|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: BLACKHAWKS v LIGHTNINGJune 14, 2015Jon CooperCHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Practice Day Q. Jon, going back to the lawyer part of things, speaking in front of people, are you a big speech guy before a big game like this? COACH COOPER: I don't know. I've delivered speeches to the team on numerous occasions. I think in some of these situations, I don't know if one's required. A lot of times, I speak from the heart or in the moment. But, probably in a situation like this, I will not be the only one speaking. I can pretty much guarantee you that. I think we'll have a bunch of guys in our room that will have a lot to say. Usually when that happens, we've responded really well. Q. Can you provide a detailed update on Nikita Kucherov, please? COACH COOPER: Love you guys. Define 'detailed (laughter)'. He was on the plane. I would say he's much along the lines of Ben Bishop and how he was. We'll have an optional skate tomorrow, so don't read anything into it if he's not on the ice. He's in considerably better shape today than he was last night. To be honest, I thought there was a chance he was coming back last night. But it didn't work out. These two days will give him the rest he needs. I don't want to put my foot in my mouth and say something that is out of line. I haven't talked to the trainers today. As you all know, I make a habit of seeing you first, then going to see them. Q. Jon, the longest stretch Steven went through the season without a goal were a couple of three‑game stretches.  He's had long stretches in these playoffs. Is that because there's a lot more attention being paid to him? Has anything changed? COACH COOPER: Well, things have changed. First of all, you're playing the best team in the West with arguably some of the best defensemen in the league. So that is going to have an effect on everybody. I think he sees that attention. So he has to go against the best players every single shift. The one thing about Stammer, I never worry about his goal scoring or his ability to score. He puts himself in the right positions all the time. You know, if he scored every night, he'd have 112 goals right now or 113 goals. It's hard to score in this league. He had 40 goals and was second in the league in goal scoring. Has he had a couple bad breaks? For sure. I think he's missed a couple that usually go in for him. He's probably scored a couple in his stretch when he was scoring that usually don't go in, but they go in for him. There's no concern on our part. I've watched that kid rise to the occasion every time he's been asked. We're going to need him to rise to the occasion tomorrow night, and I have no doubt he will. Q. Jon, with the injuries you have had to battle through, you are battling through, not just to depth players, but big contributors, how much do you think for your team this is going to come down to a battle of will? COACH COOPER: Well, I think we are at that, to be honest. This is Game 6. Every game's been a one‑goal game. I've loved our will. We've set a bar for us that's been fantastic. But now, for Game 6, we're going to have to rise above that. We have to find a way. I watched the game today on the plane. We battled. I talk about this all the time, how you watch games, think we played okay, look at the video, Oh, boy, we sucked. Or it works the opposite. I watched that game last night, I was really happy. Those guys competed so hard. You know, pucks were just hitting sticks or going off of skates, goalies were bumping into defensemen. That's kind of the way it's gone the last two games for us. I can never sit here and say our guys are not gaming it out. Sure, we've had injuries. I'm sure they've had injuries. But to your statement, I think, you know, our will's been unreal. Somehow we're going to have to find a way to scratch a little bit more out. No doubt they will. Q. Playoffs started 61 days ago. Does it feel like a long time ago? Does it feel like time has flown for you? Has it felt like a grind? In that time, have you learned anything about yourself? COACH COOPER: That's a lot. I could be up here all day, which I know you don't want that (laughter). The Detroit series seems like last season. It truly does. The league does those kind of game recaps or series recaps, stuff like that. A couple games ago we all sat in the office and watched our whole progression. We found ourselves watching the Detroit series, Wow, what happens here? That's how long ago it seems. But I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world. It's been a phenomenal ride that is not over. I've said this many times to you and to our team. We have to embrace this and have fun with this. I think that's part of the reason why we're still here. But the one thing about this group that I've learned is when it's time to go to work, these guys punch the clock and step on the ice. It's been a pleasure and an honor to coach these guys, to the point where I basically almost stand there. They almost kind of run themselves. To be this close, gosh, it would be a shame if we couldn't try to pull this one off. Q. Jon, you read the temperature of the players. How would you rate the players' mood and temperature at this point in time before Game 6? COACH COOPER: Naturally there was disappointment, actually a little bit of rage after the game. The guys were genuinely ticked off. I clearly did not want to lose that game. But walking in there, there's a difference. You want the team that's ticked off and angry or you want the team that has their heads buried in their hands? Our group was the angry group. If they're going to be angry birds tomorrow night, that's what I want. Usually they're rock solid when they come out with that mentality. Q. You were talking the other day about your use of timeout, using them as a time to rest. In a third period, are you thinking of doing that or are you hesitant to give the opponent that same rest? COACH COOPER: I've gone both ways on it in my coaching career. I think when you have a group like we have, and we've got lots of depth and scoring, we have a talented group, I like to continue the chaos. I don't like the other team to rest. I don't want to give them a chance to get their guys on when I know full well we've got two units of guys that can go out there and get the job done. So the players are well‑versed in six‑on‑five. We don't need to call a timeout to play a faceoff play. The guys know everything that's supposed to go on. I'm not saying that happens every single time, but I thought last night we had the chaos going, and unfortunately we get that puck up to Garry. Just the way the game was going. It rolls on him, goes through his legs, out of the zone. Then we struggle to get back in. The game before, that was chaos.  We've given ourselves chances to score. But, yeah, if we don't have to use that timeout, I won't. Q. Shot attempts, Chicago has three more than you in five games. No series has ever not had a two‑goal lead through five games. What's the difference between these two teams and how much can you control that difference? COACH COOPER: That's a good question. The great thing about this series is I don't think anybody knows who is going to win until that final buzzer goes off. I think both teams play a similar style. To sit here and say, you know, whether it's myself or Joel controls some part of this, I don't know if we really do. I think what's been in our control is grooming our teams for the playoffs. I think the reason we're standing here today, both of us, is because of the will of our players. You put them in the situations to try and succeed. I think both groups have done that. But you look at the margin of error in these games, Hedy bumping into Bish, that was arguably the margin of error in the game. How often does that happen? Yeah, I look at Stammer's open net hitting Seabrook's stick. Stammer did everything right, except he nicked Seabrook's stick. That's the margin of error in these games. We can go down the list. I'm sure it works the same way for Chicago. Marian Hossa misses what I considered a six‑by‑four. We end up winning that game. It's crazy how those little things have turned out. I forgot who brought the statement up yesterday, and I hadn't thought about it. Crawford turns it over to Kuch. Instead of putting it in, he puts his head in the post. The other way, it goes the other way, it ends up in the net for them. It's expect the unexpected. That's why this has been such a fun series to watch, because you never know what's going to happen. But I think you can't sit here and say both teams aren't trying to win this. They're battling hard. Q. Speaking of Kuch, if he can't go, that line is difficult to replace. In an ideal world, how would you like to fill that spot while maintaining the balance you've had? COACH COOPER: I don't know. I'll work on that when I find out if Kuch can't go. Q. How did Ben get through last night's game and how would you describe his status heading into Game 6? COACH COOPER: Ben, he was fine. He felt much better. I thought he played an exceptional game. We're sitting here giving up two goals or less a game. You can't ask for much more than that from your goaltenders. We've got to start putting a few pucks in the net. But he's feeling much better. Q. You mentioned going back and watching the games on the plane. When you're watching that, what have you seen your team do against Patrick Kane that has contained him? What are you expecting out of him in the next game? COACH COOPER: I can't sit here and say, We have this magic plan against Patrick Kane. We have a plan against the Chicago Blackhawks, he just happens to play on the team. Do we pay special attention, i.e., Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman? Yes, we do. It's probably much in the same of the Stammer role, where he sees either Keith, Hjalmarsson, someone like that. It's good players going against good players. Actually it's great players going against great players. Somebody is usually going to win that battle for a while. If this was a best of 14, who knows, maybe Kane and Stammer would have six if that were the case. But I know that he's working hard. Our defensemen are working hard. Our guys are battling their tails off. It's a funny game like that. Sometimes you're hot, sometimes you're not. I always look to see if the guys are competing, guys are putting themselves in positions to score. I'm not following Kane as much, but I know for our guy he's doing all that. It's just a matter of time. I'm sure Joel probably thinks the same thing about his guy. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|