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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: LIGHTNING v RANGERSMay 15, 2015Henrik LundqvistRyan McDonaghMartin St. LouisMarc StaalNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Practice Day Q. Because of the way they play, Ryan, do you expect it to be a very different series, a very different style than what you've played in the first two rounds? RYAN McDONAGH: Obviously, it's playoff hockey. It's going to be tight checking regardless, so at the end of the day these guys are very creative, and you have to be very patient and do a good job of not trying to give it up. So in that aspect, we need to work really hard when we don't have it and to make sure everybody gets their check, and make sure we're battling (Indiscernible). Q. Crosby‑Malkin in the first round, Ovechkin‑Backstrom in the second, and now it's Stamkos in the third round. Do you personally gain confidence because of the success you've had in the first two rounds against players like that? RYAN McDONAGH: Every team at this point is going to have top players that drive their team. So this team's no different, for sure. Obviously, Stamkos, for sure. But with Johnson there and some of the guys on their back end really play well and play a lot of minutes, heavy minutes. So for us, we have to be aware when those guys are on the ice, and make sure that you're aware of whether or not you make sure you keep them in front of you and make them play the whole length of the ice. Q. On a personal level, the fact that Carle was such a big part of this identity for so long (Indiscernible)? MARC STAAL: Well, I think, yeah, he was a captain for a bunch of years, and he's a big part of this organization, like you said. It's different that he's in a different jersey, but, as I said, for us it's been so long since he played, been a long year, and we've been through so much with this group, you know, it doesn't matter who is going to be over there, we approach it, and play it with each one of those guys the same way. We just need to be a little more familiar with them than we are with most guys. But as I said, they're in our way of getting what we want to get done and we're going to focus on what we need to do. Q. (Indiscernible)? MARTIN ST. LOUIS: I think you have to expect the unexpected this time of the year. You have to prepare for everything. You know, you assess after every game and make adjustments you need to. But right now we're just focusing more on our first shift (Indiscernible). Q. Can you just assess what your game is? MARTIN ST. LOUIS: Yeah, I thought I played some good hockey early on in that series but didn't get rewarded. But overall I feel good about my game. Of course coaches make decisions at key times in the game for whatever reason, and I've never liked being ‑‑ but that's reality. If I liked it, I don't think I would be here today. Nobody likes that. Right now I'm focused on getting one win, I'm not too worried about what happened. I trust A.V.'s judgment. Q. Do you still feel the (Indiscernible). Is that something you think about? MARTIN ST. LOUIS: No, it's not something I think about right now. Right now there is a team that's standing in the way of where we want to go. I have a lot of respect for the organization over there. They're playing really well. It's not time to reflect on it. It's time to play playoff hockey. I don't know. I don't know. Q. You come from one series that's emotional, and later your opponents (Indiscernible). What do you expect to get from this team? HENRIK LUNDQVIST: I think it's good when you get that extra day to kind of just go over everything which has happened and process everything, then today to really start focusing on tomorrow and what's ahead. It definitely takes some time to let everything process after a series like that. But now you have to play smart (Indiscernible). You start talking about them and what to expect. They're a skilled team that plays with a lot of speed. I think they're one of the best teams in the league to score goals, so we now have a challenge ahead of us. He's a guy who is all about preparation, and doing the right things and talking about the right things. Q. Is there a different type of team that you're facing in the Capitals, maybe the offense or? HENRIK LUNDQVIST: Yeah, we'll see, sometimes it's hard to know how the game is going to be played (Indiscernible). But looking at their lineup, they have a lot of skilled players on the third and fourth line. So I think personally you just have to focus on what you can do to help the team to win games. I look forward to it. It's always fun to be back in the Conference Finals. Four teams left, and it's been great so far. Q. You said earlier that you'd have to wait to see what all the time off did for you. It's two rounds in. How do you feel? Do you feel that missing the time, even though you didn't want to miss it, that it's maybe beneficial at this point? HENRIK LUNDQVIST: It's pretty intense. No doubt about it. Great games and challenging games. I remember last year and this time of the year, it's just so much fun to play in these games that you don't try to think too much if you're tired or not. You don't want to ask questions. You don't want to let yourself go there. Last year was really intense. We played in a lot of games. You're not really tired until it's all over. You just have to make sure you keep pushing yourself. Q. Does the experience from being this far last year help you against a young team? HENRIK LUNDQVIST: I don't know. I think you learn something every year. Like you‑‑ after ten years, I don't know, you learn everything. You take something every year from different players and different situations, different experiences. So you learn from that. You add it all together, and as you get older, I think you get a better understanding of what it takes and how to prepare and how to get away from the game better. When I was younger, I was a lot more intense between games. Now I feel I'm better at finding that balance so you know (Indiscernible). Q. In terms of your former teammates that you'll be facing in this series, is there any kind of joking going on? Did you talk to Ryan too? HENRIK LUNDQVIST: No, I have not. I think now we're in a situation where, you know, they're over there and we're over here. Obviously, during the season I stay in touch with Stralman. We hang out a lot when he was here before that, but now's not the time to chat. We're focusing on the game here. Q. In terms of your preparation for this team, do you expect it to be different the first two rounds because of the style of play they bring? Do you expect to see a maybe more wide open series? HENRIK LUNDQVIST: Hard to know is exactly what's going to happen and what you can expect in this game in this series. I think the most important thing is that we. Focus on our game, and try to really be strong in the areas where we are really good and the things that kind of brought us here. That's our focus. We're going to talk about certain things that Tampa is doing differently than Washington. You have to adjust some things, but you don't want to adjust too much. You want to play your game and stay strong there. Like I said, whatever brought us here, we should continue doing that. Then when it comes down to small details on game day, there are always some corrections you have to make. Q. After the game on Wednesday, you had mentioned almost right away that Tampa was a team that you guys didn't have success in the regular season. Did you learn anything from that? Does it matter at all starting tomorrow? HENRIK LUNDQVIST: It's so long, you know. It's a stretch of we're still working on our game, and kind of different stages in that type of the season. But thinking back on that and watching them throughout the playoffs there, they're a (Indiscernible) team.  You have to respect that. You have to manage the puck. They have skilled players. (Indiscernible). I'm just excited to get going and excited to get this opportunity again to be in the Conference Finals. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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