Ottawa Senators head coach Travis Green addressed the media after a 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal playoff series.
On the overall view of his team’s performance and whether nerves factored into his team’s game:
I thought maybe in the first 5 or 10 minutes, we were a little nervous, which is probably to be expected. We have a lot of guys who haven’t played in the playoffs.
At five-on-five, I liked our game.
On the high number of penalties taken by the Senators:
We definitely have to stay out of the box. I’ll say that.
At the end of the game, it can get a little out of hand once in a while.
I thought there were a couple of calls that they did a good job selling. It’s tough on the refs.
We can’t take that many penalties, for sure.
On the “elephant in the room” of Linus Ullmark’s goaltending performance in the Ottawa net:
I like our goaltending. I like our goalie a lot. He’s a good goalie. He won the Vezina. He’s pretty good.
There is no elephant in the room in our room.
On where his team’s penalty kill fell short:
I don’t think I can sit here and say one thing. They scored two goals on quick little wrist shots off of rebounds, and then there was the Nylander 5-on-3.
On a Leafs team that’s historically struggled to score in the playoffs exploding for six goals in Game 1:
I am not too concerned about the past. At five-on-five, it was pretty obvious how we played.
They obviously generated on the power play. They have good players. I said before the series that the power-play advantage is going to be important.
I am not sure what the analytics show, but I am sure we were well ahead at five-on-five.
On the message to the group heading into Game 2:
All year, we have talked about committing to the process. It is no different now. In playoff hockey, you have to reset quickly.
We have a day to talk about the game, which we will, much like we did in the regular season. There were certain areas we liked. There are certain areas we have to clean up. That is usually the way playoff hockey goes.
On the keys to generating more high-danger chances:
There is a lot that goes into that. A) We have to play longer at five-on-five and stay out of the box.
Offensively, I thought we did some good things. We had some really good looks. We went down two, we almost made it 2-2, and then their power play got a few.
