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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: LIGHTNING v RANGERSMay 27, 2015Jon CooperNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Practice Day Q. Just wondering, can you give us some insight into how today fits in the preparation, what's being asked of the players, and what are you the coaches up to? COACH COOPER: Well, the coaches are being coaches. There's never really a day of rest for the staff, and you're always trying to find different ways how we can do‑‑ what we can do better to help us prepare to win Game 7. Players, it's a full day off. They're ‑‑ we need the rest. You know the old saying, rest is a weapon, this is kind of how we're using today. Then players will go back ‑‑ players will get back to work tomorrow. But, as I said, the staff, they're doing everything possible to see if we can find some things that will help us win Game 7. I guess the one thing is, it is the 7th game, and I don't think there are any secrets between the two teams anymore. It's just going to be one of those games where let's strap 'em up and play 'em, let's see who comes out on top. Q. Alex Killorn kind of hinted at this word out there about this bug running through the room, said there's about three or four guys kind of struggling with it a little bit. Can you give us an update on the health of the team? I know you said last night you could use the day off to get healthy. I don't know if you meant that injury‑wise or if that was a reference to the supposed bug that's running around. But can you clear that up that whole thing about the bug? Do you have a bit of a flu thing that's running through the room at this point? COACH COOPER: The one thing about getting rest, it can mean in a whole bunch of different ‑‑ a whole bunch of different meanings, whether it's a physical injury or an internal virus. We basically‑‑ we're preparing for Game 7, and anything that's happened in the past or may have affected our team, that's not in our mindset at all. We're just trying to do our best to win this series. You know what, maybe after it's all said and done, more things will come out of what's happened in our room. But we're putting the best lineup we can as possible. Guys, I think through a playoff series, especially when you get to the Conference Finals, people have all sorts of things wrong with them. I'm sure the Rangers have guys that things are going on with them that's not coming out in the media. So it's probably happening to both teams. As I said, this extra day for us is definitely a benefit. Q. Talk about J.T. Brown a little bit. Boy, every time he's on the ice, it seems like he's creating something, whether it's a scoring chance or just seemingly playing at a high level. Talk about his play and what you've liked about it? COACH COOPER: It's funny about J.T., because he was kind of one of those guys that was in and out of the lineup a little bit this year. We didn't have a ton of injuries up front during the regular season, so we carried 13 forwards, and J.T. was one of those guys that was out probably a little bit more than not. But the one thing I know about J.T., I learned a ton about that kid in the playoffs last year when we played Montreal. When we were trying to get back into the series and we were basically running down the three lines, J.T. found his way on to one of those three lines and he was a huge contributor for us. The one thing we always had in our back pocket is J.T.'s a team player. He's a phenomenal teammate, and you win with guys like that. He understood his role here during the year, and I was fairly certain that by the time we got to the playoffs, this guy was going to be an everyday‑er and a big contributor. I'm sure he sat here said, oh, he'd like to get on the score sheet a little bit more. But there's so many things he does for us, his speed, his tenacity, his determination, they're just huge factors for us and our team. It's only a matter of time, I'm just hoping one of these pucks go in for him, because if there's one guy that deserves it, it's J.T. Really proud of the way he's handled himself this year, and he's getting rewarded here in the playoffs. Q. Rangers are 7‑0 all time at home in Game 7. That could intimidate some people. But I wonder if you think with your group there's a healthy dose of cockiness and confidence that I think has helped you guys succeed as a young group. Do you think they would actually look at that as an opportunity to make a little history? COACH COOPER: Our group's so young, I'm not even sure they read your column, Pierre. They're too busy playing video games. I don't know if‑‑ in all seriousness, though, I think it's to me and to our team, their 7‑0 record or whatever it is, that hasn't happened against us. Everything is in the past. It's like the first six games of this series, when you really think about it, do they really mean anything? They really don't. It's just it's come down to a one‑game series. Game 7 is the only one that matters. So, there was some other stat that was out there that Lundqvist had some record in his Game 5, 6 and 7s, and we found a way to break that in Game 5. I don't think ‑‑ I think maybe for the Rangers, you get to hang your hat on that and have a little confidence to say we've done this in the past, we can do it again. And you're going to look at our team and say we don't care, we haven't been a part of that history, so it doesn't affect us. It can be spun both ways. All I know is that I guess you look back and it's an impressive feat to see what they've done. But they haven't done it against our group and our team, and as you said, we've got a pretty young, confident group. When they've been pushed against the wall, they've found an unbelievable way to push back, and we're looking for that again on Friday. Q. You were talking about needing rest here on these two off days. Does that really apply especially to Ben Bishop because he made 19 starts in a row and this is his first real deep run in the postseason, could he use maybe the physical and mental break maybe more than anybody else on your team? COACH COOPER: To be honest, I never really thought of it that way, but you're probably right in the sense he has played a lot of hockey. I don't even know if it's really the mental aspect of the whole thingas it is ‑‑ or the physical aspect as it is the mental aspect. When you have to get yourself up every single second day, that can be pretty trying on a starting goaltender. I think he seemed to have past that test, because in every series we've gone, the kid seems to have upped his game. I know we look here and say, well, he gave up five last night. I don't think any of us on this call could sit here and say Ben was the big reason we gave up the five. It was a lot of the five guys ahead of him. He's the last line of defense. He did everything he could to keep the puck out of the net. It was our five guys in front of him that didn't help him out. The one thing about him is, he's a mentally tough kid. When he's been challenged, he's responded. But there's no question for this day to have everybody just take a breath, relax, I think ‑‑ because if memory serves me correctly, I think this may be the only one or maybe we had one more in this 40‑plus days we've been in the playoffs of having a complete off day, you know, if you don't take in the travel and everything else that goes into being in the playoffs. So I think there is a much needed day, probably especially for Ben. Q. You've been effusive in praise for Anton Stralman, and he's a guy who's, I believe, 5‑0 or 6‑0 in Game 7s in his career, and he plays with such calmness and such poise and patience. Is this the time when that sort of manifests itself? Do you guys need to take your cues from a guy like that in the situation that you're in now? COACH COOPER: Well, I think Stralman‑‑ I don't have enough words to talk about Anton Stralman, how much he means to us as a team. But you know how it is when you see somebody, when the pressure is at its highest, and somebody walks out of there as calm as can be, that's Anton Stralman. And our team, you just hear the guys on the bench praise him and how ‑‑ the things he's done for us. Just having that confidence that we get to throw him over the boards every second shift, it's just a luxury for us. But the one thing, I look at now‑‑ it was July, and we were looking at who are we going to bring in? Who are the winners? Who are the guys that have been there before and have found a way? And at the top of that list was Anton Stralman. When we were fortunate enough to ink him, I knew that was a turn for our team, especially after watching the run that the Rangers had last year and going to the Final. Even though he didn't get the praise that some of the other defensemen on the team got, I thought it was just in total Anton Stralman style. He just goes under the radar, yet he was kind of their hidden MVP to me. To pull in these guys with the winning pedigrees, including the Brian Boyles and the Morrows, and the guys that have been there before, but it's Anton Stralman that's at the top of the list. I think the emergence of Victor Hedman, a lot of that can be put with being paired with Anton Stralman. And that pair to me is as good as any pair in the league. Q. You mentioned last night a young group learning, going through a lot of firsts together. How much did the experience in Game 7 against Detroit help a lot of these young guys, especially ‑‑ not like the Stralmans and Morrows who have been there before, maybe feel a little more calm tomorrow night or Friday night? COACH COOPER: I think when you have success in them, that was the biggest thing for us. Like we went through a Game 7 and won. Right away you just know you can do it, regardless of who the opponent is. When you get to this time of the year, it doesn't matter whether you're playing Detroit, Montreal, Rangers, whoever it is, these are unreal hockey teams, well deserving of being in the playoffs. Any team can take anybody out on any night. But for us, knowing that under the highest pressure situation when your season has the potential ‑‑ can potentially end or you can go on and play for the Stanley Cup, our guys have responded. When we had the success and found a way to win, I think that was what really pushed us in the Montreal series and I think helped push us in the Rangers series. We know we can do this. It's just a matter of we're going to have to do it again in a short couple of weeks. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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