Ahead of Wednesday’s game, head coach Craig Berube discussed Pontus Holmberg’s offensive potential, Chris Tanev’s fit for Team Canada if he got the call following Alex Pietrangelo’s withdrawal, Max Pacioretty joining the top power-play unit, and the challenge against the Wild.
Pontus Holmberg has played all over the lineup for you. He’s been a healthy scratch, a second-line center, a winger. Is there a part of his game that still needs to be unlocked?
Berube: I have talked to him a few times about this. When I watch him do things, I see the way he can skate, hang onto pucks, transport the puck up the ice, and hang onto pucks in the offensive zone. I believe there is a lot more offense there with him. It is about honing it in a little bit more.
It is more of a confidence thing with him. He doesn’t want to make a mistake. He has to change his mindset and be more aggressive. There is ability there. I do see the ability. I see more in him than what we are getting.
Does it help Holmberg to play with a fellow Swede like William Nylander?
Berube: For sure, with the communication part of it. When you play with a guy like William Nylander, when he has the puck, he is going to do his thing. He is one of the best in the league at hanging onto pucks, cutting back, and creating space for himself. He doesn’t need help. He needs you to get to the net.
With the opening on Team Canada’s defense, what are your thoughts on Chris Tanev’s fit for the role?
Berube: He’d be a great fit. Looking at their lineup and what Tanny brings, Pietro brings a lot of it, too, with the penalty killing and shutdown [defense]. That is Tanny’s baby. He is very good at both of those things. He would probably be a good fit for them.
Do you have a favourite Alex Pietrangelo moment from St. Louis?
Berube: There are a lot of good ones. He was a hell of a player. I really enjoyed coaching him.
Ryan O’Reilly won the Conn Smythe, but he was deserving of it every bit as much, in my opinion. He was a really good player for us and a great pro.
That is how I look at Pietro: What is the plan today? He follows through it. Very professional. He comes to work every day and practices hard. Very dialed-in professional hockey player.
What have you learned about Tanev and how he goes about his business?
Berube: Very professional and consistent. I get the same thing every night from him. He has great composure with the puck, too. He makes a lot of little plays out there that may go unnoticed a lot of the time.
You are getting the same guy every night: competitiveness, reading the play really well with a hockey IQ, and a smart player who is very consistent.
With the compressed schedule due to the Four Nations tournament, have you noticed more of a challenge than normal?
Berube: Yeah, in some months. We went through a stretch earlier where it was a lot of games packed in there. It is going to get like that again in March. There were a lot of back-to-backs early on, and then it kind of died off a little bit for us.
That was the challenge early on, and now, it is a little bit different. Now, you almost have too much time off. There is that unbalanced act going on. That’s the challenge. It is hard to get the consistency, but that is the way it is. You deal with it as best you can.
March is going to be a really busy month for us again.
What can Max Pacioretty bring to the top power-play unit?
Berube: With the way it has been running with Knies and Tavares there normally, we have the same type of player there with two big bodies around the net and in the blue paint. We are looking for things around there — goals in tight and screening the goalie. That is what their jobs are.
How do you take advantage of a group near the bottom of the league on the PK?
Berube: Shoot the puck. Find rebounds. Looking at it over the last day or so and this morning, we have to attack, shoot pucks, and get into the paint area. That is how you take advantage of it — that includes five-on-five, too.
What type of challenge do the Wild present tonight?
Berube: A very good road team, if you look at their record. Very good structure. They have some really good players. I know Kaprizov is out, but they are a very structured team that makes you work for offense. They do a good job with their structure in the defensive zone. They don’t give you a lot, and their goalies have played well.
With your team going on a long road trip shortly, what makes for a good road team?
Berube: Not being yourself on the road, being patient, and playing with real good structure consistently throughout the game. When you get your opportunities, hopefully, you can capitalize on them.
Teams are fired up playing at home, and they’re coming. You have to play with good structure. You have to check well and wait for your opportunities a lot of the time. To me, that is what makes for a good road team.
Is there more of an urge to entertain on home ice and a temptation to stray from the structure?
Berube: Yeah, I think sometimes, at home, your players want to make plays and try things they maybe shouldn’t sometimes instead of playing a boring game and taking what they give you.
That’s what I said this morning to our guys: Take what they give you. We don’t want to beat ourselves. They are going to be protecting the middle of the ice all night, and they are going to do a good job of it. We have to play behind them. We have to work for our chances in the offensive zone, get on the inside as much as possible, and get pucks there.
What do you remember about competing against Bill Guerin? Is his Wild team a reflection of him?
Berube: For sure. Hard-working team. He was a hard-working guy. Very competitive. Scored a lot of goals — a lot of goals in the blue paint. He was that kind of player. He mixed it up. He was a great all-around player.
Billy is one of the funniest guys you’ll ever be around and a great guy to hang out with and talk to. Fun guy.
