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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL: DUCKS VS PREDATORSMay 13, 2017James NealAnaheim, California - Practice Day Q. The resiliency from last night, you guys still found a way. Can you speak to that not only last night but in this post-season? JAMES NEAL: Yeah, I think last night we had a good start. We came out, we were playing fast, and they found a goal, it was a great shot. But I don't think we let it bother us. We kept to our game and kept focus, and that's what we needed to do. Q. Plenty of shots last night; did you like the quality of shots you saw in Game 1 or is there room for improvement? JAMES NEAL: I mean, I think there's always room for improvement. I'll take a look at it, see what you can do better. But they'll do the same, and they'll adjust, and when you do those -- we'll look forward to another solid game. Q. What happens to a goal scorer when he gets hot or gets on a roll? JAMES NEAL: Well, I think you just -- you feel good about your game. You're confident with your game. You're getting the looks. You're getting the shots, and you have that patience with the puck, and you feel like you're dangerous all over the ice. It's like being in the zone, and when you're like that, like I said, you feel that you can put the puck in from anywhere. Q. How big of a part of that is patience, sort of not pressing? JAMES NEAL: Yeah, I think it's definitely not gripping your stick too hard and forcing things, but it's getting in the right areas. It's getting open. It's being in the right spots. It's going in the net. It's getting away from the net. It's going in at the right times and getting your shots as much as possible, getting it through traffic. There's tight checking and there's guys going to be on you all the time, but if you can separate yourself just a little bit and get your shot off and get a chance, you're doing the right thing. Q. That goal in the third period in St. Louis, was that a spark for you, the one near the blue line in the third period of Game 4? JAMES NEAL: Yeah, for sure it gives you confidence. Any goal scorer or anybody that gets a goal, you know, any time in the Playoffs, it's emotional. It's an amazing feeling. You know, the way your teammates come after you, how excited the crowd is, just everything about it's a lot of fun. It gives you definitely a good boost. Q. James, what from Game 1 will cause you to say, we won, but we've got to pay attention to this for Game 2? JAMES NEAL: I mean, I don't think anything will surprise us. I think we were definitely ready and knew what to expect out of Anaheim. Getzlaf is playing really well right now. He's definitely a guy that you want to key on and be hard on, but I don't think there's one thing that jumped out at us. But we do look at areas that we need to fix and get better at, so we'll adjust and come out with hopefully a better game and do the right things again. Q. How important is that depth of scoring? Obviously you guys have gotten results from all throughout the lineup, just taking some of the pressure off some of the top lines? JAMES NEAL: Yeah, it does for sure, but when you're getting that depth scoring, it helps you win games. I think any time you see a team that goes deep in the Playoffs and that ultimately wins the Stanley Cup, they're getting scoring from everyone that is on the team, everyone that chips in, like right through to the fourth line, and I think we have that, and like I said before, we have a team that can play all different styles of games, and we have guys chipping in from the first game of the Playoffs until now, so it's great. Q. James, the Ducks, whenever your two teams play, there's a certain chippiness to any Ducks-Predators game. With the edge they play with, do they test your patience as a team more than other teams because of how physical they are and how they like to push the envelope in that area? JAMES NEAL: Yeah, it's one of those teams, like you said, they push the envelope. They're physical. They're battle-ready, and it starts straight from the opening draw, right when the puck drops, to the battles that the wingers are going to get in to the centermen from the first cross-check or slash, it goes from there. It's Playoffs hockey. Everyone knows what's at stake, like everyone has talked about. It's expected. It's fun. It's a game. Q. What's the line between making sure that you play into that because I know that you want to play physical, too, but not going over the line, so to speak, making sure you're not putting yourself in penalty trouble, stepping back from that physical play? JAMES NEAL: Yeah, just playing whistle to whistle I think we've done a good job of that throughout the Playoffs, so we need to continue that and be disciplined, but at the same time you've got to be physical, you've got to be hard on their guys within the rules. Q. Are you taking strides in that yourself because I know your penalty minutes this year are significantly down from years past. JAMES NEAL: Yeah, I think it's definitely something I've tried to be better with. It's emotional out there when you get whacked and guys are on you and you're trying to get to the areas to score and do the right things. You get frustrated at times and tend to go to the box, but it's definitely something I've tried to be better with. Q. Do you feel the same way now that you felt when you had the six-game goal streak early in the season? JAMES NEAL: Yeah, I feel good. The team is winning. We're doing good things. We're taking strides in the right direction, and if I can chip in and help the team win, it definitely gives you confidence and helps your game. But I feel good, like the way we're going. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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