Toronto Marlies head coach John Gruden discusses his team’s 1-0 win over the Chicago Wolves in Game 3 of the Calder Cup Final.
On taking a 3-0 series lead:
We know what playoff hockey is all about. We’ve done a really good job of putting ourselves in this position. And we know what is at stake.
We are not going to get ahead of ourselves. We know how we need to play moving forward, as we did in the second and third periods. We were a completely different team when we came out in the second. We just have to make sure we simplify things and keep supporting the puck, manage it, and the rest will take care of itself.
On the character of this group of players:
We wouldn’t be here without it. I can’t say enough about what Logan Shaw, Dakota Mermis, Matt Benning, and Marc Johnstone have meant to us. Those guys are policing our room and making sure our guys are ready to go, even when we have a bad period. Today, they were making sure our guys would be focused and dialed coming in.
There is character all up and down our lineup. If someone is hurt, someone comes in and does that same job. It is impressive. Again, we will need it even more so on Thursday.
On Easton Cowan’s goal and strong second period:
He didn’t have the best first, and not just him. We were a little bit… I don’t know how to say it, but we just weren’t ourselves. We made a few nice plays early to get a couple of opportunities. In the first five minutes, I thought we were good, and then we got a little sloppy. You know what happens when you get sloppy.
Cowan, and a bunch of other players included, were outstanding coming out for the second. You could see the confidence grow after he scored that goal, and how much better he played detail-wise — 200-foot game, and he was making all of the right plays and skating. He was creating. That is when he is at his best — not trying to do it himself.
For him to come back like that after the first just says a lot about him. It’s no different than what happened in Wilkes-Barre. His growth just continues. You just can’t get this experience any other way than playing in it, and he was a big part of that win today.
On Artur Akhtyamov’s shutout performance and critical work in the first period, in particular:
We don’t have enough time. You guys will get mad at me for explaining how great he has been for us and how much confidence he has given our group. He just looks pretty calm in that net. He makes the big saves when he has to.
Again, I think that might have been his best. He really, really looked sharp. He was dialed the whole night.
On the message to the players when the Marlies went to a five-minute major with just under five minutes left in the game, up 1-0:
They’re a high-pressure PK. We haven’t had much success against them — actually, none. But went to two defensemen to try to get into a spread and insulate ourselves. We don’t need to score; we want to make sure we move pucks quickly and don’t do anything crazy. We don’t have to.
It got a little bit exciting there on one shift, and when they pulled the goalie, it was five-on-five hockey. Again, we did what we had to do during that time. I wasn’t going to put four forwards out there. No way.
We did what we had to do.
On Henry Thrun’s status after the dirty hit near the end of the game:
I haven’t gotten word yet.
He is making all the right plays. He is going back for pucks. Unfortunately, he took that one. That put us on the power play.
He has been outstanding. I thought our whole team, especially our defensemen, were really good moving pucks in the second and third. If you want to move fast, the puck has to move quickly. You need tight support. We did a great job of that.
At the end of the day, too, our D made some huge blocks — commitment-type blocks. That is winning hockey. Our defensemen were outstanding in the second and third. They got our forwards skating, moving pucks quickly, and were making those blocks. I can’t say enough about those guys.
On the fan atmosphere in the building and city:
It is huge. The energy in that building was the most I’ve ever seen. There is a good reason why. They bring a lot of juice. It is an intelligent hockey community. Toronto knows its stuff. They know what a team is playing well, and they give us some positive, good energy when we need it the most. It is definitely helping big time. We will need it even more on Thursday.
