Jon Cooper addressed the media after his team’s 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series.
On the team’s will and determination to extend the series:
I said this at the beginning of the series. Don’t bet against the guys. Not that group.
I am not saying we have won the series. We have won one game. We still have so far to go.
To come into this environment — and it was a phenomenal environment — and play the way we did… As I said a couple of days ago, we are going back to the rink, and that is exciting for us.
They dug their heels in tonight. Who really dug his heels in tonight was the goalie. His name has come up a lot for various reasons over the last couple of days. I think he proved he can handle the high shots.
On the effectiveness of his team’s forecheck in this series:
They’re an extremely talented team. One of the strengths of their team is breaking the puck out.
Every team struggles with… If you get speed, you are hunting pucks, and you don’t quit on them, it is hard to break out. We struggle to break out when the Leafs do it to us.
A lot of it is when you are arriving and where you put pucks. There is so much more to it.
When you win a game and other team loses, you start questioning. They’ve punched us a couple of times in the face. We just punched them back. We are both still standing. Somebody at some point is going to get a knockout punch.
On the team’s ability to keep the Leafs to two goals tonight:
We kept them to the outside except for Marner’s breakaway in the third period. That made the heart skip a beat.
That is what Vasi does. It is a one-goal game, and you need the save. He gives you the save.
I thought we protected the inside well. We got their sticks. We weren’t giving those opportunities that they were taking advantage of in previous games.
For us, that worked in our favour. We have to continue to do that, but keeping the Leafs at bay is tough. They are a hell of a team.
We know how to have success against them as marginal as it is. You have to do it the entire game. We proved in Game 4 that when you take a six-minute break, it is not going to work against these guys. Tonight was a huge step forward in that regard.
I would remiss not say that when Rielly scored, for Cirelli to answer 25 seconds later… I don’t know where this game goes if we don’t answer that quickly. That was a huge moment in the game for us.
On Michael Eyssimont’s return to the lineup:
He was cast into an extremely big moment. He delivered. Can’t ask for more than that.
Could we have asked for a goal and an assist? In the end, he gave us what we needed.
When you play in these playoff series, you don’t go through it playing the same 20 guys. You need to have depth in the organization. Everybody has to play a part. Everybody that has played games for us in these first five have played a big part.
Mikey was called on today. He was huge for us.
On the decision to put Eyssimont in the lineup:
When you are in the playoffs, every series is one game. That is what you are coaching. I understand it is a seven-game series, but you are trying to win a game.
There are attributes that he brings where we felt not only he could help us but maybe he could help the line. We had kind of gone probably a little stale.
Jeannot had been in there before, and he was extremely effective for us. The way he played — he has had some big moments in this series, but each game is a different little battle. It was Mikey’s turn tonight.
When you have a group where you are confident plugging guys in and out and you have selfless acts like Jeannot was tonight and maybe another player will be down the road, it is what helps a team win.
No different than Bogosian stepping in for Cernak. You have to man up and get your job done when called upon. These guys have done that.
On the play and production of Nick Paul’s line in the game:
Depth scoring is where it comes from. Both teams have felt it in this series. I think you have two lines on both teams kind of going head-to-head with each other.
For those guys to chip in two… Pauly hasn’t scored in a while. I think it has been documented that him and Killorn [haven’t been scoring]. For those two to score those goals…
Whatever it is, Pauly lives 20 minutes down the road. He must feel at home here. He has had some big nights in this building.
On whether he thinks his team is now in the Leafs‘ heads despite trailing in the series:
I don’t know. I am not in their locker room. But we have had this experience. Our most recent playoff series was very similar circumstances.
We went into Colorado in an unbelievable environment with the Stanley Cup on the line — not just the first round — and we found a way to win. We didn’t win the next one. You have to learn from those moments and how to not look at Game 7.
Game 7 is irrelevant. Game 6 is all that matters. It is just about winning one game.
Shame on us if we think we are going to go home and that is going to be the difference for us. It is urgency and effort. That will be the difference. We need to bring that to Game 6.
On how he feels about the team’s chances knowing Toronto has to win three games in Tampa to close it out in Game 6:
You know what the crazy part about that is? We have to win three games in Toronto. It is the year of the road team, and it is crazy how it works.
Let’s be honest. This game is so damn fun. You have two teams going at it. There are so many storylines. There are stars here.
Seriously, wouldn’t you guys have pissed off if this ended tonight? Let’s all be back here for Game 7.
