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NHL STADIUM SERIES: CAPITALS VS MAPLE LEAFS

March 2, 2018

Mike Babcock

United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland

Q. How unique a venue is this compared to Ann Arbor last year, and the privilege to get to coach in all three of these games?
MIKE BABCOCK: Yeah, I mean, I got to do the one at Wrigley Field too. They're all spectacular. This one is, if you're a North American, this one's more special just because of the men and women that look after you and give you all the privileges you have in your life by keeping you safe and living in a democracy. So, to me, it's a special, special thing.

You know, some of the kids on the team, the kids I met anyway, they are seniors and going into the Marines here after they're done. So pretty special to be on the ice tomorrow for the National Anthem. So from what I understand there are going to be 500 men and women in the service. That's fantastic. It will be special.

I'm obviously partial for Canada. You know the women's U.S. Olympic team will be here too. That's a special thing to be an Olympian and you get to win and share with your country. So that's special. Should be a fun day for our guys.

Q. You've coached in a lot of these outdoor games. It was windy enough to force you guys inside today. What impact can wind have in addition to cold and snow and that kind of thing on playing conditions?
MIKE BABCOCK: Yeah, it can have lots. Tomorrow we're going to get up, there's going to be no wind, and we're going to have a good game tomorrow night. That's the way it's going to be. These things have a way of working themselves out just fine. In some ways disappointing for the family skate. The family skate outdoors is one of most special things you can have. We're having dinner right now with all the players families and friends, and it's spectacular.

You get to meet them and get to know who they are and understand why their kids are the way their kids are. It's a fantastic opportunity to share your career and what you do with your folks. It's no different than a father's (indiscernible).

Q. Is it any different going through an experience like this when there is less than 20 games going in the regular season, as opposed to say on January 1st?
MIKE BABCOCK: Yeah, I mean, that's a good question. The way I look at these things is they're just opportunities. You've got to embrace them. We need two points, but you've got to embrace the opportunity of getting better. You've got to embrace the opportunity of playing outside.

I can tell you right now if we were playing here and we weren't playing outdoors, my wife and daughter wouldn't be here. It just wouldn't happen.

So I think anyway you look at it there are two points on the line, but it's a special event and you should embrace that and enjoy it as much as you can. The way our schedule is it's set up perfect for us. We looked forward to it. Played Washington last year. Trotz did a great job. They've got a good team. It should be fun.

Q. I met a couple of those guys that you talked to today from the D-II team here. One thing they said to me is they look up to the guys on the ice. One guy used to word heros, talking about the guys on the ice. What do you talk to them about? What is the conversation like when you go and talk to them?
MIKE BABCOCK: Well, it's fantastic. We talked about how many times a week they practice. We talked about what we're doing next. We talked about how you get to be an officer when you graduate from university instead of if you didn't. We talked about where they're from. We talked about my kid playing college hockey in Boston.

What else did we talk about? Just what you talk about with anybody. You think about heros, there's lots of different heros in your lifetime. But people that put themselves in harm's way to look after you, those are the heros. So I think that's important while we're here we understand that and recognize that.

Q. You talk a lot all year for the past couple years about accruing depth and how important that is. The fact that a lot has been made that Austin is out of the lineup, but the fact that you beat Boston, you've been competitive in the last two games. What does that say to the skillset and depth that you've managed to build on this team?
MIKE BABCOCK: Well, we've built significant, but we've got way more to build. We've got a lot more coming. What we've got covered here is real nice. We'll be set up good for years to come. But I think the more competition you can create on your own roster, the better it is and more fun it is.

The right for ice time and the privilege to play is important. I think it's important that you have good players battling for that, and we've been able to create that and we want to create more of it.

Now we're not trying to say we don't miss Austin. He's an elite player and we're a better team with him, without any question. In saying that, when you put your sweater on at night, whoever is dressed, in my opinion, we have enough to win and we have to find a way to do it.

Q. You talked about this game as an opportunity to get better. But what kind of growth have you seen in this team since facing the Caps last year in the playoffs?
MIKE BABCOCK: Well, I mean, significant. The first thing that happens when you're not a very good team, no one takes you very seriously. So you play a lot of those wishy-washy games you don't know you're in at the time. Then you play this year and you're a good team and every night you're getting a real game, you know how much harder it is to get points.

But that's how you build your team so that when you come to playoffs you're battle tested already. So I just think we're significantly better because our young guys are better. They're harder. They've been through it more. They've seen what it's like. They've been eliminated from the playoffs. They know right away here you get in the playoffs and then ten days later one of you is moving on and one of you goes home.

These are all lessons you can talk about. But until you've been through them, you don't know.

Don't get me wrong, we're still going to have lots of highs and lots of crushing lows. That's just part of being on a good team. But you want to set yourself up for as many opportunities as you can possibly have, and I think we're going in the right direction that way.

Q. Your thoughts on Plekanec just integrating him into the lineup now, he's a veteran guy. What do you envision getting out of him as this season progresses and getting into the playoffs? What can you get out of him?
MIKE BABCOCK: Well, I can get a cant-mismatch-up. What I mean by that is when Mattie's back, if you looked at it, you have Leo, Pleky, and Kappy, it doesn't matter who you play against. We miss our match-up and they can go next and however. That's important. Is a real strong face-off guy in the backhand side for the penalty kill. We went through one clip there today and just talking.

It doesn't matter how many times right at the start you show a guy something. When you've played as long as he has, that's not going to come natural right away. You have to get on the ice, and do what you do. Over time you'll get used to playing here. We just think he can really help, really give us depth, and be in a position that you're not scared of any match-up as time goes on.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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