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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: DEVILS v RANGERSMay 15, 2012Ryan McDonaghNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Practice Day Q. Ryan, wonder if you could take us through the two plays early in the game where you chased down Parise and Kovalchuk, what are you trying to do in terms of getting an angle on them, what you're doing with your stick, trying to ride them out? RYAN MCDONAGH: Obviously you're not trying to be behind guys and give them breaks like that. But when it happens, you want to be smart and try not to take a penalty if you can do that. You always want to be moving your legs all the way back. You never know, might be one stride that can get you back in time. And, like you said, you just try to keep to the outside on Kovalchuk there and not let him get too much forward, and hopefully Hank can make the save. Q. How has playing with Dan helped you? RYAN MCDONAGH: It's been great. I mean, I make some mistakes, and Danny's great at recovering and blocking a shot or disrupting an odd‑man rush. And he just gives you that much more confidence to join the rush and create and make your plays that way. And obviously learned a lot from him, how mentally tough he is. The grind that he goes through, the hits that he takes, and the way he blocks shots. He's such a leader in that aspect, and it's something that I'm trying to get involved in in my game. Q. John was just saying that he had no idea really how it was going to work putting you together. Out of necessity, what the line would look like, did you worry about‑ did you have any worries that you wouldn't fit, wouldn't be able to do what the team was going to be asking you to do? RYAN MCDONAGH: No, I was really excited. Obviously it was unfortunate we didn't have Marc (Staal) at the beginning of the year. But when the opportunity came, I was really ecstatic and knew how important it would be for me and Danny to play well, having Marc out. He's such a huge part of our D corps back there. But it's not just me that had to step up, Michael Del Zotto, and we found Stralman and Bickel has come along huge, too. So it was a whole collective group there. But it was just a great opportunity for everybody and everybody stepped up. Q. Is your relationship with Dan off the ice different because you spend so much time playing together? Does that extend to what you're like together off the ice? RYAN MCDONAGH: He's a family man. He's a father now. But we have a lot of fun, too, away from the rink on the road. Go out to eat a lot. Hanging out in that aspect. And he's just a free‑going guy, which is great. And when he's away from the rink, he likes to have fun and talk about other things. But when it comes to the rink, he's pretty focused and he gets down to business. Like I said before, he's a great leader in that aspect of being a professional and trying to make the plays. Q. The season that you have and the playoffs so far, do you feel like the trade from Montreal was the best for you? RYAN MCDONAGH: I've tried to get over that whole aspect. Every time it's brought up, it's a good lesson. I say it was a good lesson to learn that there was a business side of things, and I was able to learn that at a young age. But, no, I can't say‑ it's been great here, for sure. I love the guys we have in our locker room and what we've got going here and a young team with good experience, and everybody's just really motivated to want to win as a group. It's a special feeling to be a part of that. Q. How do you look at this next game as kind of an opportunity? You guys have not had a two‑game lead in any series so far. What kind of opportunity or chance is this to give yourselves a little cushion, have a little bit of breathing room in the series? RYAN MCDONAGH: We talked about it today in our meeting. We watched video. We don't play a great game, but we find a way to win in the third period there, we get through some of their surges. But ultimately you win the game and you start the series 1‑0, and you really want to try to get ahold of the next game. And it's a huge opportunity. Like you said, we haven't done it before. It made it a tougher road, and it would be nice to in a sense make a stand on home ice, more importantly, make that last win mean that much more. Q. In what ways does this series present sort of a different dynamic than Philly? Particularly in respect to the way the Devils forecheck, they're very offensively optimistic. What sort of challenge does that present to you guys and how do you approach the team? RYAN MCDONAGH: They're a really balanced team, right through the lineup. They've got guys that can really skate, especially up front. You see it last night at times, they had us pinned down you get a step on a guy and he catches you from behind in a second. So you've always got to be prepared for their speed and how they forecheck, and really it's going to be a challenge to continue to defend well against them. They've had some good looks last night, and Hank had to make some huge stops. And we need to continue to work at our game to help keep them in check. Q. What reaction do you have when people talk about how you were acquired, and that it was a steal? RYAN MCDONAGH: I don't think about it too much. And I'm just happy that I had the opportunity to play here and make the jump last year and help the team in the playoffs last year. And going into this year, I just wanted to be that much more effective. I knew my role would increase a little bit. And I just wanted to be prepared to help the team win, and it's been awesome. Q. People talk about the price you pay to block shots. Not counting anything current, can you describe the price that you paid in your careers, big things, little things, injuries? RYAN MCDONAGH: Specifically blocking shots? Q. Yeah. RYAN MCDONAGH: I mean, I've been fortunate enough not to have too many serious injuries regarding them. But it's such a unique feeling when you block a good shot. I mean, especially when you see other people do it, you want to make sure that you're doing your part, too. That's what's great about our team. Everybody's trying to do that. When you see somebody make a block, you want to make sure that when your opportunity is there you come through and help the team in that aspect. So when everybody's doing it, it just becomes natural. It becomes part of your identity on the team. Q. You mean "it hurts so good" feeling? RYAN MCDONAGH: Yeah, you got protection. They're going to sting. But you know in the end it's going to help your chances to win, and that's all we care about. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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