Gerard Gallant spoke on Sunday and said (NYR):
- On today being an off-day, “resting today, relaxing.”
- Did you do anything today, “today we did nothing, right now, a little stretch and roll for the players and stuff like that. Just a relax day. When you play a team three times in the playoffs there isn’t a lot to show, we’ll show video tomorrow morning like we usually do and today is an off-day.”
- What did you think of Shesterkin before he was pulled, “I think the first two goals were real lucky and the crowd was going crazy and everything was going, it just went against us. There were some unlucky bounces and breaks and I thought at 4-1, why not shake something up? That is all it was.”
- What are you expectations of Shesterkin tomorrow, “I expect him to be outstanding. It’s a one-off, stuff happens like that and no one is blaming him. Our team was dominated in the first period, like we said last night. It’s nothing on Igor It was two lucky goals, the first two and away we go.”
- How did you like the match up against Crosby in Game 3, “They did a good job last night, it was probably the best we played against them until the end when they got the empty netters. Overall it was pretty good.”
- What sort of adjustments were made against Crosby, “Well, again, we played well against that line, but the other lines burned us a little bit. It’s just part of the game. When you are on the ice you have to be aware of who is on the ice and we talked about our matchups that we do a little bit, our D match up against them more than our against them then our forwards. They are a dangerous line and Crosby is one of the best players in the NHL, if not the best and you have to be aware of that line. They play really well and I thought we did a pretty good job overall last night.”
- How do you calm the game down, “I used to fight in my day, but not anymore (laugh)….That first period, like I said, I loved the first two games in our building, last night was the complete opposite and you hope it slows down. They get the first goal, shortly after that they get a PP and kept the momentum going. We just couldn’t slow things down for them. Obviously you’d love to see our fourth line go out there and get pucks deep and get some body contact, but they took it to us in the first period. We tried to do that and slow it down and get some physical play. They took over the first period. I’d like to say that there was something to slow them down, but they came ready to play and we’ll be more ready tomorrow night.”
- What options do you have for the third pair, “Your pointing the finger at those guys, but it was the first period. I got no problem, they are going to play hard and do the best we can. We are all about our team, it’s about 23- guys on our roster and that is what it’s about. Do the best you can, you try and put the best lineup out there to win hockey games and last night we had a tough night, not just our third D-pair.”
- Do you think sitting and watching will help Igor, “There are no issues with Igor. He sat there, the game didn’t happen for us really well. We bounced back and almost had a chance to win that hockey game. I think it was good for him last night. We all know he’s going to bounce back and our team is going to bounce back first, that is the biggest thing.”
- On Andrew Copp scoring in every game, “That is what we traded for him for. He’s played great. He’s playing on the top-two lines, a lot of times he’s played on the third line. He’s getting more opportunities and taking advantage of it. That is what he’s doing for our team and he’s played great every night. Good, solid hockey player. We really like him, he’s played really good for us since the team he’s been here.”
- On getting a 60-minute effort, “It’s a common theme, but it’s not just with us. It’s around the league and you watch games every night and there isn’t a lot of difference. Florida Panthers are a great team and you see the same thing from them. Momentum, sometimes it’s hard to change momentum, but you do the best you can and if was just our team I’d say ‘what is going on?’ We watch every night and momentum changes, a swing of the game and we change it in the second period. You want to play 60-minutes, but there is another good team across from you wanting to do the same thing.”
- Did the second intermission stop your momentum, “Definitely, we had a great second and it slowed us down a little bit. To me, the third was pretty even.”
- Are you surprised at how much offense is being generated, “No, I think the deeper you get into the playoffs the more defensive it’s going to be. Honestly, the first round is pretty wide open and you see some penalties and a lot of aggressive forechecks and some teams get caught doing that. I think the one team you watch, Dallas, the way they play, they are pretty conservative and they don’t give up a lot of chances and create a lot of chances, but that is the way they play and win hockey games. I think that is one of the teams that play a different style than most.”
- On how the young players are playing in the playoffs, “I’m real happy with those young guys. We talk about experience and the way their playing, it hasn’t affected them one bit in these first three games. I’m happy with them all, the growth they had in the season, they are all getting better, all confident and the longer we go the better it’s going to be for them and our team, obviously, but the growth in those players is real satisfying for me.”
- On the PP in Game 3, “great looks and Louis Domingue made some great saves, especially when it was 4-4. I don’t know, did we get a PP goal? No, but we had some great looks and I thought it was real good. If we had two goals then we win the game probably and are real happy today, but I still think the PP was good and real dangerous.”
- Any progress with Lindgren, “nothing different, hopefully he skates tomorrow and feels good. That is all I can give you, day-to-day.”
- Did Motte come on the trip, “No, but he skated.”