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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL: DUCKS VS PREDATORSMay 20, 2017Peter LavioletteMattias EkholmColin WilsonPontus AbergAnaheim, California - Pregame Q. We obviously learned yesterday about Ryan Johansen's status. Could you tell us through the timeline of events from that night, from how Ryan Johansen went from completing the game -- and I think his last shift came with less than 2 minutes before the game-winning goal to needing emergency surgery? COACH LAVIOLETTE: Not to get into it, because we have a game to play here. But at some point Ryan sustained an injury, was able to make it through the game. And then upon further assessment, had to move on from there with the doctors. Q. How do you deal with that? He's obviously a very important player on your team. How do you make sure your players' heads are in the right place going into a game tonight without one of their best guys? COACH LAVIOLETTE: Well, I mean, that's a factor, sure, that we're without Ryan. I think there's no question about that. With regard to our players' heads, they've been in the right place, I think, through the entire Playoffs and they remain in the right place. We've got a job to do tonight. We wish Ryan was here with us, but he's not. We've got to move forward. And there's a lot of trust and belief inside of our room that we can be successful. Q. You guys have a lot of homegrown players, and most of your guys have come through Milwaukee, I know David has stressed that, the path goes through there. And you're consistently in the Playoffs. What does it say about that process and your guys' trust in it that you've had so much success with it? COACH LAVIOLETTE: I think there's a tremendous amount of trust, I think, inside the organizations from the scouts that have done a terrific job, certainly Dean Evason and his crew down in Milwaukee, in developing the players. It's not a quick process for any of them. It's not like they're there for two or three weeks and they're on their way back up for good. They go through a process of learning about the game and how to be a pro, how to compete, how to play at the next level. And there's some ups and downs that go with that, but I think that crew in Milwaukee has done an unbelievable job. It's a credit to Dean and his staff for the way they've developed. When they've gotten here they haven't always stuck right away. We've sent them back at times, most of them back. The process continues from there, and we believe in that process and it's turned out some really good hockey players for us. Q. Can you confirm that Johansen's injury happened in a hit early in the second period when he went off slowly along the boards? And what is the nature of his injury? Was it a muscle tear, bleeding or -- COACH LAVIOLETTE: I'm probably going to stay away from that right now and focus on the game. Q. What can you tell us about Mike Fisher's status heading into tonight's game? COACH LAVIOLETTE: We don't talk about players' status. Q. Will he take the preskate? COACH LAVIOLETTE: We don't talk about players' status before the game. There will be an announcement at some point. But the players either go into the lineup or they don't. And then we make the announcements as we need be. Q. Without Ryan and potentially without Mike, you do have holes at center that you need to fill, and you do have players in the lineup, whether they're natural centers or ones that can fit in there. Is Vladislav Kamenev a player that you would consider in this situation even though he's only played a couple of NHL games but has experience at the AHL level? Would he be someone that you would think about putting in if necessary? COACH LAVIOLETTE: He's here. He's part of our group and he's as available as any other player is. He's a young player, probably the least experienced of the players that you're talking about that remain with the group here. But at that point, if and when we were to need players and Vladislav is an option for us. Q. Mattias, you guys are without Ryan Johansen tonight. We're not sure if you're without Mike Fisher tonight. Top two centermen. What happens in the dressing room when you know you're going into a game certainly without Johansen your top points guy, faceoff guy? How is that going to work? MATTIAS EKHOLM: Nothing changes for us, I don't think. Obviously we're going to miss him. He was a big part of our team and it's a tough break for him. But we got depth in our roster. In the first two series we use a lot of guys up front. And the same guys know how to step in and do a good job. So we're confident in our group. Q. Colin, as far as the depth goes, for you guys as forwards, how versatile do you think that group is? And can someone slide over and take over one of those center spots if necessary? COLIN WILSON: I think so. Mattias talked about our depth. I think we're very deep up front. We have a lot of great centermen and a lot of forwards who can contribute offensively. Obviously Joey certainly leading our team in points there and doing a great job. But, yeah, there's a lot of offensive talent up front. And we're confident in ourselves. Q. Were you caught by surprised by what happened with Ryan? He was able to complete the game and to find out later that night he had to undergo surgery? Did you notice anything wrong with him as he was playing through that, I guess, Thursday night? MATTIAS EKHOLM: I can just speak for myself. I had no idea it happened. Apparently it wasn't that big of a deal or big of a hit or what have you. So, yeah, it's tough for him. He had a really good go here in the Playoffs especially, and we were definitely going to miss him. Q. Colin and Pontus, when you think about the way the draws can be won, in different ways they can be won, knowing how good the Ducks are on draws, even if you're a winger how do you approach these things to win the puck back in maybe different ways without a couple centermen? COLIN WILSON: I think we still have pretty strong centermen in the circle. But something that we talked about all year was being faceoff ready and winners jumping in and helping. I think in the NHL it's more than just trying to snap it back, be a strong man like it was in lower leagues. It's a lot about tying up and getting our body positions and certainly wingers can help, but still we have great centermen who can win those pucks. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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