NHL Peachy: 2015 Stanley Cup Final Practice Day Transcript - (TBL - Coach Cooper) Our Coverage Sponsored by Stribling and Associates
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An interview with:
COACH JON COOPER
Q. You've had a lot of success in Game 2s. Is that an adjustment? Is Game 2 more of a better feel type of thing? What has it been?
COACH COOPER: You probably almost answered your own question a little bit of the.
Game 1 is definitely a feeling out period, especially in this series when you haven't played these teams very often. Especially the Rangers, we played them in December. We hadn't seen too much of them.
I think some of the other games, we've lost what now, three out of the four Game 1s. So maybe we've got a little bit more panic since we were down in Game 1. I don't know, there's maybe some more focus in Game 2.
I know for sure in the Rangers series, I think we were more happy to get there and enjoying the fact we were in a conference final. I know it ended up 2-1. Probably could have been a lot worse.
This game, I thought we played hard, extremely well. We let it slip away in a two-minute span. I can't predict what is going to happen in Game 2, but I know our guys are going to be ready.
Q. I know Steven doesn't kill penalties. Do you risk the four-on-four if he's in the box?
COACH COOPER: Really good question.
That was a different situation because he was out with Fil and Killer. They do kill. The deep pair kill had to have somebody that was on the ice. There is a risk on that 'cause obviously Stammer is out there for four-on-four.
But there is the fact that if that penalty gets killed ought, Stammer is on the ice right away many times there's a break. Not the first time Stammer served a penalty, but it's not ideal in those situations for him to be there.
It's tough when we don't get a lot of power plays. He's not out there as much because he doesn't kill penalties. That was more of a situational thing why that happened.
Q. You're 45, 50 days into this run, give or take. How would you describe the grind? What is it like on the players, staff, yourself, trying to find that extra energy in the Final?
COACH COOPER: Anytime the word 'grind' or something like that comes up, I sit there and think about that for two seconds, and I think about the fact that we're still playing, it's June, and we want nothing more than to be in the situation we're in.
If there was ever a complaint about how hard this is or we're a little bit sore, we're a little bit tired, we just sit there and say, Would you trade this to be on a golf course? Everybody says, No way.
It's why it's the toughest trophy to win in sports. It is unbelievably grueling on their bodies, their preparation, their minds. The rollercoaster of emotions of going through this, it's crazy.
That's why I think a lot of our leadership group, led by Stammer, you're never playing as good as you think you are but you're never playing as bad as you think you are. You just got to stay the course.
We just look at it as, C'mon, there's 30 teams, there's two left. We have the chance to play for the greatest trophy in sports. We don't care if this goes till December. It's too much fun to complain about a few bruises.
Q. Your team has beaten history in a lot of different ways in this playoff, whether it be Game 7 in New York, elsewhere. The odds are stacked against Game 1 losers in the Stanley Cup Final. How much has your team embraced being the history busters?
COACH COOPER: I didn't really like the Game 1 losers. We didn't prevail in the game (laughter).
I think that's why we're here. Every time they get challenged, and it's been in so many different ways, whether it was Game 6 and 7 in Detroit, giving up two in Montréal, Game 7 against the Rangers, giving up five goals, whether it's Bish in a few games in a row, I think that's what makes this group the way they are.
How they've just come together, turned the odds. We understand how, percentage-wise, we've kind of bucked the trend a few times. But that's what winning teams do.
That's why it's been so fun to be a part of this group. To be honest, it's not a lot of what I do, it's what they do, how they feel. You can see the look in their eyes. Every time the heat gets turned up, I'm almost standing in their way. That's why we're sitting here today. It's a lot of fun to be a part of this group.
Q. Callahan was talking today about what he can learn from that loss, put it behind you. How long do you want these guys chewing over what happened in Game 1, what you can do to overcome that? How long do you do that before you park it?
COACH COOPER: Well, we talk about turning the page all the time. We can't sit here and dwell on the loss. We talk about it. We watch a little video on it. That's it. We can't turn back the clock. We just can look forward.
So you learn some things. The extra day, it's not ideal for us. I think if we had our choice, we would have just dropped the puck at 11:30 that night and, Let's play again.
There is something to be said about sitting back, taking a breath. It's our first Stanley Cup Final. The media, the Media Day, all that stuff, we got through Game 1. Wasn't so bad, to be honest.
Unfortunately we dropped that game. But if there's one thing we learned, it's that we know we belong. The guys in that room feel they can win. You can't have a better feeling than that.
So are we dwelling on the loss at this point? No, it's long forgotten. All these guys are thinking about Game 2 and how we're going to win that game. It's a good sign.
Q. Jon, you're playing against a team that plays essentially four defensemen. In the last series, people assumed they were going to wear out. They didn't. What can you do to make that an advantage for your team?
COACH COOPER: Well, you got to really respect the fact that they're really good players. Clearly their hearts don't beat at the same rate as everybody else because they can stay out there forever.
But it's fun to watch those guys. They're human. They turn the puck over just as any other D corps does. You have to put them in positions to turn it over, to take the pucks out of their hands. I think we did that for sure two periods, a little bit of the third.
We let them hold onto the puck a little bit, they're too good of a players not to do something with it. I think that's why we were on our heels a little bit.
Our job is to make sure they don't have any time to do anything with the puck. I think that's where we had our success.
It's not that you have to run those guys through the glass. It's not any of that. It's harder to play when you don't have the puck. That's our goal, to make sure it's out of their hands fast.
Q. The goals were coming fast for Tyler Johnson. Do you sense any level of frustration in his demeanor? Any level of playing that you see happening?
COACH COOPER: No, I don't. Johnny is a winner. If he would take having zero goals right now if it meant that we were to be here...
Guys go through the rollercoaster ride. I don't know anybody that can score at a pace that he was going on. Look at his line, though. He may not have scored, but his line scored. He's picking up assists, he's picking up points. He's such a huge part of our team. There's not an ounce of worry about the fact that he's not scoring.
We rely on him so much. I think I made the comment yesterday. He's been so good that when he doesn't score, it's almost the alarm goes off. That's a tribute to how he's risen in this league.
But not a worry. That kid's a winner.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
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