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NHL STADIUM SERIES: RANGERS v ISLANDERS


January 29, 2014


Jack Capuano


NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

JACK CAPUANO:  We came out early today and just walking around again, and it being a Ranger game, obviously, it's quite a stage.  It's like I said yesterday, we're fortunate that we're given this opportunity to play in this outdoor game.

Q.  (No microphone) said he spoke to a number of players that have been in the Outdoor Games just to get information for himself.  Did you do any preparation as far as looking at the history of these games?
JACK CAPUANO:  Yeah, we obviously watched tape of the Outdoor Games.  We've done that for a while.  Once we knew that we were going to participate, and then talked to some coaches that have been through this, not only one game, but a couple games and got their advice, so that makes sense to be honest with us.

Q.  What constitutes a good start for your team?
JACK CAPUANO:  Simplify the game, play fast, get pucks in.  Goaltenders, it's tough for those guys.  Those are the guys that aren't going to be as warm as anybody else.  So got to get pucks on the goaltender.  Get traffic in front of them, converge.  But it's about winning that territorial battle.  I think both teams will be excited.
I think the start of the game is crucial and important, like I said before, simplifying the game a little bit, get into the game, get yourself a hit, get yourself a bump, and once that puck drops, it's still 200 by 85.

Q.  Jagr was talking earlier this week about he felt when he played int the Winter Classic a couple years ago the cold weather did make him little more susceptible to injury.  He went out of the game with a lower‑body injury.  Is there any concern on your part in terms of starting Nabokov with the fact that he's coming back from injury that it might be more difficult to keep his muscles warm?
JACK CAPUANO:  That's a good question.  We've, obviously, taken the concern about Nabokov and the fact that he hasn't played much.  But, again, talking with our doctors and our trainers and watching Nabby practice over the last week, once we knew that he felt comfortable and had the conversation with him, it made our decision much easier.

Q.  Are you going to monitor the ice during the game?  See how it is if it kind of gets funny as it has in the past?
JACK CAPUANO:  I'm sure there are going to be elements during the course of the game.  Wind can play a factor, the ice, the snow, the amount of snow build‑up.  It all comes back to simplifying your game.  I think guys realize that just watching some of the Outdoor Games, I think special teams is a big factor tonight.  I think teams on the penalty kill will pressure a little bit more knowing that the puck is going to take some bounces.  Knowing that there is some snow on the ice there.  So there are some elements that our guys realize how we have to go about our business.

Q.  Back to Nabby.  He didn't get a lot of work the other night, but he had one that period.  Did that help to ease your mind that he is ready?  That he did see some game action already.
JACK CAPUANO:  Yeah, he wanted to play.  The extra day of practice was good for him.  Again, our goalie coach is in town.  He's working with him stretches and exercising with our trainers.  You'd like to get him ‑‑ at that point in the Boston game, I would have liked to see a few more shots to be honest with you.  But he's had a couple good practices, especially that morning skate and yesterday as well.

Q.  With Vanek having played in the first one of these, how much did you or did you get a sense of your players leaning on him with a sense of what to expect out there?
JACK CAPUANO:  Yes, absolutely.  I'm sure guys have talked to him, and he's voiced his opinion on certain things.  It's always good to have that one guy that's been through it before.  It's the excitement; it's the adrenaline.  That's the big thing that we have to make sure that we channel that correctly.

Q.  When you say simplify, what do you want to take out, the extra pass?  What exactly do you want them to do?
JACK CAPUANO:  I want them to play fast, but at the same time, let the puck and your feet do the work.  I mean, you go back and look at some of the goals in the Winter Classic, and a lot of it through the neutral zone, you know, there is not much that happens there in the first place, so we don't want to compound that in any particular way.
We want to make sure that we chip the support, we have slash support, that we're doing the right things at the right times.  Especially as the period and the game goes on and the elements that we're going to face.  What I mean simplify it, that's more or less what I'm talking about is puck management and how we handle the puck.

Q.  The ice was pretty bad on Sunday, but they still scored ten goals.  Are you expecting a lot of goals tonight?  Are you expecting kind of a low‑scoring game?
JACK CAPUANO:  That's a good question.  When we get together you don't know what's going to happen.  I think every game dictates and it's a new challenge.  Obviously, we want to play sound defensively, but at the same time we want to play fast.  They have six guys on the back end that are going to join and they're going to transition in the play.  There is no doubt when you go back and watch film with them and in that game against New Jersey they have four guys come.
So they play an open style of hockey.  We have to play a 200‑foot game, but we're not going to sit back.  We're going to play on our toes.  We're going to counter.  So I really don't know what to expect.

Q.  With Nabokov coming back, do you get the sense that the guys are a little more composed with him back in the net when he's playing and he's between the pipes?
JACK CAPUANO:  I think what Kevin's learning as he goes on is the ability to play the puck.  I think when you look there are a lot of goalies in this league that do an exceptional job of playing the puck, and that helps you on the breakout when they're a third defenseman back there.
Nabby is one of those guys that can handle it pretty well.  He's smart with his decision making.  As Kevin moves along, he's starting to learn that.  So in that element, it helps us for sure.

Q.  Over and above the importance of the points, the fans love it because it brings it back to the innocence of youth hockey and being on the pond.  What is your fondest memory of a kid playing on the pond?
JACK CAPUANO:  That's what it's all about.  It's about getting on the pond with your relatives and friends.  The difference practicing yesterday was we had boards out there.  When you're on the pond there, there are no boards, you go over the snow bank and you got to go get it and chase the puck down.  Every kid has done it.
Once we get out there, the guys will realize the enjoyment they had at one point playing the game.

Q.  Cutting through all the pageantry and attention and the spotlight here, how important are the two points tonight for the team?
JACK CAPUANO:  Well, it's important, obviously.  The St. Louis game I thought we played well.  We had a puck that had eyes, and the overtime was what it was on that goal.  But the Boston game, we fought back hard and then a late goal in the second period against a good team.  Teams that scored six goals in the last three games they played.
We have to, obviously, play our system, our structure, our framework.  This is a good hockey team.  They've got almost 30 wins for a reason.  They're solid from their goaltender on out, and this is a big two points.
We want to enjoy this game, but at the same time we need guys to be difference makers tonight.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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