	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL: LIGHTNING v PENGUINS

May 24, 2016

Jon Cooper

Tampa, Florida: Game Six

Pittsburgh – 5
Tampa Bay – 2

Q. (No microphone.)
COACH COOPER: I don't know, I guess you look back now because we lost the game and say, oh, maybe that has something to do with it, but that was really early in the game. I thought we had lots of energy, and that would have been nice if that counted, but I don't think something that happens that early should have an effect on the game, so no.

Q. Coop, a couple times in this series, a comeback has masked these late period goals that have manifested itself. I think it's five now in the final 90 seconds. How do you explain that, and how do you fix it?
COACH COOPER: Well, I guess you could sit here and say giving up a goal in the last minute, it's not ideal, but I just think giving up goals is not ideal. Whether you score them in the first minute, the last minute, it doesn't matter. You're still giving up a goal.
Unfortunately, you put yourself behind three, regardless of when they scored them, they still scored three. It's tough to mount a comeback. Just as we scored four a couple of games ago, and it's tough for them to come back. You know, is it magnified because it's in the last minute? I guess. But 3-0 is 3-0. Doesn't matter when they score them.

Q. Jon, you said a number of times in these playoffs that, at this time of year, your best players need to be your best players, and you guys have done that a bunch of times. How much of a difference in this game was it with Crosby and Kessel delivering, and I know a lot of these guys didn't have their best game?
COACH COOPER: I don't know. What's the question about that?

Q. You say your best players need to be your best players. How much was their stars, Crosby and those guys, stepping up, a factor in this game?
COACH COOPER: They played better than us for two periods. That was it. All their players pretty much played better than all our players for 40 minutes. All our players played probably better than them for 20 minutes. That's it. Can't sit here and say one star played better than the other, no.
Kessel had a five-on-three goal that was a big goal for him, but I can't say these guys -- they played well as a team. You can't single out guys. It's a team game. So we just -- I said this a few games ago. We have to play better. That's the bottom line. Usually the team that plays better wins.

Q. Coop, I know there wasn't any positives tonight, but Slater looked like he got a ton of ice time in the third period. Can you talk about how much he's grown in the past week or so?
COACH COOPER: It's been great. I answered it today already. When he's gone down to the minors, he's worked his tail off, and he's really using his legs to be an asset for him. And he's just growing more confident now. He feels like he belongs in the National Hockey League, and he's showing it.

Q. Coop, last year at this time, you talked about the emotional roller coaster and lessons learned. In nearly an identical situation this year, heading into Game 7, what can you take from last year, and what lessons have been learned this year?
COACH COOPER: Well, I could take from last year, when we went to Game 7, we won Game 7, and that -- we'll be thinking about that. It's ultimately we can't spot a team like this a three-goal lead. You're probably alluding to the Rangers series last year, and you've got to go back to a tough environment, just like the Garden was last year, and you've got to have your A-game. That's the lesson that's ahead of us now. We had our chance to knock them out tonight.
Give Pittsburgh a ton of credit for the way they played and how they handled things. They volleyed the ball into our court, and now it's time for us to smash it back.

Q. I was going to ask about that, but just your goaltender, obviously, no one would blame him for the way he played, but do you feel like defensively the number of goals you've given up in this series is a little upsetting? Or what would you say? How would you characterize it?
COACH COOPER: We kind of pride ourselves on being a pretty darn good defensive team. I don't know how we finished at the end of the year, but I'm pretty sure we were in the top five all year. And aside from a couple of these games here, we've kind of been like that in the playoffs.
It's tough to go through a whole playoff run and just give up one or two goals every single night. We had some great (indiscernible), there's no question. Have we probably given up more chances than we'd ever like to? We have.
Tip your hat to them too. We're down to the Final Four, and we're heading to Game 7. You have two pretty darn good teams going at it, but if we want to advance, playing "D" is going to have to be our mandate.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297