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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: LIGHTNING v RANGERSMay 27, 2015Victor HedmanNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Practice Day 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, you know, 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, you know, 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 Finals, 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, you know, 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, you know, all the extra days you get during a playoff is obviously going to help. It's been a tough stretch, you know, 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, you know, 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, you know, 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 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 walls. 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 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. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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