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NHL STANLEY CUP FINAL: PREDATORS VS PENGUINSMay 30, 2017Ryan EllisFrederick GaudreauPittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Practice Day THE MODERATOR: Questions for Ryan and Frederick. Q. Ryan, I know the result wasn't what the team wanted last night, but you only allowed 12 shots on goal. When you look at the way you played defensively last night, what worked in terms of keeping Pittsburgh at bay for so long? RYAN ELLIS: Yeah, I mean, for the most part, I liked our game. The result wasn't what we wanted. Our effort was there. The way we need to play was -- for the most part we did the right things out there. Yeah, I mean, it happens in hockey. The bounces weren't there that night. Overall, I mean, we can take a lot of good things from that game. We can learn a lot. We just have to turn the page and move on. Q. Ryan, going into the game last night, only Mike Fisher played in a Cup Final. Now all you have a game under your belt. What do you take away? RYAN ELLIS: Yeah, I mean, the last couple years has been kind of setting us up for this moment. The ups and downs of previous series, I mean, the way we did in the first round, then on to the second, each time kind of presented a different challenge. So we had a lot of guys with a lot of games under their belt in the playoffs. Obviously not Stanley Cup Final games. But yesterday was a good test for us. Now we face a little adversity. We see what kind of group and character we have to bounce back. Q. Ryan, the thought of making adjustments following a loss in the playoffs, do you feel you have to adjust all that much given the way you felt you played last night? RYAN ELLIS: No, I mean, this entire playoff run we've had, we've had guys buy in, doing the little things, do the right things that make your team successful. I mean, we're just going to need more of that. Like I said, we did a lot of good things yesterday. Obviously a few that kind of cost us. If we have everyone buying into our testimony, everyone is aware what each guy is doing out there, it makes the game that much easier for us, and we can continue going in the right direction. Q. Ryan, all post-season your defensemen have been producing offensively. Last night you scored a goal. Talk about what it is you guys are doing to produce so much offensively, at the same time limiting the Penguins to just 12 shots on goal? How do you expect Pittsburgh to adjust to that? RYAN ELLIS: Yeah, we talked about it all year. Our team attacks in five-man mentality. To be successful in their end, we're going to have to get everybody up there, not only the forwards, but the D. Same thing coming back, when we're playing defense, we need the forwards helping us out as much as possible. For the most part we accomplished that last night. We've done a good job throughout the playoffs. As far as tomorrow's game goes, I mean, we expect a big push from them. We're going to have to be even better. We know that wasn't their A game. We're going to see a lot better from them. Hopefully we can continue to do the right things and get better. Q. Frederick, you go from Milwaukee to scoring a game-tying goal in the Stanley Cup Final. How surreal is that moment for you? How have you been able to stay levelheaded in such a huge environment? FREDERICK GAUDREAU: Yeah, like you said, it's pretty special. Everything has been so fast in the past couple weeks. I'm just focusing on the job that I have to do, trying to keep all those big thoughts of all that's happening away. Like I said, just trying to focus on the easy little things I have to do on the ice. I think that's what allow me to keep my head straight. Q. Ryan, this is the first time this post-season you have trailed in a series. Given the way you played last night, do you go into tomorrow with the urgency of keep playing the same way, or do you feel like you have to take it up another notch? RYAN ELLIS: Yeah, like I said, we did a lot of good things out there. The result wasn't there. But the effort, the guys buying in, was all there. Obviously it wasn't good enough to win, so we're going to have to be better. For the most part we did a lot of good things. If we play that way every night, we'll hopefully like the result at the end. Each game we need to keep getting better and better. Q. Frederick, when you played junior hockey, you never had a 20-goal. You go to the American Hockey League this past season, you had 25-48. Most numbers go down from junior hockey to pro. Why the sudden burst in offense? FREDERICK GAUDREAU: I think the biggest part about my focus has always been to try to get better, whatever it was in the junior, and now. So I'm not focusing really on points. I'm just trying to focus on the little things I can do out there, trying to work on my hands, trying to work on my skill, my speed, whatever it is. All things I can try to do better. I think that's why maybe it's better every season. Q. Ryan, I sensed a mad locker room last night. Do you need that same mentality going into Game 2, or just forget about Game 1? RYAN ELLIS: I don't know if it was mad so much as disappointed. I think the effort, like I said, everything was there that we liked, but the result. It was more disappointed. Now we're faced with a little adversity. I think our team's done a good job at turning the page from each game, whether we win or lose. I think that's the main focus now, is that game's behind us. We find ourselves down 1-0. We move on from there. Q. Ryan, what is it about Pekka that makes him so resilient? What do you expect to see from him in Game 2? RYAN ELLIS: Since day one that I've been here, Pekks has been our best player night in, night out. He's one of the best, if not the best, goalie in the league. Especially my first couple years, he was the difference maker all the time. He's such a great guy off the ice. He's a real leader in our room. I expect him to bounce back. He's a terrific goalie. He's been our MVP all year. Q. Ryan, you were a star in junior, a star at world juniors. It's taken you some time to get to where you're reaching that level in the NHL. What has the journey been like for you to get to where you are now? RYAN ELLIS: Yeah, my first two years I guess were kind of up and down. It was more about opportunity. I mean, as a D, when you play 14 minutes a night, it's tough to be really involved. Lavi came here and really gave me an opportunity and a chance with Coach Housley and (indiscernible) kind of took off from there. I mean, my last four years have been pretty good numbers, pretty good a lot of things. I think you're probably just seeing it now because we're getting a little more media attention. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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