After Friday’s practice, Senators head coach Travis Green discussed his team’s 3-0 series deficit and the Cousins-Stolarz incident in warmup before Game 3.
There has been a lot of chatter about Claude Giroux’s involvement with the Flyers’ 3-0 series comeback in 2010. Have either of you brought it up as a source of inspiration?
Green: No, but I am sure Claude will. Man, that was a long time ago! It happens every once in a while.
We are not worried about four in a row here. We are worried about winning tomorrow. We have talked about being a process-driven team from day one. It is not going to change now.
There has been a lot of talk about the team’s playoff experience. Do you think your team has quickly learned about the small margin for error in the playoffs?
Green: It is (small). Game 3 could’ve gone either way, but there are certain things in our game that I think we can do better. We’ll talk to the team about it. When you talk about the margin, you can move the line a lot just by doing a lot of little things. You learn that as you go through the playoffs. We are going to need to be better in a few areas.
Anthony Stolarz is such a big body in the net. It seems like a lot of your shots are missing the net. Have you addressed that with the team as a key point of emphasis?
Green: We have talked about it a lot — shot selections, hitting the net, and getting in front of the net. I didn’t think we had the puck enough in the offensive zone. I didn’t think either team had the puck a lot. There was a lot of neutral-zone play.
The other team has a say in getting pucks to the paint, too. They have done a good job, and we have to do a better job. There is no doubt about it.
The NHL is looking into pucks getting directed at Stolarz in the warmup before Game 3. What do you make of that?
Green: Well, it is an active investigation. I don’t know if I should be commenting on that. I have people who have advised me maybe not to comment on it.
I am kidding. I saw the video. Nick Cousins and Stolarz have played together. Yeah, he is probably trying to either laugh at him, make a joke, or get him off his game. It is what it is.
Did you talk to Cousins about it at all? What did he say?
Green: Yeah. He said, “I know him.” Game within the game. It happens probably a lot more than you think.
Craig Berube referenced his forecheck as one of the strengths of his team in Game 3. What are they doing so well against you, and how can you counteract it?
Green: I think both teams are forechecking teams. They are quite content putting pucks behind and forechecking. I thought we did a better job in the first two games of breaking the puck out than we did last night. I don’t think our execution was as good as it has been.
When you don’t break the puck out as cleanly as you want, you are not going to look connected. I didn’t think our forecheck was as connected as it has been. It is another little area we can be better in.
You deployed Tim Stutzle on a lot of different lines in a lot of minutes. Do you think Stutzle has elevated his game for this playoff series?
Green: Tim has played well. He may not be getting rewarded with as many points as he would like or we would like, but I have liked his game in general. I have tried to slip him out there with a couple of different lines. We changed the lines in the middle of the third.
Tim is a guy who can play with anyone. He has the puck a lot, and he is a good hockey player.
How did you find the atmosphere in the building in Game 3?
Green: It was awesome. It was great. It was exactly what you would’ve envisioned.
Every building is a little different in terms of how loud they are and the way its fans are. It wasn’t surprising how much energy there was in the building last night. It was awesome.
