After a 5-4 loss to Seattle, head coach Jim Hiller discussed the late losing goal, Sergei Bobrovsky’s performance, the impact of the penalties, and the ongoing search for the right line combinations amid the injuries.
Hiller on the difference in a tight game:
I thought it was a close game. I thought we could’ve played better. There’s no question. But it was tight.
Obviously, there wasn’t a lot going on either way. The shots were 22-17, or something like that. Just a tight game that we came out on the wrong side of.
Hiller on conceding with 33 seconds left, shortly after tying the game:
You can imagine, right? Everybody’s pretty excited when we tie it, and then it’s just a dagger when the last one goes in.
Hiller on Sergei Bobrovsky’s performance:
I thought he was all right. The last one, he probably would want that one back. But one goes off a toe, one goes off a stick. That part of it, he can’t do much.
The last one, he probably wants back.
Hiller on the penalties and their impact on the team’s momentum:
In the second period, I really didn’t like the first call. I didn’t like the call on Lettieri. We had just scored two power-play goals, so you know what’s going to happen. I didn’t like that call.
The other calls were penalties for me. Then we get into the third period. I didn’t like the push on Mermis, but those are the calls. We have to deal with them.
There’s no question it took a lot of our momentum away in the second period.
On whether he considered changing goalies during the game:
Not at all. No, not at all.
Hiller on the chemistry between Gavin McKenna and Auston Matthews:
On the power play, for sure. Five-on-five, I didn’t think they did all that much, to be honest with you. But definitely on the power play. Then six-on-five is six-on-five.
Beautiful goals on the power play, no question.
Hiller on the team’s overall effort and the costly breakdowns:
I thought we competed hard. We made two mistakes, two two-on-ones, and had three or four breakout turnovers in the first period. Cost us chances. One cost us a goal.
There were just six or seven key breakdowns. Outside of that, they didn’t have much. We kept them to the outside, just like they did for us.
We were pretty good outside of, again, just some key mental errors.
Hiller on the search for the right line combinations without John Tavares and Kirill Marchenko:
John and Marchy are both 18-, 19-minute-a-night players when they’re going. That’s a lot of minutes. It’s not just that you’re filling 10 or 12 minutes. Those are big minutes.
I don’t know that we’re completely settled with that yet.
