Pete DeBoer PRAISES Mikko Rantanen & Stars After Becoming 9-0 in GAME 7

Pete DeBoer PRAISES Mikko Rantanen & Stars After Becoming 9-0 in GAME 7

[Laughter] Can your team ever make it easy? Uh, you know what? No. I mean, you know, I told our group after I mean, you know, uh, you know what? I I I honestly I never I never felt we were going to lose, even when it was two nothing and we didn’t have anything going. Um, you know, there there’s a belief in that room that that something was going to happen and uh obviously Ranton, you know, put the team on his back in the last 10 minutes. Um, but, you know, I I I I think uh the group’s pretty special. I mean, they they’ve had a lot of stuff thrown at them uh from an adversity point of view. And, you know, they keep responding, keep responding, and keep answering the doubters. And uh you know I I felt something was going to happen. You know I couldn’t have predicted that. I’ve only I’ve only been a part of one other game like that and that was San Jose Vegas. We had a three nothing. We were in a three nothing hole. Game seven again, you know, but the fact that you know I won two game sevens. I’ve been a part of two game sevens on the right side of that type of game is just it’s it’s crazy. It’s uh you know memories for a lifetime. Hey Pete. Hey. Uh, I know you have said you don’t like to, you know, let your mind go there, but when you traded for Ranson on trade deadline day, is this kind of what you envisioned and just what was it like to watch him take over the game like that? Yeah. Well, you know what? He he he took over, let’s be honest, he took over the series, you know, the last three, four games, you know, he just he just decided that, you know, that that we were not going to go home, you know, and we were not going to lose. And uh I think it started it started then but I mean that what you witnessed there was special. I mean you know this is the best league in the world against one of the top five teams in the world. Uh and you know he what he did there down the stretch was was special. Just to follow up on that Pete you know the trade deadline over the years you’ve been around a long time it’s kind of a inexact science experiment. Some guys just come in and fit and other guys need a lot of time. I kind of feel like Nico’s in between. It did take some time, but it feels like he’s arrived here. Yeah, I think I think it’s safe to say he’s arrived. How does that in your eyes? How does that how does that work? Like what do you know? I I I think every situation’s different, Pier. I think, you know, we we had the benefit of the other Fins in the room and uh and then we also had the benefit of a a motivated guy. You know, this this was this was Colorado and the team that, you know, he had played for for a decade. And I don’t know all the the behind the scenes what went on there, but you know, he he it was a he was a motivated guy to to make an impact in this series. and uh he just got better and better. Your blue line in the series without Mero Hkin and then holding that lead for the final few minutes. What does it say about them? Yeah, you know what? We we I I I thought, you know, Elaine Nazerdine and and that decor really was, you know, besides what Mo did was the MVP of this of this series. I mean that that core if you look at if you put the names up on on the board you know there’s not a lot of household names there. I mean we Thomas Harley you know we had to overplay him because of the situation with Miro out but those other five guys just battled and scratched and you know it wasn’t pretty. There’s not you know it uh we’re not making a lot of plays you know coming through the neutral zone and jumping into the rush. You know we had to defend hard. You know what what I liked about what they did, you know, we got eaten up in Colorado in game four and in game six. Uh you know, just absolutely on our heels. You know, rush chances and uh you know, they they responded. They locked it down tonight and they gave us a chance to win. You know, they made them earn the two goals they got. They got one a shorty and one on a six on five. We didn’t give them anything five on five. We shut down a lot of their rush. Um and those guys grinded. They grinded hard all series. When Nick was in Colorado, he had some of the best numbers in the playoffs ever. But some people said, “Oh, he’s with McKinnon and Mar.” Yeah. What did he show in this series? Yeah. Answer. I think he answered that question. You know, I I mean, I again, I I told you I’ve uh I I’ve had a lot of playoff runs. Um and I I don’t know if I’ve had I don’t I know I haven’t had a player put string together the the three games he’s strung together five, six, and seven. How do you know he’s been shift to shift? Uh just what you think of Jake obviously tonight and then in the whole series. Yeah, Jake. Jake Jake was great. You know what? He he he bent but didn’t break. Um, again, you know, I talked about I didn’t, you know, he might not have a 980 save percentage, but the timing I’ve talked about this, the timing of the saves. Um, you know, the one with the goalie out at the end, you know, he, you know, he has that special ability to to raise his game at the most important times. And he recognized that, you know, he recognized we were back in the game. you know, he probably that second one he probably would have liked to have back, but you know, once we got back in the game, he just decided, you know, he wasn’t he was going to shut the door and and that’s what he did. You said early on you might need overtime in game seven to get through the series. What was it like for you from your perspective going through the ups and downs here? You know what it was? It was uh I mean, you know, when you go when you go through a game like that, you’re just you’re just numb. You’re numb, you know. And I’m sure Jared would say the same thing on either end of it. You know, you you still can’t believe you can’t it’s hard to process what really happened. Um, you know, and obviously a lot easier on on my end of it than on his, but you know, listen, that that team played their ass off and he did a great job, I thought, with them um putting them in a position to win the series and, you know, razor thin margins. Yeah. you you uh you had to go seven in the first round last year. Doing it this year without Mero, without Robertson against this team with the kind of losses, this just feel like a a tougher hill to climb. Yeah. You know what? You know what, Tim? LA last year getting Vegas, I mean, we’re not getting any breaks. You know, I I thought Vegas was a better team last year uh than the one that won the cup. deeper team, you know, they they had added hurdle and, you know, a bunch of deadline guys. Um, you know, and that that was a war that series. So, but you know, to take the two guys out of our lineup, you know, what they mean to us, you know, in in every facet of how we play, uh, you know, and and still find a way to for the group to to not use it as an excuse and to keep battling and to grind and um I just I couldn’t be prouder of our group because we had to do it a different way. I mean, you know, we we we outscored teams all year. Mero, you know, transitions the puck for us. He gets up into the rush. We look like a different team, you know, with those two guys in the lineup like like anybody does. You take, you know, two key players out of anybody’s lineup and and your team looks different. What I like about it is we we look different, but we still found a way. And that that’s the important part. Pete, we know nine and0 now in these games, seven situations. We know they’re not all equal. this to come back the last two years you didn’t have to come back from a deficit outside of leaving the arena with a win. What have been the common threads in the 90? Yeah, I I think I’ve said this. I I didn’t realize it but uh I think I I I read something today that I think seven of them I I remember one on the road in Florida double overtime. I think I think seven of them have been home games and one in the bubble maybe. I thought I read. So that that’s that’s real. And I I’ve talked about the importance of game sevens at home and the home crowd and the energy they bring. Like I we don’t I I don’t believe we win that game if we’re not playing at American Airlines in front of the Dallas fans. You know, the the juice they they gave us uh down the stretch there was was huge. So that’s a big part of it. You don’t get a lot of time to celebrate this one. Um, looking to the next round, regardless of who you play, is there a belief in this team that you can pretty much take on anybody now that you’ve gotten past Colorado? Well, you like to think so. I I mean, I I think there’s something special going on. You know, we need to get those guys back. Uh, but you like to think so. It it, you know, it sure doesn’t feel like we’ve only won one round. We’re just getting started. Uh, you know, because that was an absolute, you know, gauntlet of a series. Um, so you know, we’ll we’ll regroup, but you know, I I I believe there’s something special going on. Hey Pete, uh, I believe Wyatt Johnson has scored in every game, seven he’s played in in his career, and two of those goals are clinching goals. Yeah, he’s so young. What allows him to be so clutch in those situations? So clutch. So clutch. And I don’t know if you saw the replay, but you know, the the pass jammed him and he he put it in like this the skill to make that shot at that time of the game, you know, at that age. He’s just he’s got that he’s he he’s special. He’s special player and he wants to be in those situations and he he rises to the occasion. You you can’t teach that stuff. Do two more questions, Mac and then Jonah. Coach, we’ve made a big deal about not having Mera or Jason. Should we expect to see them in games one or two? Um, I don’t I don’t know. Um, I I I consider them both dayto day now. Um, but um, you know, there’s still some hurdles. So, I think it depends when we start the series, uh, how much time we have between now and game one. So, I’ll have a little better idea as we get closer. I I believe you’re going to see them both play in in the second round. I don’t know whether it’s going to be game one or game three or game five. Okay, Pete, this is a good ender for you. It was almost exactly a year ago that you guys won game seven against the Knights and you said you already had about two to three beers when you came out to talk to us and that you could get a lot done in 48 hours. Question is, how many beers have you had so far tonight? How much can you get done in 48 hours? I haven’t had a beer yet, but you guys are holding me up from getting one here. U I’m definitely having one tonight. Uh yeah, I mean I it it’s it’s I can’t The players are exhausted, you know, for as a coaching staff that that’s that’s an exhausting experience, too. But I’ll uh I’ll I’ll replenish my fluids here and get back at it. Thanks, guys. [Music]

Pete DeBoer Press Conference After Mikko Rantanen & Dallas Stars WIN GAME 7 & ELIMINATE Colorado Avalanche in Round 1 of NHL Hockey Stanley Cup Playoffs in HISTORIC Comeback

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