Gerard Gallant met with the media following Rangers practice today and said (NYR):
- On K’Andre Miller, “He’s one of those guys that has character, you know he’s going to block shots and do whatever it takes. He thinks defense first and we really like him for that role, he’s a character guy, a leader on our team, young player, but he brings all that stuff for our team.”
- On K’Andre Miller’s role, “He brings a little bit of offense and moves the puck, but he knows when to do it. For instance, that Buffalo game when he scored with two seconds left he jumps down at the right time. He’s a good all-around defenseman, but he knows his main job is to keep the puck out of our net and he does a great job with that.”
- Does Shesterkin remind you of when you were with Carey Price in Montreal, “It feels like it, definitely. I don’t know Igor that well, it’s my first year with him, but he goes in there and is focused, plays his game and is confident in his hockey game. Every night it’s just been outstanding.”
- Do you have concern about guys relying too much on Shesterkin, (laugh) “No, you know what, we talk about it after a lot of games. I get a little frustrated at times, even when we win, because…but, I mean, the more shots he gets the better he is. He is comfortable with how his game is playing. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want 42 shots, 27-28 would be perfect, a good number to get to, but I just think the guy is confident and he gets his work and he’s focused on every shot. I got no issue with us winning hockey games and him playing great goaltending…the only issue I got is some of those breakaways, we are giving up too many breakways at times, too many real Grade A chances in a couple of games, but for the most part Igor has just been solid and our goaltending all year has been leading our group.”
- Will Igor come to you one day and say he’s tired or need a day off, “tired from what? (smile) What does he need a day off for? He can take practice off any time he wants, just like any of my players. They are tired and come in and say ‘coach, I’m not going to go on,’ just like I didn’t go on today. If you don’t feel good, don’t go on the ice. But we manage our goalies, he hasn’t played a whole lot of games. As good as he’s played…how many games has he played right now? It’s not like he’s been busy, he had a couple of weeks off when he got hurt, we had a nice break, our whole week, for 15 days, 14 days, I think he’s played 5-6 games since then. He’s not going to play every game, trust me. He’ll be fine.”
- On goaltender workload, “We’re in a good position, Georgie is going to play and we’re going to do what is right for him. Me and Benny talk all the time and we talk with Dru and this is the pattern we are going to take. We have 26-games left, he’s going to play some of them, Georgie is going to play some of them and we’ll go from there, but we’re not one bit worried about him overplaying, that is not going to happen. It’s not going to happen.”
- On Mika Zibanejad, “total effort every night. Defensively, offensively. Talk about candidates for awards, there is another one, he’s been outstanding. Two-way player, works hard, competes, creates chances every night for us, plays great defensive hockey. He’s been awesome.”
- On Zibanejad as an example for other players, “I heard good things about his two-way game, but when you watch it for as long as I’ve watched it this year with him, he does it every night, plays hard every night, a two-way game. It’s not just Chytil, it’s our whole team. He’s a good guy to watch, I think he’s one of the best two-way players in the game, I really do. I didn’t know that before I coached him, but he’s been outstanding at both ends, kills penalties, faceoffs, on the ice the last minute of every game. He’s one of those real good players that plays it both ways and does a great job every night for our team.”
- On the trade deadline, “You are always thinking about it. Every player loves his teammates and loves his group and sometimes you get traded and even if you don’t get traded you are still thinking about it up until the deadline, so you’re concerned about it. It’s part of our game, a tough part of our game, but, I know myself, personally, I was with Detroit for 9-10 years and I was scared every time it came up. I wanted to stay in Detroit, even when we had bad teams I didn’t want to leave. Now there are more trades, but you are always concerned about it and it effects you, there is no doubt.”
- Do you ask Drury about what moves he is considering, “No, I just coach the team and he’ll tell me if something happens.”