Coach Michel Therrien Pre-Game Press Conference - May 9, 2008

[rinkrat]

Coach Michel Therrien Pre-Game Press Conference - May 9, 2008

(May 9, 2008)


An interview with:



COACH THERRIEN





THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach, please.



Q. When the team loses a key player like the Flyers losing Timonen, do you have to caution your players not to relax? Or do you even address the issue with your guys?

COACH THERRIEN: Well, obviously, this is a huge loss for them. With all the respect for the other defensemen, he is their best defenseman and their shut down guy, and was playing really well. But in the meantime it is giving an opportunity for another player to step in. But in the meantime for us, our philosophy hasn't changed. It's not about them, it's about us. How are we going to play, how are we going to handle ourselves on the ice. And we know how they play, and we're well prepared. We're excited about tonight. But in the meantime, you know, we're not focusing on who is going to be there and who is not going to be there.



Q. What has allowed Ryan Malone to enjoy the season that he's had? It seems that he's always had a lot of the tools, it just seems that the consistency of his game has come together this year. What have you seen?

COACH THERRIEN: He learned a lot in the last few years. I really believe that he's got the tools to become the player that he is right now. I think number one thing is maturity. He deserves a lot of credit. He's an important player on our team. There's no doubt that he's playing on the top two lines, and he's doing a fantastic job with Malkin. He's playing on the power play. He's playing on the penalty kill. So, when you get responsibility to a player like this, and the success that that team is having, there is no doubt his role is more than important, and he accepts the challenge, and he's ready for that type of challenge. He made big strides the last two years.



Q. Last round you guys were coming off a long layoff, you were going into a Game 1 against an opponent you had seen a lot of during the regular season. What lessons can you learn from that series opener that can be applied to this series opener?

COACH THERRIEN: First of all, I think energy‑wise, I think the players are anxious to play on both sides. If we do remember our first game it was kind of playing against the Rangers we almost felt the same thing. Funny bounces on both sides. It was not like a textbook playoff type of game. But we tried to stay focused this week as most as we can. One thing, players are really excited. I believe their players are more focused.

Second round is always a tough round to play emotionally. I mean, because when you start the playoffs you're talking about the playoffs for about two, three months with your team that you got to battle to make the playoffs. You've got to be there. When we start the playoffs there are 16 teams that are so excited to be part of it. So the emotions always go down after the first round.

We find a way to win that first game. It gave us a lot of momentum to that series, but now I think, emotionally it will be a lot different because we're getting closer to where we wanted to go. And that being said, this is going to be the same thing for both teams.

So this is what I'm expecting it's going to be a real playoff type of game tonight, even if it's only the first game of the series.



Q. Along those lines, you're a pretty good reader of your hockey club, particularly in the morning, though you say it doesn't affect the game. What vibes are you getting from your hockey club right now as you get ready for this series?

COACH THERRIEN: Their confidence, first of all. I think at this time of the year, confidence is a big part of it. They're confident because of the work ethic. They're confident about the way that they're playing into our system. They're confident because they know they're disciplined. That's why we got a good vibe with our team right now. And the team spirit when you're winning, obviously, it always helps. But even in tough times this year, I think the team spirit always was there with that young group. Right now I can see a bunch of young guys really excited to attack the third round of the playoffs tonight.



Q. You coached against John Stevens in the AHL playoffs I guess a couple times, any particular moments that stand out in some of those series?

COACH THERRIEN: Thanks for reminding me. We've been talking for that the last two days (laughing).



Q. I wasn't here, sorry.

COACH THERRIEN: He's doing what he has to do to be successful. And I have to do what I have to do to be successful for our own team. Like I said yesterday, he's a good coach. He's got success in the American Hockey League. What he did this year coming up from a tough year last year with the Flyers, he deserves a lot of respect.

We know how they play, and they know how we play, this is not brand‑new for us or even for the players. They've been playing against each other for a long period of time. We bring different actors every year, but the focus is not on the coaches. The focus is on the actors. The actors will have to act. And they've got some good actors, some good players. We've got some good actors as well. That's why it's going to be a really interesting series.



Q. To your credit and your players' credit, you haven't had a lot of adversity in the playoffs in terms of deficits. You've only lost one game I'm sure you'd like to keep it that way. Do you have to go into this series and perhaps the next one with the expectations that it's going to get tougher? Or do you feel it's in your control to keep it the way it's been?

COACH THERRIEN: I don't think people realize how tough it is to win in the playoffs every single game. It's really demanding. You go through adversity during games. You could lose momentum, how are you going to react? That can be an adversity. Like last game, things were going really well for us. Hey, we lost our focus for about five minutes, bang, attacked the game. If you're looking for adversity, that was a little bit of adversity.

It's demanding to win in the playoffs. But, you know what, that team went through a lot of adversity through the course of the season, and I've said that before, but I still like to repeat myself on that. When we lost Crosby and we lost Fleury, and we lost a lot of guys from our lineup, that was adversity to try to make the playoffs because our main goal was to try to make the playoffs like all the teams.

Those guys did a fantastic job to stay focused, and to bring their game to another level with that challenge. Playoff for me is not always about adversity. For me it's more like a challenge. Every game is a challenge, every series is a challenge. And we see it more as a challenge than an adversity.



Q. I talked to a couple of the players about what a typical day is like on a game day. They go home, take a nap, and play soccer whatever. What is a coach's typical day? What do you do on a game day?

COACH THERRIEN: Watch videos, we prepare, we watch videos. We've got meetings to prepare. Everyone's got their own routine. But one thing we've got to make sure is that we prepare our team as much as we can. In the meantime, you don't want to over-prepare the team.

We had a meeting yesterday with the players. It's not because in the playoffs we want to change things. We don't want to change things at all because the players are comfortable with the preparation we did during the regular season. So it's not because we're in the playoffs we're going to start changing things. So we're doing the same things.



Q. If you can go back and draw on the experience you guys had when Sidney first went down, as a coach, what is the specific challenge that first game when the team loses a player and is trying to have guys step in new roles? From the coaching standpoint, what is the biggest challenge you have to get your team just in a state of normalcy?

COACH THERRIEN: They've got to believe. They've got to believe they could do the job even if you end up missing a lot of players. When a group believes what they could achieve, well, that's a big step. That was a back‑to‑back game we played here. We lost against Tampa Bay. We went to play in Montreal, that was a huge challenge. We got a shut out from Marc‑Andre, went 2‑0 up there. And I think that was a huge win for us. Especially mentally. And they knew that they got to play a team game if they want to have any type of success. And that will give us a lot of confidence to finish the year.



Q. How is Max Talbot progressing?

COACH THERRIEN: He's still day to day. But he's not going to play tonight.



Q. Any other changes in the lineup?

COACH THERRIEN: No. No.

[PPharoah]

Freaking Tankers! So much for the new era, lol. Least that's what area journalists and those at the games have been saying.