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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL: PENGUINS VS SENATORSMay 22, 2017Zack SmithPittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Practice Day Q. (Inaudible)? ZACK SMITH: Right from the start, it was a lot of things we didn't like, but it's a new day. You know, we talk about it a lot, momentum doesn't seem to move between games and series. Hopefully, that stays true here. We've kind of put that behind us, and we're ready for a new day tomorrow. Q. Rare day on the ice for practice today. What can that do for a team going into tomorrow's game? ZACK SMITH: I think it just kind of helps you erase your mind and reset, just go back to some fundamentals and kind of get everyone back out there skating and handling the puck. I think that was an important part. I think we -- there's a time for rest, and there's a time for practice, but I think today was a time to practice and go through a few of the systems. Q. If there was one ingredient that needs to be added to tomorrow's game plan, what would it be? ZACK SMITH: Force through a bit more, get behind their "D." I think we gave some of their guys a lot more room than we wanted to, and when you do that, they have enough skill to make some nice plays and kind of see passes and just spread us out a bit more. If we get a lot more time in their end, it would be nice, and some more shots towards the net and some screens, and we'll be a lot better. Q. Is the concern now that you've left yourselves no margin for error? ZACK SMITH: I don't think so. We approach every game the same, since the playoffs started especially. We know what's at stake, but -- remember the old cliche, if one game at a time is relevant, I think it's tonight -- or tomorrow, I mean. We can't look past that, and that's our focus is just to push to Game 7. That's all we're concentrating on. Q. Given what went on yesterday, do you think you'll (inaudible) a little bit more too? ZACK SMITH: Yeah, he didn't deserve that. I think we left him to hang out there a few times on some of the plays. He's been battling for us all year, not to mention the playoffs. So we need to be better for him, and that starts from the forwards all the way down to the D-men. He'll have a lot more help next game, that's for sure. Q. Does it surprise you that in a game like that that means so much, that you guys could be that bad? ZACK SMITH: You know, right from the start, I don't think -- we came out pretty good. There wasn't a ton of mistakes. They had a few scoring chances right from the start, and they scored on every one. That's the way it goes sometimes. It's hard to come back from that. When you have a few guys go out -- it is what it is. We're not too worried about it now. 7-0, 1-0 -- it's still a loss. We're just going to kind of reset the same way we would any other way. Q. This team maybe needed to have some practice time, like the fundamentals weren't there or slipping? Is that a fact? You guys just haven't had any practice time? ZACK SMITH: No, I don't think that's to blame. There's a fine line in playoffs, which includes rest. That involves the decision to practice or not. Today we felt it would benefit us more than it wouldn't, so we went out there. And I think the most important thing is just to get the guys out there together and moving the puck around. Whether it's about that we haven't been practicing, why we didn't come out sharp last game, I'm not sure that's -- you can go back and kind of dwell on that either way, but we just want to go out there and go for a little spin today. Q. What's it like when you first got to the rink this morning? Is there a tension that has to kind of break? ZACK SMITH: No, we talked about it right after the game last game. A loss is a loss. It doesn't change the fact that guys are embarrassed the way it ended, but you got to erase that right away. I guess we kind of felt we put that behind us, and we come out here and do media, and you guys remind us exactly everything that happened and how bad and terrible we were. But we've been putting it behind us since the end of the game. It doesn't do us any good to dwell on that. I mean, it's something for you guys to write stories about, but in our minds and in the room, we've put that behind us, and all we're focused on is tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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