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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL: CAPITALS vs LIGHTNING

May 20, 2018

Jon Cooper

Washington, D.C.: Practice Day

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You obviously had a Stanley Cup run before. How much did that kind of experience plant the seed to want to get back and have another shot at it?
JON COOPER: I don't know if we've really sat here and said, Oh, we're just going to rush to the Stanley Cup Final. If there's anything that's helped this team, we've kind of not done that.

It's so hard to win in this league, and the parity is so tight, you just can't look too far ahead. I know when we went in 2015, all of a sudden the regular season didn't seem near as exciting as the playoff run, and we just couldn't wait to get back. You just find out how hard it is to win.

I know the guys, that's our ultimate goal, to get there. I think they haven't put the cart before the horse. There's still a lot of work to do in this series. I think that's why we've had some success.

Q. What is the strategy for Game 6? What are the biggest hurdles you have to overcome?
JON COOPER: The strategy is to outscore them in 60 minutes.

In all seriousness, we're going to have to match their urgency. The closeout games, potential closeout games, they just seem to bring out the best in everybody. For us, we've had some success when we've gotten the lead. When you do that, you put a little pressure on the other team. Something we'll try and focus on tomorrow night.

Q. What did you learn from the Boston and New Jersey series where this team didn't let a team hang around, you did finish them off?
JON COOPER: Well, there's no doubt that we'd love to do that. The difference was both those were at home. This one we're going on the road. But we've been in these situations before. In these last four years or three playoff runs, you just do the math every different way. We've been up 2-3, down 3-2, been on the road, been at home. We can't look back, we just have to look forward.

We have to understand the magnitude of the situation. Yes, we're going on the road and we have had success there, but to close this out, if you can, garner a couple more days' rest. As you know, at this time of year, we're banged up, they're banged up. The mental fatigue. Any time you can close one out earlier than seven is a good thing.

Q. I think the first two goals you got yesterday, there was tight support right there. How key has that been, the support you get?
JON COOPER: Yeah, supporting the puck has been a big thing for us. We were a little free flowing, a little skating away. All of a sudden the 10-foot pass turned into a 30-foot pass. They were just killing us in the neutral zone. We couldn't get through. Had to make a few adjustments there, get our mentality set of how we're going to get through. So far so good.

Our big thing is when you do build a lead, we have to continue to attack instead of sit back, then just defend. We got away with it a little bit last night, the night before. We've shown we can poke some holes into their game. They've shown they can poke some holes into ours. We have to just try to poke a few more than them.

Q. Kunitz said the Cup is such a team trophy. Are you always cognizant of the fact it takes everyone?
JON COOPER: Well, you just look at the series. Think about Game 1 in New Jersey. That doesn't even feel like it was this year. The people that stepped up in that series. You look at Vasilevskiy is garnering, deservedly so, a lot of the accolades here the last couple games. It was the Braydon point line in the Boston series. It was Stamkos and Kuch in Game 4 and 5 in Jersey. There's different heroes every night. Can't overlook Paquette, Callahan and Kunitz contributions this round. Our D. There's just so many things that go into it. When it all added up together, it spells team.

Q. You're busy doing your job, but can you feel it around town, people get swept up in this when a team is on a run?
JON COOPER: Yeah, I definitely learned that in 2015. I don't think I understood it back then, but I appreciate it now, how it just kind of binds the city together.

I think the only unfortunate thing is the weather has probably nixed a few of the big-time parties that would happen. But it is remarkable how this team has gravitated towards the city and vice versa.

It's pretty cool when somebody comes up to you and says, I haven't seen this group of friends in years, but when the Bolts go on a run, we all get together. Makes you kind of proud.

Q. When you have a guy who used to be a captain in this league, he's on your fourth line, what does that do for you, and he does what he does? What kind of luxury is that for you?
JON COOPER: Well, I hate those terms, fourth lines. He's on the line (laughter).

The guys contribute differently. The one thing that I think makes guys like Ryan special, everybody goes through these pains, they judge themselves on points. That's what happens in the regular season. When you go 82 games, you only have a couple goals, you don't feel like you're contributing. That's the hard thing to impart on players, that they don't realize how much they are contributing. If the doesn't show up in the box score, I think sometimes they just don't feel the love.

One thing Ryan has learned, and I know Kuny has, they know, I think I said this last night, they inspire our team. They pull us into the fight. When you get to this time of the year, it's oftentimes not the big goal, it's the big block or the big hit, the big penalty kill that gets you over the top. Those guys are worth their weight in gold.

Q. Do you think there's anything you need to do differently to take the energy you had in the first period and have it for 60 minutes?
JON COOPER: Well, naturally you show us what we did in that first half of the game, if that game was 0-0, I don't know, does the game change? We don't know. The game changed a little bit because it was 3-0. That was the one thing that their urgency picked up, I think we got a little content with what the score was. That's how the game played out.

If it's 0-0 the whole way, does that game still stay the same way? I don't know. But I do like that we did do a lot of good things. We deserved to get the lead. As I said, we just got to keep that pressure on for 60.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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