	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: SABRES v HURRICANES

May 20, 2006

Peter Laviolette

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: Game One

Q. What was their penalty kill able to do, anything that you had trouble with in particular?
COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: Well, I think we knew that we were going to have to move it around pretty quick. We said going into it that it is not going to look pretty. In saying that, I think we had chances to score and we didn't. It's not that we didn't execute. It bounced kind of funny on us tonight. We had opportunities, they didn't go in. Miscues, I think more than anything.
But there was a lot of times we moved it around, we did what we wanted to do, and one thing we knew that going into it that they were going to be very aggressive and it was not going to be real pretty, slow it down, you are going to have to move the puck and move bodies. So something that we'll look at certainly because one power play goal obviously could have made a difference in the game.
Q. How important is the first game of a series?
COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: Probably not as important as winning the fourth, but obviously you'd like to have it. I'd rather be up 1-0 than down 1-0. So every game is an opportunity to move forward in the series and we didn't get that done tonight.
But it's just one game, and I am sure we'll show up and compete in game No. 2.
Q. Big difference between the second period and the --
COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: I thought our first and third period were terrific. I don't know, second period we sat on our heels. And to be honest about eight minutes in I contemplated a timeout just to -- I didn't do it. It was what they were doing a little bit but it was what we weren't doing; we weren't skating out of our end through the neutral zone and establishing speed through the neutral zone, and speed on the forecheck. We did that in the first. We really did it well in the third and in the second period we were just a little bit slow to do it.
I think Buffalo picked up a little bit of their momentum in the second period. Maybe that was part of the swing as well.
Q. I don't want to say you were passive, but defense was solid, supported the puck well, was that a feeling each other out?
COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: The speed that everybody talks about, we said it yesterday or two days ago, the speed that you talk about with Buffalo and Carolina, you certainly have to use that to your advantage defensively as well. I don't think the shots -- yes, it is going to be a good skating game up and down the ice, I don't think that you are going to see the shots at 55 to 51. You got your ten shots a period, 30 plus per game.
We had opportunities, again we didn't bury them. We made some big saves and Ryan made some big saves in the first period. We certainly didn't want to feel it out, in that's what it looked like. We are here to go, you only get so many cracks at this.
Q. Talk about their transition, all their goals kind of seemed to come in busting out of their end?
COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: First one was kind of fluky kind of careened off and came back out, the D jumping up late. That was an error on our part. We vacated the front of the net. Second one off the rush was slipped behind our D, split our D, slipped behind and got a shot off, was able to find its way. The last one was, I believe out of the penalty box and just pulled up and laid one low from the top of the circle.
If it seemed like if we had a breakdown I guess it ended up in our net. I don't think there was a whole lot of scoring opportunities for them. I would bet that they were probably at quality chances of 13 to 15. We didn't generate anything in the second, but in the third we did, in the first maybe a little bit of an advantage, but seemed like if we made a mistake, like the first goal, we should have been in front of the net protecting that and we weren't.
Q. Do you think offensively you were trying to make the pretty play too much, extra pass?
COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: At times I think we could have shot a little bit more. At times, you know, like two minutes to go in the game, minute and a half to go into the game, comes up to Cory Stillman for a one-timer, he's got a chance, he's got a hole and it kind of miscues off his stick and goes wide on the short side. It seemed like there was a lot of that for us tonight. More pucks at the net I am all for it.
Q. Seemed like you were just a hair off on some of those pretty plays?
COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: Yeah.
Q. Especially in the third.
COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: Yeah, I guess I would agree with that. I don't know if it was off or it didn't bounce our way, sometimes it just doesn't bounce your way. We had opportunities where there was some chances in front of the net or some empty nets and it bounced the wrong way or bounced over a stick and just didn't pop our way.
Q. Staal okay?
COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: He's fine.

End of FastScripts...

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297