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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: KINGS v COYOTESMay 19, 2012Dave TippettLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Practice Day THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Tippett. Q. How good was yesterday, taking it off? COACH TIPPETT: Well, the rest is always good this time of year. I think it was a good mental break for our guys. We came out, had a real spirited 30‑ or 40‑minute workout today. We got to go out and play well. If we can find a way to win, we push it back to Phoenix, hopefully can keep the series going. Q. What did you sense from your group looking at them on the ice? COACH TIPPETT: I thought there was a workmanlike attitude, focused. Like I say, there's a 'never say die' attitude with this group. No time to worry about what's happened in the past. We got to go win a hockey game now. Q. The lines we saw out there, can we assume that's what will parlay into tomorrow's game? COACH TIPPETT: We'll see. We got a couple guys we're looking at injury‑wise. We'll see whether Aucoin is a possibility for tomorrow. We'll reevaluate that at the meeting tonight. Q. What has been the biggest issue? What is L.A. doing? COACH TIPPETT: L.A. has certainly played well. I think our execution can be so much better. We've had opportunities to make some plays, whether it be on the power play or five‑on‑five, and we're not getting those plays made. The ability to execute under pressure and make good plays, the ability to win one‑on‑one battles to keep puck possession. Those are areas we have to get better at. Q. Do you feel your team has yet to play a typical Coyotes brand of hockey game? COACH TIPPETT: I don't think we played it for a full sustained 60 minutes. There's been some times when it feels like it gets going a little bit, then we back off. I think some of that is due to L.A. Those are swings that happen in the game. The disappointing thing for us is when you need to make a push, we found our way to the penalty box. That's taken away a lot of the zip out of it. That's why it was so frustrating the other night. You have Doan sitting in the penalty box for the last part of the game, taking a penalty that I thought was a very soft penalty late in the game. You're pushing. We've talked all along, our margin for error is very, very slim. If you look at the games we found ways to win in the playoffs, it's a tight, tight win to put us over the top. Last game was a perfect example of that. Q. How much of it is their size? COACH TIPPETT: They play well. But I'm worried about how we play. That's what we're going to shoot for. Q. (Question regarding day game.) COACH TIPPETT: Anaheim is 5:00 games. We have some afternoon games at home. Time of the game shouldn't matter at this point in the season. Q. Why do you think Pyatt has been one of your better forwards? COACH TIPPETT: He's a big, strong forward. Competes in the trenches. The plays he makes, the opportunities he gets aren't from fancy plays, they're from hard plays that you're able to push somebody off of the puck or find your way to the net. I think that's a big factor in why he's been a good player for us. Q. You mentioned scoring by committee a lot. COACH TIPPETT: We're missing a little committee right now. The committee needs to reconvene that meeting, I think (laughter). We need some more people to jump in. Finishing the play is one thing, but we need to create more. It goes back to sustaining forecheck pressure, making plays under pressure, whether it be on the power play or five‑on‑five. We need more people to chip in in that area. Q. Pucks on net, you got to get shots. COACH TIPPETT: When you have the puck more, you're making some plays more, there's a better chance you're going to get more pucks at the net. It all goes hand‑in‑hand. Q. Is it inevitable that each round gets tougher? COACH TIPPETT: You try to do the same thing. You hit the nail on the head, the bar gets raised. We haven't been able to raise our game to the next level the way the Kings have. Q. When the Kings push, how do you want to see your guys react? COACH TIPPETT: You got to push back. We looked at it as if it's going to be a close game. If it's tight, contested, close, we haven't found a way to win one of those games yet. We're due. We have to find a way to win one of those games and hopefully push the series along. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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