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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL: CAPITALS vs LIGHTNING

May 20, 2018

Tyler Johnson

Washington, D.C.: Practice Day

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What lessons can this team draw from past playoff experiences that nothing is over till it's over?
TYLER JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, the series isn't over till you win four games. We really haven't accomplished anything yet. We're one game away, but that's what it is, one game away. You never want to give a team life. You want to try to get it over as fast as possible.

Q. Is there a comfort level now with this team, where you lose one, then you rolled both teams?
TYLER JOHNSON: I don't think you ever want to say you're comfortable, especially in playoffs. Anything can happen. You're constantly just trying to push, trying to get better, trying to do everything you possibly can.

We've had a good couple games here, but there's still room for improvement for us.

Q. (Question regarding Ryan Callahan.)
TYLER JOHNSON: I love him. He's a guy that you definitely need them on your team. He literally does everything. He's a guy that when you watch play, he just kind of picks everybody up by doing the right thing constantly over and over again, sacrificing so much. He's just a big voice in the locker room. He's just a really, really big part of our team.

Q. Last night you probably played your best game of the series five-on-five, not relying on the PK.
TYLER JOHNSON: It's huge. We've talked about it, five-on-five. I thought we've actually played pretty well at certain points, just haven't been rewarded with goals. I thought we fought harder for that. But I think we still have some room for improvement in that aspect.

We're a five-on-five team, so we need to be able to play like it.

Q. Talk about the job you guys have done on Ovechkin since Game 2.
TYLER JOHNSON: Yeah, no, our team has been playing well. Obviously helps having Vasi back there making some big saves in crucial times. I thought the greatest thing for us yesterday was staying out of the box. We didn't take a penalty the entire night. That's big against Washington.

Q. You held them without a shot almost the entire game. Then he gets hot there at the end. Is he a guy that can erupt and change a game?
TYLER JOHNSON: Well, he's one of the best players in the world for a reason. He can shoot the puck. He can score. He's a big guy with some speed. He's a tough guy to play against.

When he tries to change the tide of the game, he's able to do that. We have to try to do our best job to limit the opportunities that he gets. That's not just one person trying to limit him. It's the whole team. Everyone has to step up against him. He's that good.

I thought we've done a good job, but we're going to have to continue to do that. I expect him to be even better. We're going to have to be better, as well.

Q. Last night a lot of the players said even after the great first period, the last 40 minutes weren't up to standards. What do you have to do to put together a 60-minute game?
TYLER JOHNSON: I think you have to have the same mentality as what we had in the first period. I agree with what they said. I thought our first period was good. That was probably the only time we really played our game to a T in a way. Obviously we sat back a little bit, a little bit with the lead and everything. Really the mentality shouldn't change. You just have to keep pressing. We were able to get the win, so that's what really matters.

Q. When you look at what's going on in Vegas, does it surprise you at all the way Marchessault has come into his own?
TYLER JOHNSON: I don't know if it really surprises me. I saw him in the AHL. He's a guy that has a lot of skill. I love him, he's an awesome guy. It's awesome to see that he got his opportunity, just kind of ran with it. He's doing extremely well, so it's great.

Q. Maybe because the playoffs can take up to two months, everyone seems to get drawn into it. Do you love that about the playoffs, that everyone is finding their spot on the stage?
TYLER JOHNSON: For sure. Playoffs are different than regular season. It's not necessarily you're looking at who has the most points or goals. It's not necessarily the flashy stuff. We're talking about guys like Ceddy Paquette and Ryan Callahan who are just crucial for our team by the way they play. They're not going to be the guys that are going to be scoring every night. But without them we wouldn't be here.

I think that's why the playoffs is so amazing about it. It really makes it a team game at this point. Everyone has to pick up at different points, different times. Everyone has their job and role. You have to do that in order to succeed as a team.

Q. When you get goals from like Ryan, what is that feeling when those type of players get goals?
TYLER JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, they're guys that literally sacrifice everything for us every single night. You watch them basically hit everything that moves. Just gets the bench going. When they get rewarded with a goal, obviously that gets the guys fired up that much more. You like to see guys that are giving it their all get rewarded. So it's been great.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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