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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: DEVILS v RANGERSMay 14, 2012Peter DeBoerNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Game One Q. How helpful is it to have Marty around this time of year? COACH DeBOER: I think all the veterans with experience‑‑ all the people in the organization with experienced, Marty, Patrik, Elias and Sykora and Lou and his wealth of experience, I don't think you can have enough of the people that have been through it before, and been there, seen that. It's a great resource that we have as an organization here. Q. Having coached a lot of young players, Henrik seems mature beyond his years. Is that something that's benefited him throughout the season. And what's impressed you the most about him? COACH DeBOER: I use the word "unflappable" with him really since he first came up early in the season. I think part of that is maturity. Part of it is his personality. Nothing seems to rattle him. He doesn't get overwhelmed by situations or different points of the game, and he also has the ability to raise his game to another level at key times. So he's a pretty special kid. Q. Has this experience helped? COACH DeBOER: I don't think there's any doubt. I think all our young guys, it's a fantastic experience, to know what it takes not just to get here but, you know, to move through this is invaluable. Both for now and for later in their careers. Q. Is there anything running through the team? COACH DeBOER: No, I feel great. Thanks for the concern. I know it's genuine. (Laughter). Q. Carl Hagelin has given you a handful in the regular season. How do you counter not just him but any team that has one guy that has exceptional speed? COACH DeBOER: I don't think they just have one, you've got Gaborikwho is a world‑class speed type guy. This is something that this team throws at you that maybe we didn't have in the Philly series. Philly was very deep up front, different type of forward group, their skilled guys, the Jagrs and Hartnells were more big, strong, heavy players. The Rangers have a blend of the type of high‑end speed, a lot like Florida did. So it's hard to handle something different. But we've seen those type of players before and Bergenheim in Florida and those kinds of guys, so I think we'll be okay. Q. You mentioned Henrik and those guys (indiscernible). Have there been any surprises for you first two rounds to see what they can give you? COACH DeBOER: You know, I don't think surprise, but I just like how we've responded to different situations. It hasn't been an easy road even in the Philly series, being down in games, tough environment, the Florida series obviously was everything we could handle plus some. I thought our veteran guys have given us exactly what I thought they would give us, experience, composure, leadership, and I think our young guys have done a very good job of contributing and finding another level. Adam Larsson is an example just to sit and come in and give us the type of minutes he's given us. He's not alone in that. There's a lot of people there. Q. Is there any thought of changes tonight from Game 5? COACH DeBOER: I haven't decided. We'll decide that at game time. Q. Is there any concern given what happened with the Flyers, the Game 1 against you guys, not having played for a while, going into the other team's building? COACH DeBOER: Sure. You know, you see the layoff. I thought coming off Game 7 double overtime game I thought that first period in Philadelphia, I mean we just carried over our Game 7 play and I thought caught them standing still. They eventually took that game over because of some fatigue I felt that set in with us. But the first period tonight's going to be a dangerous period for us. We have to be ready for that. Q. (Indiscernible) can you talk about how has performed, basically coming in and trying out? COACH DeBOER: Great story. I think everyone knows the story of how he got here. Nothing was promised to him other than the ability to come out and skate. Full credit to Lou who obviously had had him and recognized some of the special things he did. We were a team that was 30th in scoring the year before, and I think as a group we didn't want to close the door on anything that we felt would be able to help rectify that, and Peter was a guy who has come in and really helped in that area. Q. Looking at the back sports, back page this morning, the papers, the front page, it's all about the emotions and kind of a war situation right now. Do you feel the emotions will be maybe a little higher than it was previously? COACH DeBOER: Obviously, emotions don't get any higher than Stanley Cup Final or Eastern Conference championship and playing your cross‑town, cross‑river rival. So emotions will be something to have to manage. You want them. It's a big part of hockey, and big part of hockey this time of year. And you have to make sure you channel it the right way. Q. (Question about veterans) what do they show them, what do they have to pick up? COACH DeBOER: I don't know about showing them. I think it's just the composure, the words of wisdom, staying positive at key times, the between‑period conversations that go on in our dressing room. Both after good stretches to make sure we're grounded and also after poor stretches to make sure that we get our game back on track. It's not necessarily a board and a marker and you should go here, should go there, it's much more the mental state of our team and managing that, and they do a great job of that. Q. At this point in the Playoffs, are there more in‑game adjustments or between‑period adjustments than there would be earlier in the Playoffs or regular season or just fewer because you know what your team is like and you know what the opposition is like? COACH DeBOER: Yeah, I don't think there's as many adjustments. I think if you listen to Rangers for them it's about playing their game and I feel we're the same way. You want to play your game and make the other team adjust to you. That's the goal here. I'm sure there will be some minor tweaks as we go through, but we're fundamentally sound. We understand the four, five things we have to do every night in order to have success, and it's just reinforcing that message. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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