Ahead of Wednesday’s game, head coach Craig Berube discussed how his team can build off Monday’s win, lessons from the team’s loss to the Avalanche earlier this month, and the decision to start Joseph Woll in net.
Did you feel like Monday’s win was an example of the team getting back to north-south principles?
Berube: Definitely. If you look at the first period and the predictability and directness of going north-south, putting pucks at the net, recovering them, not hesitating, moving them quickly, shooting it again, and recovering them, we were on our toes. We won a lot of loose-puck recoveries. There were a lot of shot attempts. We didn’t go back with the puck; we got it going north. We have to do the same tonight.
What is the biggest adjustment you need to make after the loss in Denver to the Avalanche a few weeks ago?
Berube: I look back at the second period. That is a good second-period team, as are we, but I thought they three-quarter iced us in that period and put us on our heels for the period. That is draining. It takes a lot of energy out of you for the third. I didn’t think we had enough juice for the third. We had the lead, but we lost it.
They are good at it, and we have to do a better job of it tonight.
Now that the team has hit the 40-win mark, how much do you think it has to do with the work your staff has done, and how much of it is what you have to work with on the roster?
Berube: We have great players. We have really grown as a team and are playing a real good team game defensively and offensively. The power play is coming and clicking. Our PK has slid a little bit, but it has been pretty steady all year — just not in the last month.
We have to keep playing a team game. The checking side of things is really important — we know that — and the predictability of how we want to play. As a coaching staff, I think we brought in the predictability of how we want to play the game on the checking side of things, and these guys have scored goals their whole careers. They know how to score goals — unlike me.
In your experience, is a good second-period team a good team in general?
Berube: I think second periods are really important. It sets you up for the third. If you look at our season as a whole, we have scored the most goals in the second period out of any period. Going into the third, we have leads all the time, and we have done a good job of hanging onto leads and finishing games out.
It puts you in a good spot in the third, but it is the mindset in the second period. It is playing fast. It is getting pucks up. It is catching people on bad line changes. All of those types of things go toward having a good second period.
What is the key to slowing down Nathan MacKinnon?
Berube: I don’t know, but if you find out before the game, you can let me know.
You just have to stay on top of him as best as you can. It is like playing McDavid. They have great speed and are competitive guys with tons of skill. It is about trying to slow them down — picking them up in the neutral zone, trying to get on top of them, denying them the puck as much as possible, and taking time and space away.
It is all the same things that every coach says.
How do you do it with Cale Makar when he is coming off of the backend?
Berube: It is probably even more difficult. He is a great player. Again, it is a lot of the same things — trying to get above him as much as you can and trying to make him work in his own zone.
Tonight, we have to make this team play in their own end as much as possible. When that is happening, it is important that we get some line changes and some fresh people on the ice. Make them extend their shifts as much as possible.
You have faced Gabriel Landeskog a lot in the Central Division. What do you make of him trying to come back and play after almost three years of rehab?
Berube: He was a great player — a big guy who is hard to handle and a great net-front guy who is a power forward. He did a lot of things for Colorado. He is a competitive guy who loves the game. There is a reason that he wore the C. He is a leader.
He obviously doesn’t want to give up. He wants to keep trying to battle through it, get back, play, and help out the team.
Do you think you’ll look to get some guys who were sitting back into the lineup with the back-to-back this week?
Berube: It is a good opportunity. We can get a couple of fresh guys in there. We will see how it goes tonight and see where the minutes are and the game in general.
Is there any special reason why Joseph Woll was given the start in the first half of the back-to-back?
Berube: I liked his last two games. We’re going to go with him again tonight.
It looked like one of the most lightly attended morning skates of the season. Is that because of the medical staff or a reflection of the schedule?
Berube: I think it is a reflection of the schedule, and we skated yesterday. I can see why there aren’t many guys on the ice with back-to-back games coming up.
