Ahead of the final game of the Leafs vs. Lightning season series, head coaches Craig Berube and Jon Cooper discussed a big game in the division standings.
Craig Berube on his team’s ability to respond to bad games this season: “They usually come out and are a lot more competitive than the last game.”
How did you address the loss in Florida with the group today?
Berube: It’s a lot of what we talked about last night. We’ll move on. It is a big game tonight. First place (is up for grabs). It’s a very good team in Tampa. We know what they are all about. We have to be a lot more competitive, win more puck battles than we did last night, and show more urgency in our game than last night. That is what it boils down to.
What have you seen from the group this season in terms of its ability to bounce back from disappointing performances?
Berube: They have been good. They usually come out and are a lot more competitive than the last game. We get a response out of them. I expect the same thing.
The team has had a lot of success against the Lightning this season. What have you liked about how the group has handled those games?
Berube: You have to do a good job with your penalty kill. You have to be disciplined. I think we had a five-minute major against them this year early on. Our penalty kill has been good against them, and it has to be good. We have to be disciplined.
You have to do a good job of checking their top players. They are obviously really good and competitive players. We have to do a good job of that, and we did a good job of counterattacking them. We checked well. We were able to create something the other way off of it. I think we did a good job of that in the three games this year so far against them.
How do you approach shutting down Nikita Kucherov when you never really know what he will do?
Berube: You have to take time and space away from him and be hard and physical on him as much as you can. At the same time, he is such a good playmaker and has eyes on the back of his head almost. He knows where his linemates are and will make a play under pressure to them. He is an elite, elite player. We all know it.
At the same time, we have to go at him. We have to take time and space away from him. We have to have good sticks against him with good stick details and take away his options. We need to get sticks on pucks because when he is under pressure, he will still make a play.
Andrei Vasilevskiy has had a great season, but your team has had some success against him, including chasing him from one of the games. Does it give you added confidence, especially your top players?
Berube: For sure. They are confident, anyhow, but it is about traffic, rebounds, and those types of things. You have to outcompete the goalie. We have to get pucks to the net with traffic and then win those battles. I can think of two or three goals we scored against them this year in those types of situations.
Jon Cooper on his team’s defensive improvement this season: “It has been an emphasis for us, and it has worked out”
Does the fact that you haven’t beaten the Leafs this season factor into the message to the team?
Cooper: When you drive your car, do you look in the rear-view mirror the whole time, or do you look out the windshield?
Your team is third in goals against per game a season after finishing 22nd. It was a point of emphasis this season. How pleased are you to see that number where it is?
Cooper: It is game #77, and we are third. If you want to give yourselves a chance to get in the playoffs and make a run, those are the kinds of stats you need to have. You have to do it in the playoffs as well.
Our team has changed a bit. We have more emphasis on how we play in our d-zone. We tweaked some things. The goalie has been really good. If you add up the whole thing, the acquisition of Ryan McDonagh has probably helped on the defensive side of things.
The growth of Lilleberg, Perbix, and Raddysh — the young guys coming in — has helped, and the addition of JJ Moser has helped. Our forwards have done a pretty good job as well.
We have been emphasizing it, and it has worked out. If we can play D like this moving forward, I like it. The big thing for us is getting better at limiting chances off of the rush.
What has it been like having Ryan McDonagh back in your mix this season? He has been nominated for the Masterton Trophy.
Cooper: When you get to game #77, you’ve talked about your players so much. It is hard not to appreciate Mac, especially being a part of his 1,000th game. I have been fortunate to see a whole bunch of those live.
The Norris Trophy is going to be handed out to someone, and it is not going to be Ryan McDonagh. Ryan McDonagh will never get enough points to be even close to the realm of that award. But I am a big believer that there should be an award for the best defensive defenseman out there.
He is a player who every single coach would stand right here and crave. All of the teams look for guys like him. Ryan has been at the top of the list of being that kind of player for the past decade.
He will probably never be nominated for something like that, but just ask anybody on the team — especially the goaltenders — how valuable he is.
What was it like to be in the building for Alex Ovechkin’s accomplishment?
Cooper: It was fortuitous. It was the only one I was going to be able to go to.
You felt there was a passing of the torch. It was kind of a sad moment in parts because you are watching the record go for someone who has been so pivotal to the history of the game. On the other side of it, it was an exhilarating, happy moment for a guy who has worked his tail off for a whole bunch of years and who I have personally watched score on us 50+ times in his career. You appreciate what he does.
It was cool to be able to watch that and be a part of it. It was one of those things you get to check off on the bucket list and say, “Hey, I was there for Ovi’s goal.”
The way he was embraced by not just the Caps fans but the Islanders fans… Everyone was a fan of hockey that day. That’s pretty much what it was.
