Gerard Gallant met with the media following Rangers practice today and said (NYR):
- On the feeling the players had that it was a must win game against Dallas, “We go into every game and want to win every game and I think they were really disappointed with the performance we put forward in the two games prior to that. Must win meaning, that type of must win, not in the standings or nothing like that, but must win because we didn’t play real good hockey in those two games and we didn’t play the way we have to to keep moving forward. That is what I think he meant by must win.”
- On the team not losing three in a row much this season, “I knew it was going to be tough, before that road trip started, it was four games against four pretty good hockey teams. There are not many bad teams in the NHL anymore, but it was four games that were going to be very competitive games and big, physical teams that play good hockey. At the end of it you come out 2-2, are you satisfied, you are never satisfied, but overall you look back on it now say “I’ll take the two out of four on the road trip.’ What we didn’t like is the way we played in the middle two games and that was definitely a concern for our group. We came out in the Dallas game and got behind 2-0 in the first, early, and if it would have been a game like the prior two, it would have been real tough coming back here and you feel some pressure….that is what I think Hunt was talking about and I agree with his assessment. It was an important game and an important game for our team, not for 3-4 individuals, an important game for our team to play the way they played.”
- How do you approach being in a playoff spot but the playoffs not being for another month or so, “nothing changes for me, we are going to prepare them one game at a time and try and win every hockey game you play. Standings don’t change the way we are going to look at things, we keep playing our game and try to win tomorrow night.”
- Was that one of the better games from the bottom-six, “From the whole group, honestly, I was real happy after the game because I thought everybody responded and definitely the bottom guys in the lineup had some success, scored some goals and they played real good hockey, but I was happy with the whole group, I really was.”
- How important was that game to use as an example, “100%, especially for the younger guys, you show some of those clips and winning those 1-on-1 battles and the little stuff it takes to win hockey games and compete for those hockey games, it’s real important.”
- Is there something you want to see more of from the team, “I’ll take last game just the way it was. If our players play that way and compete that hard we will win a lot of hockey games. Dallas is a good hockey team, they’ve been on a pretty good roll lately and the way they play, a pretty tight game, I think we forced them into a lot of mistakes because we were working real hard as a group and that is what I liked about my team.”
- What has McKegg done to earn your trust, “Kegger’s hockey IQ, kills penalties smart, on the right side of the puck a lot. His experience is real good for our team. I had him before in Florida, I know the player and character and the guys in the locker room love this guy and he is a real key guy for us.”
- On Rooney and Kakko’s status, “They are doing their rehab, still week-to-week. It’s not going to be this week, for sure.”
- At least another week for both of them, “Yea.”
- Do you have conversations with Drury about what the team might need, “not really. It’s my first time with Chris at this time of year and obviously we talk about individual players and what possibly could happen, but it hasn’t been a lot, honestly. Chris wants me to coach my team, the guys I’ve got here, that is all I’m gonna do and that is my job. If he asks me about some players that I know I’ll definitely give him the feedback, but there isn’t a whole lot of conversation.”
- On facing another heavy team with the Ducks, “They are a young team, a lot like us, they got a lot of young players that are good high end players and they compete hard and play hard and right now they are battling for their playoff life. They had a good start to the season and working hard and competing hard, it should be a good game. I like their team they are going in the right direction, Dallas has done a real good job with them.”
- Is the team as mentally tough as you think they should be, “Like I said, for a couple of games I don’t think we were there last week, but for the most part we’ve been there and I like our leadership and our team and our group. We’ve battled through injuries to some key guys, not high end talent guys, but some key guys that do things. We talked about Kegger, he comes back in and plays a big role in the game the other night and shows some character. Rooney and Kakko are good hockey players, too and it gives other players a chance to step up and they did that the other night. Jonny Brodzinski went in and played some good hockey and killed some penalties. It gives other guys opportunities and the closer we get back to getting our people is good for our club.”