER: Yeah, I mean, I think it makes it unique. I think they have the ability if they're down a goal or something, if they're pressing in the third period, they can put them together, they can work together.
But, yeah, it's a little unique in that way that they don't play together. They bring some different challenges for the first line and the second line.
They have a little different skill set. Kaner is more of a puck?position guy, creates a lot of time and space for his teammates. Toews has similar skills, but he's more of a grit kind of player, working in front of the net.
Bring some different challenges for our group.
Q. Francois, I think it's fair to say it's a physical, pounding kind of game. You don't want to take too many penalties against a team like the Blackhawks. What is it like to straddle that line, not take too many penalties?
FRANCOIS BEAUCHEMIN: It's all going to be playing hard, control. Make sure we're physical with our sticks down. Don't take those retaliation penalties.
I thought we did a great job against Winnipeg. I'd say probably four of the five games against Calgary we did well at that. The one game we lost, we took eight minors in Game 3.
When we stay out of the box, play hard, five-on-five, be physical, it just grinds that team down.
It's hard playing against these guys. We do it in practice every day, playing in the D zone. When they get the puck on the boards, you have to battle hard with them to get it away from them.
Q. Very physical practice. Is that how you always practice or is it because of such a long layoff?
CAM FOWLER: That's pretty much the norm of what we've been doing, especially since the playoffs have started. We have a good formula that we've been kind of going by. Today was another part of that.
I think the big reason why we've had some success is because how we've been practicing has carried over into the games. That's really important, especially when you have six, seven days off.
It might be easy to kind of sit back and relax for a second. The good thing about our group is we continue to push each other in practice. Our guys have been competing all week. Today was another good sign of that. That just means that we're getting prepared, getting ready for a good challenge on Sunday.
Q. Francois, watching the rest of the defense corps change, I think you two are the only ones that have been here for a year or two. What is it like watching it evolve, the younger players?
FRANCOIS BEAUCHEMIN: It's been great watching the younger guys improve the last couple years. You can tell even at 23 and under, they're really mature the way they handle themselves, the way they work hard, the way they prepare for the games.
There's a time to joke around and have fun, but there's a time to get serious and get ready for the game. They really know that fine line between that.
Like I said before, they have to keep up with me. I try to work hard. I try to keep up with them, so...
It's kind of the way we've been playing the last couple years. Try to lead by example. Again, they lead by example in their way, as well.
Q. Cam, let's talk about your individual game for just a moment. Talk about previous playoff seasons and experiences versus this year and what you might be working on individually to take your game to the next step.
CAM FOWLER: Yeah, I think if you look back at my game, even, say, my second or third season, I think if you compare that to now, I think I've made, you know, some pretty good strides in the right direction.
A lot of that is the coaching that I've had, and since Yawns has been here this year, we've been working hard to try to complete my game overall.
I'm not the most physical or aggressive player just by nature, but there's things I can do better, times that I can be stronger and harder in my own zone. That's something that Yawns has really helped me with.
I think the more experience you have in playoffs, the more comfortable you get with situations and reading when your team might need you to be a little more offensive or picking times where we're trying to protect the lead and it's time to buckle down in the defensive zone.
Just reading those situations, figuring out what my team needs me to do at those moments is something I'm trying to get more comfortable with, just play with confidence and help the team the best I can.
Q. Why has it worked so well with you and Simon?
CAM FOWLER: That's a good question. I think we complement each other pretty well. The good thing about us as a group, or as a pair, is I think we're able to skate with some of the other top lines and match their speed. Des is such a good skater, especially for how big he is, and he plays a pretty heavy, physical game. He has the ability to go and jump up in the rush. If I read that, it's obviously time for me to sit back and vice versa.
I think we're just able to read off each other pretty well. We also have a good relationship off the ice, which helps out a lot, too. We talk about situations we see on the ice and figure things out along the way.
I've really enjoyed playing with him and hopefully we can continue to have some success together.
COREY PERRY
Q. What do you expect for tomorrow?
COREY PERRY: It's great to have a rest. I think everybody's just ready to get going again.
I know the crowd tomorrow afternoon is going to be excited. We love playing here. We love playing in front of our fans. They do give us a boost.
Q. What was it like playing against Ryan Kesler? How much does he add to your team as a teammate?
COREY PERRY: There were a lot of battles. Him and Burrows, Getzy and I on this side. You know, there was battles each and every game we played.
He's a player you want on your team. To have him and to push forward with him, he's been great for us. He's done everything we asked, everything we need him to do.
Q. He's had a rivalry with Jonathan Toews. Are you looking forward to that matchup? How big do you think that matchup will be, given their history?
COREY PERRY: Yeah, they do have a lot of history. But we're just looking forward to getting started. There's going to be matchups. We don't know who's playing against who, but it's going to be exciting to watch.
There's a lot of firepower on both sides and it's going to be a lot of fun.
Q. What about the Blackhawks as a whole? Are they the benchmark the last four or five years, along with the Kings?
COREY PERRY: They're a great team. They've had a lot of success.
We're a great team as well. We're not focused on what they're doing; we're focused on what we have to do to be prepared and to get the wins. That's all that really matters.
Q. For the organization, what does it mean to get back to the Western Conference Final?
COREY PERRY: It's huge. It doesn't matter when it happens. For us to get over that hump that we've been looking to get over, finally reach it, there's only four teams left and that's the exciting part.
When you look back on it, it's going to be exciting.
Q. Chicago and the Kings have sort of defined the Western Conference the last few years. The Kings obviously didn't make it. Did you figure to get to where you wanted to go, you were going to have to go through Chicago?
COREY PERRY: Yeah. Like last year, we had to play L.A. They ended up beating us. You have to get through tough games. The Stanley Cup is not an easy trophy to win. You got to battle each and every night. Doesn't matter who you're playing.
The competition is getting stiffer and stronger each and every series. That's the same here.
Q. After these last couple days of practice, how are you feeling? Are you back at 100%?
COREY PERRY: I feel great. I feel fine on the ice. Everything went well last couple days. I got no injuries.
An interview with:
COACH BRUCE BOUDREAU
THE MODERATOR: Questions for coach.
Q. Bruce, I didn't see Ricky out there. Any sort of issue with him?
COACH BOUDREAU: He was just feeling under the weather today. Like what we've done all year, if you're not feeling well, we don't want you around the rest of the guys. So we told him to go home.
He's young enough and strong enough that if he's feeling well today, he'll be in the lineup tomorrow.
Q. Coach, can you talk about the group's mentality this year. Has it evolved in your couple seasons here? Have you noticed growth in terms of how they deal with adversity, things of that nature?
COACH BOUDREAU: There's a lot of the guys that are the same. At the same time, I think after the last two years, they've shown fortitude when it's come to the playoffs. Their mindset has been tougher, I think.
I don't want to take anything away from last year or the year before last year's team, the individuals that are still here, but it seems like they're a more determined group right now.
We practiced a lot, and the practices have been hard. These guys have not complained about it. They've embraced the practices.
I think 'determined' is a better word than anything I could use.
Q. Bruce, with Ricky, if he doesn't respond like you hope, is Flash and Wagner, are they two more logical options?
COACH BOUDREAU: Yeah, yeah. One of them would probably go in.
Q. Does it help, the fact they've had some experience in the post?season?
COACH BOUDREAU: I think so. I think both are really hungry to play, too. I mean, the guys that have sat out are dying to get in. But they don't want to get in just for the sake of change. They want to get in if we call them.
So they've been really good.
Q. Coach, your ability as a team to come back, what is the dynamic there? How do you overcome their ability to shut down teams?
COACH BOUDREAU: You know, we have no secret weapon, we have no secret formula. They've had the opportunities to come back, and they've come back. I think both games against the Hawks, it wasn't the case. They were ahead 4-1 in one and 3-1 in the other. The other was a back-to-back. I don't think we had a lot of energy in that game.
They're great at it. We're good at what we do. Hopefully it doesn't have to come to that at all. Hopefully in a perfect world we want to play from above, from ahead. We'll see how it works out.
Q. As you continue on in the playoffs, what type of impact can a home crowd have for your team?
COACH BOUDREAU: You know, we've seen the impact that home crowds had all over the place, how loud they can get, how energized they can get you. The louder the crowd, the more energized you get.
At the same time it really energizes the road team, as well. If it's anything like it's been the whole time I've been here when we played Chicago, there will be 2,000 to 3,000 plus people from Chicago cheering really loud. The crowd is going to have to really be into it to drown them out hopefully.
Q. I know you're worried mostly about your own team. What do you admire most about Joel Quenneville, how he's handled this run with the Blackhawks from a coaching standpoint?
COACH BOUDREAU: He's a really good guy. I've known him for a long time. At the same time he's handled it the same way he handled stuff as a player: he thinks things out, he's calm, he's a communicator.
He's going to be in the Hall of Fame when he's done. He's done a great job.
I don't know what else to say. They could have easily won the Cup three years in a row, but they haven't. But he's a great coach. He's going to be tough. I don't know if we can do it, but we'll try.
Q. How much better is it to coach Ryan Kesler than coach against him? Seems like he's a particularly gritty player to coach against. How much better is it to have him on your side?
COACH BOUDREAU: I think any coach would rather have Ryan on his team than against him. Unfortunately for Vancouver, like last year, you know, he wasn't as effective because the team wasn't as good.
But you could see why they won the Presidents' Trophy, why they've gone to the Stanley Cup Finals. As a second-line center, he's as good as there is. He elevates his game in the playoffs. He's a money player. Hopefully he can continue what he's done in the first two rounds in the third round.
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