Mike Babcock addressed the media after his team’s 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators in game #2 of preseason.
What’s your take on the second of a back-to-back 4-1 win tonight?
Babcock: I mean, I liked lots of things. I thought the Sandman (Rasmus Sandin) on the backend was real good. He made lots of good plays. I thought Freddy looked real steady. Obviously, Matty’s line was able to do what you expect them to do. I thought Lindholm’s group was real solid for us, too. They gave us another line. They played against their best line for most of the night, so I thought they did a good job.
Tyler Ennis is trying to get his career back on track. Going forward, what are you looking for from him as he gets more comfortable?
Babcock: I think the big thing is — you get a break and you get a few points, and you feel good about yourself. He’s got a real good opportunity, obviously, playing with Matty. We’re just looking for speed and tenacity and work ethic. You give those things and the rest will happen for him. Being healthy is important for him, obviously.
Calle Rosen was an important key to that Marlie victory. Did we see a piece of that tonight, especially on the setup to Bracco?
Babcock: Obviously, a real good pass. He can really skate. I thought he was the best d-man in the playoffs when I watched for the Marlies. He can skate. He is an intelligent player. He’s not a big man. The wear and tear of the NHL is one of the things that he has got to get used to. That is what this exhibition is all about. Someone is going to decide they want to stay there. He is right in the mix there.
A lot of players said they played sloppy tonight and it was a sloppy game. What do you take out of it as a coach, with all of these players having played their first game?
Babcock: I think they played their first game and we got everyone doing all the right things. It gives us a place to build off of tomorrow. A big part of it is getting some structure and work ethic back. You’ve got to get out there and you’ve got to play. I thought that was important for us. I like winning every night we put the uniform on. We found a way to get it done.
You put Kapanen in a couple of different situations tonight. How did you think he played?
Babcock: I thought Kap was alright. Him and [Andreas Johnsson], to me, have to be real important players for us. I expect a lot out of those guys. They’ve got more to give for sure. But I thought their line had a tough matchup tonight. I thought Lindholm did a nice job for us there. He got better as the game went on. That was important.
We lost The Goat — I don’t know how big of a deal that is — but we lost The Goat part way through. I thought Brooks — I didn’t talk about him right off the top — has really come [along] over the last year. He’s skating, he’s tenacious. When Matthews’ line got that first goal, it was Brooks’ line that set it up. They wore them out and they got caught out there against Matty’s group. I thought Brooks had a good night.
What was your assessment of Matthews’ line?
Babcock: I thought they did a good job. They turned the puck over too much early. We all did. I think we had 12 neutral zone turnovers in the first period. Once we got going, I thought we executed better. They made plays. Marleau is a big body and so is Matty. Ennis was able to finish there for them. Good for the group.
Any ideas about the third pairing on D at this point?
Babcock: I’m not going to do that. I am going to watch these four games, and then what I am going to do is I’m going to put the guys, probably, in the best scenario in the toughest matchups to finish. That is what we tried to do tonight. We tried to play Rosen and Carrick as much against hard matchups as we possibly could; trying to look and give guys the best possible opportunity to decide who is on the team.
