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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: BRUINS v CANUCKSJune 1, 2011Alain VigneaultVANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA: Game One THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Vigneault. Q. Update on Manny Malhotra? COACH VIGNEAULT: Manny is the same as he was yesterday. He's day to day. Not skating today. Q. Alain, everyone is very excited among your players to play their first Stanley Cup game. Take us back to when you were young or when you were playing. How did you envision your first Stanley Cup game going? Were you going to play in it or coach in it? COACH VIGNEAULT: Well, quickly realized that my potential as a player was real limited, so unless I played for a real good team, wasn't going to get a chance to play for the Stanley Cup. So when I started my coaching career in Tier II level, it was basically really just to give something back to the game. I had made it to the NHL as a player because there were some great volunteers, and I wasn't really thinking at that time I was going to make coaching my career. All of a sudden I had success, moved on to major/junior, had success there, went back and forth a couple years. Now after almost 25 years of coaching, I'm finally getting a chance to play for the Stanley Cup. So I'm really excited. When you get in this business, you're not quite sure how long you're going to be in it. It's not an easy business to get into, it's not an easy business to stay into, and it's not an easy business once you're out of the NHL to get back in. I'm going to appreciate this moment and enjoy the time. Q. Do you have family in town that have come to support you? COACH VIGNEAULT: Yeah, I've got my two girls that are here. Got in last night. My best friend is coming in today. I've kept it to a real limited group. Want to stay focused on what we need to do here. Q. A lot of players on your team that have Olympic experience, big-game experience. Do they at all need to use that to their advantage when they're playing in something that is in many ways the same, but in many ways completely different? COACH VIGNEAULT: Well, I think most of our players at one time or another, whether it be at this level or another level, have played big games. I'm very confident that once the puck drops tonight, our emotions are going to be at the right level. We're going to work and execute our game the way we like to play, play real hard. I'm sure Boston's going to do the same thing. They're a great hockey team. They've got a lot of balance. They've got some players that have also played on a big stage in big moments. I'm expecting a real hard and real good hockey series. Q. Can I have some clarification on your first answer. When you said Manny wasn't skating today, does that mean tonight as well? COACH VIGNEAULT: We don't discuss lineup possibilities. You should know that by now (smiling). Q. But the game is today. Should we assume he's not playing? COACH VIGNEAULT: We don't discuss lineup situations. Q. You've won Game 1 the first three rounds. Outside of the obvious, that it gives you a 1-0 lead in the series, what does Game 1 victories mean for a team, a coaching staff in terms of preparation as you move on for the series, or at least move into Game 2? COACH VIGNEAULT: Other than you're three games away from winning that series, I mean, it's one game. Our philosophy - you've heard me say this I don't know how many times this year - has been one game at a time. We get ready for that game, we play it, we analyze it, make the adjustments that we need, and move on. That's what we're going to do tonight. After that we're going to get ready for Game 2. Q. Can you talk a little bit about Cody Hodgson, his recovery from injury, what you expect from him in the future? COACH VIGNEAULT: He's a kid that we feel has a tremendous amount of upside. You can really tell that this young man has a love of the game, great hockey sense. He's going to find a way to play. We brought him in at the end of the year because we felt that he could help us here in this playoff stretch. He has at different moments. But he's a young man and he's only going to continue to improve. Q. Do you already kind of have a sense or will you maybe not know for sure until tonight whether the layoff was really good or whether it might take a while to sort of get back into that playoff mode? COACH VIGNEAULT: I think we used this time off extremely well from a hockey standpoint as far as making sure that our guys stay real sharp on the ice through practices, real sharp as far as what we've done off ice with Roger and his group. Glenn, our skill coach, has worked a lot with our players before practices. You know, I don't see this layoff being a problem at all. Q. There are reports that Colin Campbell has resigned. Could you give us your thoughts on his time and his role with the league. COACH VIGNEAULT: I haven't heard that. I'm not going to comment on something that I haven't heard. I'll comment on my team and a little bit on the Bruins. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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