|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: DUCKS v RED WINGSMay 22, 2007Mike BabcockANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA: Game Six JAMEY HORAN: Questions for Coach. Q. Just talk about the first two periods. What did you see there? COACH MIKE BABCOCK: It's obvious both teams want to win and they got a shorthanded goal early and I thought we lost our composure a little bit. And in the end you're wanting to win so bad, I thought it got in the way of our poise and our execution. Yet you gotta give them credit. The Games 4 and 5 where we played at every opportunity to win and let them slip away, that in the end cost us in the end. You have to tip your hat to Anaheim. They've got a good team and they found a way to get it done and they are going to play a good Ottawa team. Q. Mike, looked like you were changing a lot of your line combinations for most of the game. Your rally in the third period, was that solely a matter of desperation or did you find an offensive line combination that worked or was it both? COACH MIKE BABCOCK: The bottom line is when it's not working you better do something about it and so you try to do that. But in the end we were able to claw our way back into the game. You gotta give our guys a lot of credit for that. I thought they really battled. And we had an opportunity, but in the end we didn't get it done. I don't think it has anything to do with line combinations. It has to do with the will of the individual, and we weren't happy with obviously how things have gone through two periods and wanted to do something about it. Q. Can you talk about down the stretch there, got a little crazy there on both ends, what were you thinking from the court side? COACH MIKE BABCOCK: I was thinking we have to find a way to shoot it in the net. The composure - and you're going to see this in the Finals, because the Finals are another level of it, too, is you want to win so bad and you want to be there so bad. Sometimes you try to do too much and you're not as composed as you should be. And that was evident probably in the finish for them as well. And it affected us early in the game; it affected them late in the game. Q. Obviously there's disappointment not getting into the Finals. Is there a different feel this year, the fact - COACH MIKE BABCOCK: We're still playing, so that makes it - last year we were one and out. I am proud of the guys. When Kronwall got hurt in Dallas, I almost threw up on the bench. Just because I thought you lose a marquee D man like that at playoff time, how do you overcome that? When we lost Schneider in game 3 of the San Jose series, you're saying to yourself, how the heck is this going to work? And I thought our guys battled and competed hard. There's not too many teams that could lose Schneider and Kronwall and Schneider and be here and continue to play well and represent the league like our guys did. So we have a lot of guys come a long way this year to say the least. We're a team that's - everyone talks about how old we are, yet we've added a lot of young people that have done a real good job for us. And we think we're a team that's rebuilding and still trying to stay on top. Q. Mike, have you talked to Dom yet and what his intentions are for next season? COACH MIKE BABCOCK: No, I haven't. I'm not going to for a while. Our whole focus, as you can imagine, was just on doing this and everyone's disappointed right now. But we'll have an opportunity to talk to Dom and kind of get our business plan, too, where we're going. Q. Do you think he can still play? COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Why not? Q. Mike, your first two series against Calgary and San Jose were very physical and intense. Do you think maybe you guys got a little bit tired in the first couple of periods tonight, you think that might have showed? COACH MIKE BABCOCK: No, I don't think that showed one bit. I don't think that had anything to do with it. I mean, the bottom line is, like I said, we let Game 4 and 5 slip away. Tonight they were at home. They scored early, were shorthanded, win a face-off. Got momentum and energy and we weren't handling the pressure they were putting on us with much poise. They ended up scoring. We had 3-0. I thought we got ourselves back in the game. The fourth goal ended up being a killer for us. I don't think energy level has anything to do with it or who you played in the past. The bottom line is they were able to get it done. JAMEY HORAN: Thank you, Coach. End of FastScripts |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|