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TIM HORTONS NHL HERITAGE CLASSIC

October 23, 2016

Todd McLellan

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Edmonton - 3, Winnipeg - 0

Q. Todd, other than the three goals you were able to score in the second period, what stood out for you as to why your club was able to do what they did at that span and be able to win this game?
TODD McLELLAN: Well, I think first of all, we touched on it yesterday. It's easier to be the road team. I'm convinced of that now in these events. San Jose we were the home team. There's way more distractions. It feels like it's a bit of a circus at times when you're a home team. We were able to just focus. We had a good practice yesterday. Our penalty kill was exceptional. This team lit us up in the exhibition season, and there were some things we had to fix, and we did that. Goaltending was fine, a good team effort.

Q. Todd, how did you think the guys handled the two-hour delay?
TODD McLELLAN: I thought they were fine. Everybody was excited about playing the game. They in the back of their minds knew something wasn't going to go off at 2:00. With the amount of sun we had yesterday in practice there was a good chance there was going to be a delay. They came to the rink. They stayed loose, casual in the locker room. Continued to have a good memory about the game plan, I guess, and when it was time to play, we played, and again, I think that favors the visitors.

Q. Todd, I don't want to make too much of three games, but it seems that over the last little while, you mentioned how happy you were with the way your team played against St. Louis. It seems like what used to be a weakness for this team, being able to play defensively, being able to lock teams down, is slowly becoming a strength. Do you think it's fair to say that at this point, or are you comfortable saying that?
TODD McLELLAN: Well, I think we have to give our players some credit, and you can't continually tie this group of individuals to the past because we're a different group. A one-player change makes us a different group. But we have done a fairly good job. I thought we started the season sloppily and won games. We gave up a lot of opportunities and chances. We were very sleepy and casual against Buffalo, and we went after the group pretty hard, but after that, we responded well, and we played two pretty good teams here, three pretty good teams over the last little bit and played the game a lot better.

Do we make mistakes? Of course we do, and when we do, we seem to have a goaltender that makes some pretty good saves, which is nice to have, but we're a growth team. I wouldn't consider us a championship team or anything like that right now. We're still a growth team. We're learning how to do things. We're learning how to do it individually and collectively.

I think players this year I find have accepted roles a little bit more. They kind of know when their time is going to be. You take Lander and Letestu, for example, they're patient enough, they know when their time is coming, and then they get out and they do their jobs, instead of getting impatient on the bench. Even some of our offensive guys, they know when their time is and then they hand of the torch a little bit, so we're starting to develop that a bit, as well.

Q. Todd, considering the deal with the delay, the planes flying over, the anthems, all the ceremonies and stuff that was part of that game, when it came time to drop the puck, it looked like they ignored all that stuff and got right to the two points.
TODD McLELLAN: Yeah, and you know what, I think Winnipeg did, as well. Both teams were ready. I think they were excited to play. I really do. Distractions and planes and all that other stuff, the music, the anthem -- and Winnipeg did a tremendous job, by the way, the city and the team, of putting it on. But both teams were ready to play. They were anxious to play. Both teams did a good job of putting it all aside and participating.

Q. Your team is as of this very moment, depending on what happens in Vancouver, but you're first in the NHL standings. It's early, but is that something you would point out to your team or accentuate with this group considering how difficult it's been for so long here?
TODD McLELLAN: Well, players are as bright and attentive to stats and standings and analytics as they've ever been, and by no means do I have to go in and post something up on the wall. They know what they've done over the last little bit.

What's important for our group is we broke the season down into smaller segments, and we left a segment behind coming into this game, and we started a new one. So as we continually turn pages throughout the year, we're going to have some good segments, we're going to have some average and some poor ones, but this segment has allowed us to get off on a good footing.

Q. A shorthanded goal is always a little bit unexpected and maybe a little bit jarring for a team that gives it up. Can you talk about the value of that goal from Letestu and about him in general on that PK?
TODD McLELLAN: Well, our penalty kill has some success, I believe, because of Test's mind, his ability to read the plays. He's a very cerebral player. He's positionally strong. He anticipates plays. Not the fastest guy, but his smarts allow him to get into position to kill plays but also to get those breakaways. Having a right-handed face-off guy is important there, as well. So he has the ability to settle things down, and again, he's accepted that role. He doesn't have to be a 20-minute player. He knows what he is, and he's accepted it, and he's done a good job.

The penalty kill itself came up big, not only with the shorthanded goal, but almost in the same kill, we go down and Darnell steps out of the box and we score another one, so that's deflating. That happened to us earlier in the year. The power play was sloppy, we gave up two shorties, and it stings. It takes a lot out of your team, and a lot of energy and passion goes out the window, and you've got to start all over again.

Q. One president picks up the phone, phones another, and says, hey, we're having an outdoor game, we want you to be our opponent. Yeah, great, for sure. Then at a certain point it gets handed to you, it's your challenge to manage it all, you get hired and fired from wins and losses. Do you get on the plane tonight sort of, wow, great, that was fun, I got my two points and kind of sigh of relief and let's get out of here?
TODD McLELLAN: Yeah, but I think we'd do that if we played at the MTS Centre, too. We get the points, we jump on the plane, we get going and we're happy. Tonight is a night full of memories for both teams. Win or lose, you have something you're going to talk to your kids about, your family. You're going to tell stories, success or failure. You'll remember good and bad things about it.

These games are important for the fans, for the league, for hockey in general, but they're important for the players, too. It's a different night. They look forward to it. We do, as well, as coaches, and I think my two experiences now at the outdoor games -- the next one we go to, I hope we're the road team.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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