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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: FLAMES v LIGHTNING

June 1, 2004

John Tortorella

TAMPA, FLORIDA: Practice Day

FRANK BROWN: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to this afternoon's conference call. Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach John Tortorella is available to answer your questions.
Before we get started I'd like to make everyone aware of the schedule for tomorrow. The Lightning, including Coach Tortorella, will be available at the St. Pete Times Forum at 3:00 PM with practice to follow. The Calgary Flames will be available in the ball room at the Wyndam West Shore Hotel at 5:00 PM.
Q. Could you explain what happened to that sort of spellbinding, wide-open series that we were all talking about at the start?
COACH TORTORELLA: Well, I don't know. I think as we've gone along here, Calgary has gone into more of a defensive mode. And again, we just go about our business and try to get our job done.
Q. Earlier in the playoffs, you had an eight-game winning streak, but for the last 11, it's been win, loss, win, loss, win, loss. Is that a reflection of the increased talent the deeper in the playoffs or is something else at work here?
COACH TORTORELLA: I just think as you go through the long road in the playoffs, it's a matter of trying to keep momentum. I think at times, we have it, and there's another team out there trying to gain that momentum back.
So, certain plays within games may cost you a game, may cost you some momentum, but it's all part of it. If you think the team is going to be through the playoffs unwounded, I guess, it's crazy, as long as we've had to play here.
I think the most important thing is when you do lose a game, it's how you respond. And that's how would we like to focus on, how we've responded when we've lost some games.
Q. I know you don't want to complain about individual hits or anything, but has this series, with all of the hits to the head, become more of a war of attrition than the normal late playoff series? And if so, or even if not, how important is the power play not as a deterrent but as a punishment for whatever goes on?
COACH TORTORELLA: Special teams can be used in a lot of different ways, not only scoring the goals, you're always looking at trying to score goals. But maybe it will affect some of the stuff that goes on as far as what's coming against you. More of a deterrent, I guess.
So special teams are always important. I think ours have been fairly consistent. I think we've struggled a little bit of late. We scored a huge goal last night early on, on the two penalties they got right away. And when it's a series where not a whole bunch of chances are being given up, a lot is being played on the outside; that's when the special teams are kind of even more important.
Q. Three blows to the head, you've lost three players, does it say anything about the way Calgary is playing, or does it say anything about the way the game is played in the NHL nowadays?
COACH TORTORELLA: Well, I don't know. I think there was supposed to be an emphasis on hits to the head. I think you're talking to the wrong guy about that.
Q. I know you are talked out on this subject, but I'm sure you don't want to make the first goal sound like it's all-important, because if you don't score it, you're behind the 8-ball, or your players feel that way. But is it a situation where coaching has become so good now that the first goal is easier to make stand up?
COACH TORTORELLA: Well, I think it's -- I think the league is in defensive mode. It's very tough to score goals. I think the goaltenders are better. I think how the game is played nowadays, it's more of a defensive mode, so it's very difficult to score goals.
But having said that, each team has their own team concept in how they think they can be successful. So I don't begrudge anybody anything. As I said the other day, we're going to just try to get better with our team concept and try to create offense no matter what's going on around us. That's the only way we know how to approach it.
Q. I wonder if you can give us any sort of update on the injured guys, especially Vinnie, he seemed to get some stitches at the end there; is he okay for Thursday?
COACH TORTORELLA: Yeah, I'm not going to get into all of the updates. To be honest with you, we had a long plane ride home today. I just got back in, and I'll be talking to my trainer later on today when he meets with some of the players. But above that, I'm not going to discuss too much about our injuries. Thank you.
Q. Could you talk about the game Dmitry Afanasenkov had last night, he seemed to step up in an increased role?
COACH TORTORELLA: Yeah, he is -- again, he's a guy that I never thought was going to play in the National Hockey League, and we kicked the hell out of him within our team, as far as bouncing him all over the place in the minor leagues, and I think he has really developed into being a key guy for us.
I think he's going to score goals in this league eventually, but he's really begun to understood how hard you have to compete defensively and the wall play. That's a great story there, because he was -- at the beginning of this camp this year, I didn't expect him anywhere near the National Hockey League with this club. He's turned out to be a guy that I use in a lot of different situations, last minute of games, and has really developed into quite a player. And this is a man that, or a kid, that has some offensive instincts to him, just isn't comfortable yet as far as feeling confident that way, and that's going to come. So there's some good stuff there.
Q. Just wanted to know, when you saw that hit on Lecavalier, what went through your mind, were you scared that you had lost another player?
COACH TORTORELLA: Well, I think any player, our player, opposing team's player in the National Hockey League, when it's defenseless and it's a blow to the head, you're always concerned about the health. And I'm not speaking just on our player; any player in the league.
So, sure, I mean, everybody was concerned about that. It's a tough game and it's supposed to be a tough game. But when it comes to behind-the-back blows to the head, that's where someone is defenseless, and so it was a situation where we weren't sure what was going to happen.
Q. Your record in Game 5s, is there something in Game 5 that is different or is it just one more step?
COACH TORTORELLA: I don't even look at what number the game is. I don't have all of those stats. Again, we -- it's Game 5, it's exactly what it is. It's our fifth game of a seven-game series. Both teams are tied 2-2, and it is the first to four. However many games it takes us to play to four, that's all we are looking to do. So this is just our next game coming up.
FRANK BROWN: Thank you very, very much for taking the time to be with us today, Coach. And just a reminder, tomorrow the Lightning including Coach Tortorella will be available at the St. Pete Times Forum at 3:00 PM with practice to follow. The Calgary Flames will be available in the ball room at the Wyndam West Shore Hotel at 5:00 PM. Thank you all very much.

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