Gerard Gallant met with the media before the team flew to Carolina and said (NYR):
- How are you feeling, what is the mood, “mood is great, obviously. Before last night’s game, obviously, we had to win the game and won a hockey game so now we get to play for a Game 7. Everybody is positive, excited and looking forward to tomorrow.”
- Has this situation felt inevitable, “it was sure looking like that after the first four, no doubt. But, again, I think the first game of the series we had a chance to win that game, obviously, it was a 1-0 game for us late in the game, they scored late and won in OT. I think every game is up for grabs and I hope the home ice changes tomorrow night. It’s been a battle and we’ll see where it goes.”
- Is it worth trying to figure out the home/road stuff, “No, it isn’t. It really isn’t. You prepare your team and get your game plan and you talk to your team a little bit about different stuff, match ups, stuff like that. You go and play the game, it’s a Game 7, both teams know what the consequences are and both teams have played well. No one expected Rod’s team to play all those games and win all the games at home and lose all the ones on the road, I think we’ve won one game on the road and both of our teams have been good road teams all year long. It’s a battle and will be a great game tomorrow night and hopefully we come out on top.”
- The one road game you won was an elimination game, “it was a huge game, Game 6 in Pittsburgh.”
- Why is the team so resilient, “I’m one year with this team, obviously, and I just think that from Day one we talked about getting up when you are down. We’ve worked hard, I don’t think there are many times we lost more than two games during the season, might have been a few, but it seems like every time we lost that second game the guys battled back and find ways to win. We’re a young team, have a lot of fun and they believe in themselves.”
- On Shesterkin, “He’s been unreal. Obviously he’s up for the MVP and Vezina award and he’s been that great for us all year long. We rely on him, he makes big saves for us at key times and gives us a chance to win every game we play, no matter who we are playing.”
- On feeling good about all the games but Game 5, “We probably had one bad game in the Pittsburgh series that we didn’t like and even the Game 5 game was still up for grabs late in the hockey game, but we didn’t play as well as we could have played, no doubt. I like our chances if we play real well and, again, it’s going to be two good teams battling it out.”
- Can the team embrace being the underdog, “Personally, myself, I didn’t look at us being underdogs in the Pittsburgh series or this series. They finished in first place, we weren’t that far behind in second place, I think it was two good teams. A lot of professional people look at it and say that Carolina might have the edge, a lot of people said that, but me, as a coach, we don’t believe that. We believe that if we play our best game that we will win.”
- On Lafreniere, “Laffy has been good since probably January/February. He took another step, become a man, is playing a strong game, physical game and getting results from it. He feels real good about his game and as a coach I really like his game, the way he’s played. Very competitive and doing the right things with the puck, so we’re really happy with him.”
- On players stepping up, “We didn’t have a ton of injuries this year, fortunately for us, but every time we did, somebody came up and stepped up and played a big role for our team and that was really huge for our group. We’re a young team, we got a lot of good, young players on our team, but every time they got the opportunity they took advantage of it and I think that it is the biggest thing with our team, when guys took advantage of an opportunity they stepped up and did that role and played it real good.”
- On Goodrow for game 7, “He’s huge, he’s a faceoff guy, PK guy, guy that won a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay, that is important for our group. He’s a positive guy, character guy and he does all the little things right and a big leader in the dressing room.”
- Do you draw on his experience, I hope they do. That is what we got him for and he knows it and he’s a good person and as a coach I know I love having him in the lineup.”
- On Sammy Blais, “No, there is no chance. I said that with Goodrow because I really thought it (laugh).”