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NHL STADIUM SERIES: DEVILS v RANGERSJanuary 26, 2014Alain VigneaultNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK DEVILS – 3 Q. If you can just start with what you saw going from the first period to the second period and what kind of changed? It seemed like Hank settled down, the defense settled down and everything just settled down for you. COACH VIGNEAULT: It was a funny flow to the game in the sense that there weren't a lot of chances in the first period. They seemed to find the back of both of the nets, and then in the second, our transition, I thought we were able to for some reason they stayed up on the occasions that we were able to chip pucks by them and we got some outnumbered situations. Some nights you just find a way to go in. It seemed to be one of those nights. It was a couple off them, a couple off our skates, and one was a really good play where Brass to Zuccy where he was patient and able to meet him. And it was one of those games where we were able to capitalize on a couple of those. The goal at the end of the second there where Stralman steps up, I don't remember who he hit there. But we countered right away and made it to 6‑3. It was probably a big point for us, and probably took the legs off of them. Q. How do you control the emotions in the locker room when the game time gets pushed back, guys are amped up to play and it gets pushed back? COACH VIGNEAULT: Well, I mean, when you think everybody knew coming into this that this was a possibility. It's the same for both teams, so you've got to be professional about it. Then once you find out what time the game starts, you go through your normal preparation. That's what our guys did. We went out, and it was my first experience in one of these games. I've got to tell you, as a coach, as a player, as a fan, I'm assuming it's got to be the same thing. It was an outstanding feeling. It was just a great day. I know we won it, and it's easy to say after you won it, but it was an unbelievable atmosphere, and I'm really fortunate to have been part of one of these. Q. Henrik, the goalie, had a few tangles in the last ten games. What have you noticed from him lately, and how important has his production been to your search right now? COACH VIGNEAULT: He's obviously feeling really good about his game. He's going to the net a little bit more, going to the tough areas. But he was playing well prior to this, but sometimes players can be streaky. He wasn't finding the back of the net, and he is now. So we need that from him. He's an elite player and we need him to play like that. Q. In the second period with all the speed and puck movement on the attack, does that seem for at least a while there that was almost the perfect execution of what you want to see from this team offensively? COACH VIGNEAULT: Well, a lot of that transition comes also with what the other team is doing. They're a team that they put a lot of pressure and they outnumber and they swarm in certain situations. We were lucky. I don't know for whatever reason tonight, but this afternoon we were fortunate to catch them a couple times just in between a stay‑up and a pinch and able to make the play with the puck which led to those transitions. Some days it works like that. Some other days it doesn't, and it did today. Q. You and all your guys were very articulate talking about how much you like the atmosphere. What specifically about it, what really stood out about the surroundings? COACH VIGNEAULT: Well, for me, the outdoors. It was cold. It wasn't a cold that could affect you. There was a little snow in the second period. The only thing that I found surprising was the quality of the ice. You'd think that a day like this where it's below zero Celsius, so below 32 Farenheit, that you're talking about ideal conditions. You should be able to get ice and they had issues with the ice. I was surprised about that. But us walking on to the ice surface, the applause from fans as much from the Devils as the Rangers, it was a really neat experience. Q. Did you feel you had some sort of advantage Wednesday night having played here already once? COACH VIGNEAULT: Not really. I think for our group it's going to be another good experience in an 82‑game schedule. But I think if I'm from Long Island and I'm a player and coach and member there I'm going to feed off this first opportunity for them. I don't see an advantage for one team or the other. Q. What specifically do you think Staal and Stralman did together to pick you guys up defensively after a shaky start there? COACH VIGNEAULT: Yeah, they made strong plays with the puck, and when they didn't have the puck, they made some strong, physical plays. I really liked their overall game. I liked after we settled in a little bit after the first period, I thought our three "D" pairs were really strong at both ends of the rink, making the right plays and giving us a strong balance throughout the rest of the game. Q. You joked around about practicing in the snow yesterday. But do you feel like it helped you at all today? COACH VIGNEAULT: I think it was a big help. No, it's funny you say that because when it was starting to snow in the second period jokingly I said to the guys on the bench, we've practiced in these conditions. We're ready for it. But the guys yesterday, compared to today, we only scraped once. It was tough to practice today. The NHL guys did a great job of getting the snow out of there, so it was pretty good. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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