Here’s what Head Coach Mike Sullivan had to say after the game.
It seemed like you guys did a much better job in front of both nets tonight. Is that fair to say? Was it a point of emphasis in the lead-up to the game? “Yeah, I thought we did. I thought this might have been one of the best games we played all year from a structure standpoint. I thought we were able to create a lot of offense off of our defense, and I think that's going to be an important element of our game moving forward. When we’re paying attention to details and defending the good ice, I thought we did a much better job at our net-front and defending that area against a team that's got a lot of speed, but also a lot of size. I thought our guys competed hard at the blue paint. Jars made some timely saves for us, I thought he was terrific. But without a doubt, we've had a running conversation for most of the year just about the importance of winning the blue paint areas at both ends of the rink.”
Were you also emphasizing tracking back? Your forwards had so many turnovers that they forced just by doing that. “Yeah, it's such a big part of defense, just having numbers and pushing the rush into our defenseman. I think it makes it easier for our D to establish the gaps that they need to establish in order to defend the rushes. And when you track hard, you can put a lot of pressure on your opponents on the entries. I thought we forced a lot of turnovers and we were able to counterattack. When I say we were creating a lot of offense off our defense, that's one of the areas that's an important aspect of it. When you track hard and you have numbers back, you limit a team’s ability to create off the rush. This team in particular is very dynamic, and with the type of defensemen that they have and some of the forwards and the skill that they have up front, they can be a handful off the rush. But I thought our guys really committed to playing the right way in that aspect.”
I think the PK has been pretty good so far this season, but tonight against a power play with that kind of talent, they didn't get many looks at all. What in particular did your PK do well? “I just thought they did a good job collectively as a group. That's a real good power play that we're up against. Our PK had to kill far too many for our liking, that’s for sure. It felt like we were on the kill half the second period. We’d like to take less penalties, for sure. But I thought they did a terrific job. A lot of it is just attention to detail. It's understanding pressure points and working together collectively as a group. I thought they were reading off each other well, they closed down some of the threats. When we did break down or Colorado made some nice plays, I thought Jars was there to make some really good saves. He made a couple of ten-bell saves on the penalty kill. Usually, when your penalty kill is going well, your best penalty killer is your goaltender – and I thought he was that tonight for us.”
Kris Letang said a win like that tonight against a team like that tonight is important after a few losses and with a lot of new guys so that doubt doesn’t creep in and you don’t need to tinker too much. Do you feel the same way? “Yeah, I do. I thought I told the guys after the game that this one has to feel good, and gives us something to build on. Of all the games we've played this year, this one we played with the most structure away from the puck. I thought we did a good job just defending the good ice and the inside ice, and then taking advantage of what the game gave us offensively. So, I think there's a lot of good examples that we can point towards in this game that can help us move forward. If we're going to become the team that I think we're capable of, we have to be able to win different ways. Against a team like this, that's as explosive and as dynamic as they are, to beat them the way we did with just some structure and defending hard, I think that's an important element, because I think it gives our team a lot of confidence that we're capable in that area. I also think it just gives us something to build on moving forward.”
Lars’ line with Drew O’Connor and Radim Zohorna generated another goal for you. All three guys on that line are 6-2 or taller –how important their size, specifically their reach, in terms of what they can accomplish? “I thought they had a really strong game. I thought it might have been OC’s best NHL hockey game. Just the way he tracked pucks, I thought his speed was really evident just tracking pucks from behind. He stripped Cale Makar of the puck one time just tracking it from behind, and that’s not an easy task against a player of that caliber. But I thought his speed was very evident, and he had a real good stick. But I think their size, their skating ability, their reach, and their instincts, potentially that line could be really good for us.
How important of a win was for Jarry specifically, especially at this point in the season? “Well, I think it should give him a lot of confidence. I thought he played extremely well. This is his best game of the year. So, this was an important win for our team for a lot of reasons. I think it'll give us something to feel good about. It'll give us a whole lot of examples of things that we can build on as group moving forward. But I think certain individuals should gain a boost of confidence from how they played in this one. Jars might be at the top of that list.”
