|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: RANGERS v CANADIENSMay 24, 2014Henrik LundqvistNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Practice Day HENRIK LUNDQVIST: No, I think we have guys that didn't really see the situation. I haven't really looked at it after the game either, so many try to just focus on tomorrow. Q. Henrik, this is obviously a big series for you and this team. What do you remember about the last time you were here in this kind of position two years ago, and what lessons would you maybe take out of that? HENRIK LUNDQVIST: Well, we were a different team back there. We played a little differently. What I remember, it felt like we didn't reach our full potential. That was a disappointing feeling after the season. It felt like we had some more to give, and that is something you want to make sure this time around that you put everything out there. The preparation, you do what you can when you go out for the game. You really try to play your best every night, and then you see how far it takes you. If it's not enough, I think it's easier to accept if you feel like you did everything you could. Q. Did you ever figure out why that team didn't max out? HENRIK LUNDQVIST: I don't know. It's probably a combination of a lot of different things. To get there we went through a lot of tough games. But I don't want to think too much about two years ago. I'm here now. Every practice now, everything, every little thing I can do now to help my game I'm trying to do that and trying to do it the right way so I can help this team to win games. It's fun when you challenge yourself to try to reach your top level, and that's what you're trying to do every game.  But especially when it comes down to important games. You want to try to be there for your team, and it's definitely about pushing yourself. Q. Because Brandon Prust is a former teammate and a friend of many of you in the room, does what happened between him and Derek Stepan, is there an added layer of discomfort or awkwardness? HENRIK LUNDQVIST: Well, when you, especially during the playoffs, you don't see your opponent as friends, even though you've played with them. Right now I don't have any friends in Montreal, you know. They're just enemies, and you play it that way. That is your approach. But you also have to understand this game. There are a lot of players who play on the edge. That is their role. That's what they do. They're always going to play it like that. Sometimes things happen and maybe they take it a little too far. As it comes to relationships as friends, in the summertime you move past that. But right now, do I like what happened? Absolutely not. But it's on the ice. You know, it happens on the ice, and it is what it is. Q. The other practice you looked like you pulled up a little bit after one of the shots. Was it an errant putt? Did something happen there? Are you okay? HENRIK LUNDQVIST: I'm good. Yeah, it was a good practice. I tried to go really hard and, yeah, there was no‑‑ Q. It looked like you pulled up. HENRIK LUNDQVIST: No, no. I can't remember that. I feel good. Every time you have a practice after a day off you try to go a little extra hard to get back in the groove and feel good about yourself. Physically it's pretty tough, but that's what you need to do right now to push a little extra. Q. (No Audio) does home ice mean as much? HENRIK LUNDQVIST: Well, so far I don't know how much it meant. But like you say, it's a great feeling to play at home, and when you win the games it's the best feeling. So that's where you want to try to accomplish. But I think especially early on in the series, you're so focused on just trying to do your job at playing away or at home doesn't really matter. It's just more the experience that changed. The experience of doing it in front of your home fans, that's a great feeling. But it's a great feeling to quiet down a building as well. It's just different. I think as the series moves on, I think the home ice means more. Q. In what aspect of the game has Alain Vigneault made the biggest impact? HENRIK LUNDQVIST: I personally just like how calm he is. Obviously, he changed a lot the way we play, so it was a big change early on in training camp and the first couple months for us to adjust and for me to adjust. It was a little different game. But he was very patient and calm and understood the process for us to get there. It's going to take a while to get there. But obviously having Tortorella for almost five years and having that coaching style and then A.V. comes in, they're opposites. As I a player, you learn from both, and I enjoy both. But it's refreshing when you see a new coaching style that you haven't had before and the way he handles pressure situations. That's been impressive to see, I think. The heat you felt early on and not getting the results and now getting in the playoffs, he's pretty consistent with the way he talks to us good or bad. Q. You've been through two Game 7s again, two Game 7s two years ago. Do you feel pressure now with the extra days off? HENRIK LUNDQVIST: Yeah, getting the extra days in between makes a big difference in how you feel. A lot of times it's tough to get to sleep. After games you're so wired that it's hard to calm down. So to get an extra day to get a couple extra hours of sleep is good. I think for all of us, physically and mentally it's about preparing for each game now and after games you try to do the right things to just calm down and move on, I guess. That's what you learn from it quickly and then you move on. But when you have an extra day, you might‑‑ you try to get away from the game a little bit so you don't walk around for two or three days and think about the next game. You do something else. Today I think is the day where you start thinking about tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|