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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: KINGS v COYOTESMay 19, 2012Mike SmithLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Practice Day THE MODERATOR: Questions for Mike Smith. Q. Mike, how was the day off yesterday? MIKE SMITH: It was nice. California, you know, day off. Obviously well‑deserved. But, no, it was just a day to get away from the rink, kind of regroup, come back today with our work boots back on, try and get a win tomorrow. Q. Are you a fan of the early starts? MIKE SMITH: Haven't played one all year. It's not going to hurt. Can't hurt at this point. You know, like I said, we're going to have to start with one win and not worry about what's happened already, go from there. Q. What is your sense of where this team is mentally right now? MIKE SMITH: I don't think we have any choice but be prepared for tomorrow's game. Obviously it's not fun to be down in this position. But we put ourselves here. The only way to approach it is to not look in the past. Worry about the next game. I think if we have that mentality, play our best hockey game of the season, we'll give ourselves a chance to win. Can't look further ahead than that. Q. Flyers did it a couple years ago. Any encouragement? MIKE SMITH: It's happened before. Not like it hasn't happened. Like I said, we're not looking that far ahead. We're looking for one game, one solid outing from everybody in our locker room. That's all we can control. Everyone give what they have. Put your body on the line and try and get one win. We'll start with that and then we'll worry about the next game. Q. You're not looking that far ahead. Is part of that not getting caught up in the moment? MIKE SMITH: Yeah, after you lose that third game, I think that kind of sets in right away. But after we had a day off, get away from the rink, get back to work today. We're still playing hockey. We have to keep that in mind. Like I said, we have to focus on one game, one period, just see what happens. Q. Did that day off help mentally as well as physically? MIKE SMITH: Yeah, I think everybody needed to get away from the rink for a day, regroup. Like I said, be energized for tomorrow. Q. Seems like against the other series, it was Coyotes hockey to a T. Why is it tougher to get that game against the Kings? MIKE SMITH: Give credit to them. They beat two really good hockey teams to get to the Conference Finals and did it pretty well, with ease. You know, as you get further in the playoffs, you face different aspects of the game. The teams get better that you're playing. I don't know, we haven't raised the bar to where we need it to be. Obviously, give credit to them. They've done that. But we feel obviously we can still play better and we need to do that tomorrow. Q. Tip said a few days ago you guys are not going to come in and dominate an opponent. At this point, do you almost have to dominate to be competitive? MIKE SMITH: I don't think we have to dominate. I think we have to give ourselves a chance to win. It's limiting mistakes in our zone, playing with the puck in their end, sustaining pressure. We played close games all season long, found ways to win those games. No different now. We have to approach it like a 1‑0 mentality. Lull them to sleep, if we can, try to capitalize on our chances. Q. Are you superstitious at all? MIKE SMITH: No, not superstitious at all. Not changing anything. Just going out there to try to stop the puck. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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