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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: LIGHTNING v RANGERSMay 19, 2015Jon CooperTAMPA, FLORIDA: Practice Day Q. What has Victor Hedman meant to you guys and what do you think of his play so far in this postseason? COACH COOPER: Well, Victor, I don't think you get to this part of the season without having a top, elite‑tier defenseman. And he is that for us, I think. You look at the two of them, when he and Stralman are paired together, I think it's as good as you're going to get in this league. He plays the whole 200 feet. He's blessed with the size, the skill, the speed. He can make plays like he did last night to Killorn. Just can't say enough. If I look at our year, obviously Bishop is the guy that anchors us back there. But when Hedman is going, our team's going. Sometimes when he's not, our team isn't, and that says a lot about a player that he has that much effect on our team. Q. You're talking about him being an elite defenseman. Has he been all season, or did it happen during‑‑ when did it happen? COACH COOPER: Well, I think with any player there are some ups and downs to the season. It started phenomenally, and then he broke his finger. That was a setback for him. He came back and he was clawing his way back into being the same status he was. I think part of it is so many people judge things on points. If you have points, all of a sudden it's he must be a really good player. Well, that's not the case. You have to look at how is he playing deep for us? What kind of minutes is he giving us back there? And they're strong. When his point production went down a little bit, people thought oh, well, what happened to Victor Hedman? But that's not the case. He's just been getting better and better as the season went on. He's played in all different situations, been on the power play, the penalty kill. And it's hard to do, but he pulls it off really good for us. Q. You talked all year about how the team has been able to bounce back. Is there a button you have to push to get them to respond? Even though the game was 2‑1, you said you didn't like the way they played in Game 1? COACH COOPER: Well, as a coach you've got to make adjustments in some areas and you've got to push the buttons. For these guys to keep such a high intensity rate for the whole playoffs, that goes for every team, that's a hard thing to do. But it's nothing magical that I'm doing. Usually in these situations our goalie is bailing us out and our best players become our best players. There is no secret. It's those guys fighting together and willing us to victory. So I think when we've had a hiccup, that's probably been the reason why it's stopped whatever little streak we had. Q. When was it back in the minors when you realized what you had with Tyler? Was there a moment? COACH COOPER: Yeah, Super Bowl Sunday.  I'm not going to go into the whole story, but it's well‑documented. Super Bowl Sunday, 2012. Then we proceeded to win 43 of our next 44. Tyler Johnson was minus‑9 on the season on that day. You can ask Johnny about the story. But he proceeded to be our leading scorer after that. I think he went plus‑40 the rest of the way, and he was a key piece to us winning the Calder Cup. Q. In your perspective, what changed that day? What was different? COACH COOPER: Johnny learned how to be a pro hockey player. He learned that there were two nets on the ice. All these players, regardless who you are, you just don't‑‑ the one thing about the American League is nobody is really watching, and it's a clear development league. In the NHL, everybody's watching, and this is a win‑now league. So these guys, when they had their ups and downs, they did it in the minors. But my experience down there, you watch guys come in and you see guys that come in highly touted and don't really make it, and you come in and see guys that grind their way out and understand pro hockey and make it. Then you see guys like Johnny that come in with no fanfare at all and become superstars. What he's doing in the NHL started in the American League. You even look when he first came to the NHL, he didn't make the league when he first came in. He had to navigate himself around and understand how much time and space he has and that he's got to play "D" and different things he has to do on the ice to succeed. Well, that happened to him in the American League, it's just nobody was really there to see it. Q. This is obviously rare in the playoffs, but to see the way he got it with the shorthanded goal power play and then the five‑on‑five, is it storybook? COACH COOPER: I don't know. It will be really storybook if he's lifting a 35‑pound trophy over his head. Q. Do you have a power play story? What's been the difference there? COACH COOPER: With scoring? Here's the thing: When our power play is not going, don't come in and say oh, my God, your power play sucks. It's never as bad as you think it is. And when it's on fire, it's really never as good as you think it is. When you're scoring, you're getting bounces. There are times when you're not scoring, and the puck is hopping over somebody's stick or for whatever reason the goalie makes a big‑time save. What I like about the power play, though, we are getting zone time. We are making plays. We are putting teams on their heels. Over the last few weeks here, the puck has been going in the net for us. But these are not the questions we're being asked in the Detroit series. So, anyway, it's okay. Q. At what point yesterday did you know Brian Boyle was going to play? Have you talked to him? COACH COOPER: Truthfully, yes, he was game big time. Q. When you went with seven "D", you must have been pretty confident he could make it through the game? COACH COOPER: There is no way. I wouldn't put a player in if I was going to sit here and say, let's see if he gets through the game. If he's playing, he's healthy, or he's going to get into the game and give us everything he has. Q. Johnny has a lot of skill and speed there and a lot of guys talks about how smart of a hockey player and how savvy he is. In what ways on the ice do you see that manifest itself in the way he plays the game? COACH COOPER: Well, I think all the big‑time players in the league, and Johnny is starting to make a name for himself in the league. You have to have hockey sense, and what hockey sense is to people probably means different things. But look at all the situations he plays in. You've got to be somewhat of a smart player to be a penalty killer and play on the power play. It's not like he sits there and stands on the net front and gets pounded the whole time. He's got to make plays, and he plays when we're up a goal, down a goal. You look at guys like that and they know how to play the game. It's topped off with his determination and his will that makes him what he is. Q. Is this team built that you almost don't have to rely on one superstar or one guy to contribute every night, game in and game out? COACH COOPER: Well, I'm sure we're probably built a little bit more than other teams are. When I look though, I look at we've been‑‑ the lion's share of our goals have been by one line. But you look in there and you see, well, Killorn's quietly having himself a pretty darn good playoff while everybody's kind of looking at the triplets. You know, Stammer's‑‑ what does he have, five goals? And I don't know how many points he's up. He's probably right behind Johnny in points in our team. He's quietly having‑‑ his game has taken off since the first round. But all the attention is put on some guys, and we know we have other guys in the bank. Everybody is contributing. For Johnny to obviously score the first three goals and do what he did, it's pretty remarkable. But our group, we kind of lean on other guys, and it's really fortunate to me as a coach. Q. What did the tape show you today or last night? COACH COOPER: You know, I didn't watch it so I wouldn't have to answer. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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