Ottawa Senators head coach Travis Green addressed the media after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Maple Leafs in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal playoff series.
On the message to his team after going down 3-0 in the series:
There is not much I can say to them right now that is going to help or make them feel any better. It is disheartening, to say the least. I thought both teams played a hell of a game. Sometimes, playoff hockey comes down to little inches or bounces. We were on the wrong end of it tonight.
On the positives from his team’s performance:
I liked a lot (about it). We were ready to play. I liked our start. I thought Toronto pushed, as a good team does, but we hung in there.
It was a pretty even game.
On the atmosphere in the building:
It was awesome. You can hear my voice. I was trying to yell over the crowd a little bit with our line matchups and who was up.
It was everything you would envision out of our home crowd. It was awesome.
On the biggest area for improvement to try to extend the series:
Sometimes, it is a little thing here or there. I don’t think there is a lot we need to change.
They are a good team. I am not complaining, but a couple of bounces have gone their way. A puck goes off the toe. A deflection goes in.
We need to keep playing and worry about the next game. When you lose two games this way, you are not making big adjustments, to be honest.
On the mindset required to stay alive in the series despite a 3-0 deficit:
Whether you are up three or down three, the next game is the most important one. I don’t think we have to worry about winning four in a row.
That is what every coach is going to say. Chief is probably going to say the fourth one is the hardest to win. I am probably going to say we don’t have to worry about winning four in a row; just the next one.
But the fourth one is the hardest to win. The one thing I know about our team: We are not going to lay down and go away. We are going to be ready to play.
On Brady Tkachuk’s performances in the series:
He is playing well. He is playing awesome. There is never a doubt that he is going to be a big-game player, and he is. He showed it at the 4 Nations. It is in his blood.
As I said, he leads our team when it comes to how we want to play. We want to be a group that is hard to play against and loves winning. We are going to be ready to play on Saturday.
On the Leafs scoring so many goals directly off of faceoffs:
I have taken a lot of faceoffs, and I can tell you it is easier said than done. They have some good players and some good centermen. Our guys are trying.
We haven’t done as well as we normally do. We have a good faceoff team, too, but when you are talking about minute percentages, sometimes, you are just on the wrong side of it. We have been on the wrong side of some faceoffs.
I think we can do a better job helping out in our edge battles. We have talked about that.
Tonight, it was obvious that we were losing a lot of draws, and it was kind of consistent throughout our lineup.
