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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: BLACKHAWKS v DUCKSMay 28, 2015Francois BeaucheminAndrew CoglianoANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA: Practice Day THE MODERATOR: We have Francois Beauchemin and Andrew Cogliano on the line. We'll start with questions. Q. Andrew, you have talked about playing angry. That's often when you guys have played your best. Can you define on the ice what that means? Did you feel like you had that sufficient level of anger there in Game 6? ANDREW COGLIANO: Obviously we didn't. I think as the game went on, I thought the first period was as good as you could maybe do in that type of atmosphere, being in an elimination game, Chicago, playing obviously a really good team. I thought we did a good job in terms of playing like we needed to play. But I think the one thing that is troublesome for us last game, all the goals we gave them were basically on plays that we know we can't give them. They're a really strong team through the neutral zone, they capitalize on turnovers, when they get an opportunity they score. I think that's exactly what you saw. They had a few obviously great looks. Their top‑end players made some plays that you won't see too often. But we gave them those opportunities to do that, mostly on us with defensive zone coverage and turnovers. I think we've been doing a pretty good job during the series of limiting those chances for them, which is why I think we're in the position we're in.  Last night, other than the first period, and obviously in the third when we were the ones chasing the game, we basically gave them the game. But I think we've had games where we've played with a purpose, and I don't think guys were happy with their games last night. It's a matter of responding. Q. It was the overtime wins that really irritated you, and you responded in Game3 and 5 to that. Is this anger, is it atoning for your own performance looking at Game 7? Is that something that you will use as fuel? ANDREW COGLIANO: I think so. I think we wasted an opportunity to eliminate a team, eliminate a really good team, and get to your final goal. I don't know how to say it, but we did that by really not managing the game. I think guys are upset with doing that. You know, we didn't give up 50 shots, basically we didn't get lucky in terms of that. But I think we gave them exactly what they were looking for. I think that's the frustrating part. We know their strengths. We know how good those players are. When you give them too much time, they're going to make you pay, like they did last night. I don't think guys were happy with their individual performances. You know what, I think there's only one way to make it right, and that's the last game. As I say that, they're only going to get better, too. They've been in this situation before and they want to win as bad as we do. Q. Francois, looking at the series from the outside, looking at your team from the outside, we all know how the last playoff series went against Detroit, L.A. Ryan Getzlaf said, It's all on me, I wasn't good enough. Do your leaders need to step up, your best players have to be your best players? How important is it tomorrow night for Getzlaf and Perry in particular to come out and do what Toews and Kane did last night, and Duncan Keith? FRANCOIS BEAUCHEMIN: I think that's all you can ask from a team. You ask anybody going into a Game 7, you need all 20 guys to show up, pulling the same direction. I think you look at last night's game, we gave them those three goals in about a five‑minute span. Other than that, the rest of the game, we were in pretty good shape. Freddie made a couple big saves to give us a chance. That two‑on‑one in the second period, we have a chance to come back in the third. But you need everybody to step up, leaders included in this. You can't just have two, three guys going in Game 7. You need 20 guys going, your goalie making big saves, and that's how you're going to have success. Q. Can you completely forget about the past in Anaheim? This is your third home Game 7. You've got a really good team. The last two haven't gone the way you wanted it to go. FRANCOIS BEAUCHEMIN: Yeah, you can. The last two years, we were a different team. We were a younger team. We added some players last summer that have been making the difference all year long for our team. Like I said, it's not going to be the same Ducks that played Game 7 the last two years. Game 6, I don't think we had a bad game. We made some turnovers. We had some defensive zone breakdowns. But we had our chances in the third to come back. I think that's a positive you can take out of it. Q. This series, fans are talking about it. It's been highly entertaining. I don't expect you're able to enjoy it because you're competing at such a high level, trying to survive. Could you tell me how it feels to be competing in this series when it's clearly two exceptional teams both playing at a high level. It's obviously not a normal way for you guys to play. ANDREW COGLIANO: I think you made a good point in terms of it's tough to enjoy sometimes. But it's been incredible. I think, obviously, you want series to go quickly. You want to be the winning team. But this is as good of a series as I've been a part of. Obviously Beauch has played in more playoff games than me, been to the Stanley Cup Finals. For myself, a big part of it is you're facing some of the most elite players in the league. You're going head‑to‑head with guys like Toews, Kane, who really are two of the top players. They have been on championship teams. I think it's good to know, and it feels obviously like you're playing at a high level when you're competing against those guys. Really there would be no better feeling beating them simply because they've been there, done that, they've won. We know what they're about. The series has been great. I think both buildings have been phenomenal. I think it just describes what playoff hockey is about.  It's been a rollercoaster. I think at the end of the day for everyone it's something we'll look back on and enjoy the experience. FRANCOIS BEAUCHEMIN: For me, this series is the most exciting series I've ever been a part of as far as games changing, being up, being down, coming back, Chicago coming back on us in Game5, getting that win in overtime, and again last game being down 3‑0 and coming back with two goals, us with a chance to win. Seems like every game, the team that was down, found a way to come back and make a game out of it. Even if you're down by two, three goals, the other team always found a way to come back. It's been a great series, an exciting series for the fans, an exciting series to play. Emotions are going up and down, highs and lows. You try to keep as level as you can, but at the same time, it's an exciting series. It's for sure the most exciting series I've ever been a part of personally. Q. Last night Kes reiterated the physical play you have been dishing out has been building up to Game 7. Do you agree with that? Do you think you're close to getting that little edge, wearing down, from Chicago after six games, six overtimes, all the rigors of this series? ANDREW COGLIANO: Yeah, you know, you hope obviously the amount of physical play we've been able to play with, we hope in the long run it helps us in Game 7. They're really resilient. Even though they play a lot, seems they're still moving well and still make plays. I think at the end of the day the physical part of our team and being physical on the forecheck and hitting is more about what our team's about. I think you hope it's taking a toll on them, but I think it's more how we play the game, and when we're more effective. I think that's the one important thing that I look at is, the more pucks we get in, the more we play to our system in terms of being hard on the forecheck, making their defense play, turning all night, the more time we spend in their end, the more time they're defending. We don't know if it's taken that much of a toll on them. We hope it has. Obviously we've been trying to play as physical as we can on guys like Keith, Oduya and Seabrook. They've done this before. We're not the only team that's been trying to play a physical brand against them in the playoffs. The most important thing for us is we know when we do that we're very successful as a team and we end up creating momentum off of it. That's the only thing personally I know we can point to in the final game, keep doing what we're doing, especially at home, because at home we've had success like that. Q. Guys that are difficult to forecheck, would you consider Duncan Keith one of those guys? What challenges does it present checking him, covering him, trying to be physical with him, at the same time trying to limit your risk? ANDREW COGLIANO: Yeah, I think he's obviously as good as it gets. You think you're going to have an opportunity to hit him, get in on him, and then when you're there, he's kind of out of the way already. I think the most important thing of playing against him, the only thing you really can do basically against him, is make him play D zone coverage. The more D zone he's playing, hopefully the more tired he gets. A guy like Hjalmarsson has blocked a lot of pucks, is a guy that battles hard. The more those guys battle in the D zone, especially against bigger guys on our team like Maroon, Getzy and Perry, it's harder on them. Keith moves the puck quick, then he forces you to play defense because he jumps back into play. Q. Both you have been involved with these teams over the course of the last couple years with Game 7 home losses. Coach made a point that there's no motivation needed for a Game 7 that you can go to the Stanley Cup Final with. For you guys, is there some sort of motivation to play for your legacy here Saturday, that you don't want this team to be recalled that was a good regular‑season team, but to get that championship and win a championship? FRANCOIS BEAUCHEMIN: For sure, I mean, it's been our goal all year. Our goal wasn't to get to the Conference Final, our goal was to get to the Stanley Cup Final. We have a chance to do that in Game 7 here. It takes pride. You know, losing those last two Game 7s has been hard on everybody. Now we have a chance to regroup and get ourselves a chance to win that game at home, in a good series that we've played pretty solid hockey at times. We just have to be doing it for a full 60 minutes Saturday and things should go well. Q. Redemption, so to speak, is that right? ANDREW COGLIANO: Yeah, like Beauch said, last Game 7 took a toll on us. As he said earlier, I think we're a different team, I really do. I think we have guys now on the team, guys that have been brought in, that have been in these situations before, I think know what it takes to win. Everyone is a year older now. I think it's just going to take our best game. I think we've been successful playing at home this year. We've done a good job of being a hard team to play against in our building throughout the regular season as well. Yeah, I think obviously we just need to play. I think guys need to individually prepare and be ready to execute. I think that's what it comes down to. Obviously these moments are more about going out there and being individually ready to play. I think if guys are ready to play, ready to execute, ready to play in the system and compete as hard as they're going to compete, then I think we're going to give ourselves a chance to win and we'll be successful. But it's going to be tough. It's going to take our best game. They're a team that wants it as bad as we do. It should be obviously as good of a game as you'll see in the series. Q. Beauch, when it comes to the young guys, Hampus and Sami, I don't think that Game 6 was either of their best games. Are you going to say anything unique to either of those guys about Game 7, this is what we should be doing? FRANCOIS BEAUCHEMIN: Well, I don't think anybody played their best game obviously the last game. Sami and Hampus, like you mentioned, I don't think anybody played their best. I might put a word in there. But they know the situation we're at. They know it's a Game 7. I'll probably just tell them to just go out there and make plays. We've done it all year long. We have to keep things simple, move the pucks a little quicker, move our feet, then you'll get up in the play like you usually do. Nothing has to change. Just have to come back to sticking to our game plan for a full 60 minutes. Q. Andrew, what do you make of the team's going first winning each game in this series. How important will a good start be on Saturday? ANDREW COGLIANO: I think obviously we've interchanged wins throughout the series. I think it just speaks to the teams, how they respond. I think both teams are resilient. Both teams want to win. Both teams are good at getting back on the horse when they fall off. The starts have been important I think in all the games. I thought last game we had a good start. I thought we had a really good start in the first period and did everything we needed to do, but they still won. I think it's just important for us to get to our game early. It's not about going out there, obviously you want to score first and get things going, but it's not about forcing plays, making plays you're not supposed to be making, it's about getting into our groove and getting into our system. I think if we do that, guys are feeling comfortable, things kind of evolve from there. Obviously they're going to look to have a much better start than the last game in our building. It's our job to come out and put the pressure on them like we did. I think it's a matter of just little things. Getting pucks in at the right time, I think that's such an important part of this series, not giving them the opportunity to transition well and have opportunities like they did last night. I think if we're making them play in their end, the better off we are. You want to get the fans in your building involved, get everybody involved in the game and feeling good early. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, everyone, for joining us on today's call. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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