Oct. 28: Postgame Interviews

Oct. 28: Postgame Interviews

that have been through some of these rough stretches. What are you seeing right now out there? Um, I’m not sure honestly. It’s just it’s been a tough stretch. Um, I’m not sure if you can point to one thing um in particular, but it’s it’s a long season and um it’s up to us to to dig ourselves out of it and um try and support each other and just find a way to uh to keep pushing forward. Came, are you guys almost in a state of shock right now that the season has gotten off to the way it has? No, I just I think we’re we’re disappointed. We’re um frustrated with some of the results we’ve been getting. And um listen, it’s it’s a hard league. It’s um competitive every single night and if if you’re not on your agame and um doing things the right way, then uh things can get away from you. So um we expect a lot better. So that part is um surprising to us, but uh we got to just dig in and find a way to to claw out of it. That’s um that’s the only option that we have. Cam, why don’t you think the the start was able to carry throughout the entire game for you guys? Say that again for tonight. Yeah. Why don’t you think that I mean, you had a great start tonight. Why don’t you think that was able to carry throughout the game? Um, yeah. I mean, I thought the energy was there. Um, I think if you look at, you know, over the stretch, I think we’re trying to do the right things. Everybody in here cares. Um, it’s just it’s more about the execution. And I think um some of the lapses that we’ve had um you know have really cost us over this this stretch here. So our guys did a great job getting off to a good start. Our captain um big goal and a big fight for us. So the energy was there and at that point it’s just about execution and and keeping ourselves in the hockey game. And um that part just got away from us tonight. And um that’s something that’s been happening over the this last little stretch that we’ve had. Is it fair to say that um I mean obviously losing stinks anyway you slice it, but the fact that the losses have been so the other team scored so many goals so many times. Does that make it an even bigger frustration? Yeah. I mean, yes, it’s losses are going to be frustrating no matter what, but I think it’s the way that we’re losing. um you know, feeling like some nights we’re leaving our our goalenders out to dry and um you know, since I’ve been here, it’s just uh the brand of hockey that we play. Um this is just not it’s not the kind of hockey that we’re used to playing around here. So, um and I’m including myself in all that. We’re in this together. Um so, we have to find a way to dig ourselves out of it. I mean, you look at last four or five games, there’s I don’t know what the the goals against average is, but it’s it’s got to be high and and all of us feel that in here. So, um we just got we have to look in the mirror and and work together to to try and find a solution cuz doesn’t get any easier. We’re playing every other night and um got to find a way to just dig in here and and uh support one another. Braden, what’s what’s happening out there right now or what isn’t happening in your mind? Um, well, at the end of the day, I think we’re we’re we’re making too many mistakes and that’s ending up in our net. That’s uh that’s not a secret and um that’s not goalending, that’s guys. Um everyone um you know, leaving the front of the net open too much and they got two goals by that tonight. And um you know when you’re uh battling adversity and not feeling as good as you you possibly can, you have to to dig in down in a little bit deeper and lock it down. And we just haven’t found a way to to do that just quite yet. You got off to such a good start. You feel like you could have built off of that and it just didn’t seem like it could quite get there. Yeah. Yeah, we did have a good start. Um you know, I thought guys care. Guys, um we’re trying. Guys want to win. Obviously, we know guys are battling um their own confidence issues right now when and that’s just not from points. That’s from when you win. Guys want to win and um you come to the rink expecting to win every night. You’re not getting the results. It’s it’s it’s tough on everyone. No one wants to to deal with that. But what I do know is um you know, this game this game humbles you and we’re getting humbled right now. And um you know we have to battle adversity and uh I do know this isn’t permanent and we have to dig in and and find uh find ways to get out of it. Um the best part about this game is you get to come to the rank of tomorrow and and uh you know find a way to get better as a team or individually. I’m sorry. Uh you in your career dug yourself some teams out of this before. Is it just frustrating trying to you know find some traction, find the right thing to say, get something positive to build on? Um, yeah, of course it’s frustrating. Of course it’s frustrating. It’s because we believe we have a good team and um there’s some years uh as long as I’ve played, you come in and uh you kind of hope for the best and and and this year’s frustrating because we feel once we get the snowball going in the right direction, we we feel like the momentum is going to build for us, guys are going to feel better about their games and we’re going to win hockey games. Um and right now, uh we’re battling it from from all angles. Um, we’re trying to say the right we are saying the right things. We’re doing some right things on the ice, but at the end of the day, we we we have to tighten up defensively and um you know, we especially with top guys out um with our top guy out um you know uh it’s on us individually to not make mistakes uh that end up in the back of our net. Unfortunately, they are right now. Um, you know, we got a lot of hockey coming up here and we just we got to find a way to get one. You had such a great start to the game. Why don’t you think that carried through the rest of the game? Why it didn’t, you mean? Um, well, you know, we gave up the two goals after the one- nothing lead. I I did I thought we had a lull in the first period. Second period, I thought we started off really dominant in the first 10 minutes and we took the penalty. We killed it off, but we lost momentum. um you know why we aren’t able to sustain uh the rhythm and the fluidity of the way we want to play has been very frustrating. It’s been like that since the start of the year. I know you’ve been talking a lot about management. It’s a two game turning after that. You mean yesterday’s game in Pittsburgh? on tonight’s game two game game was never two-2 goal oh their third goal yes sorry um yeah that’s uh that’s part of the game management we’re talking about you know we’re not protecting the ice that we value the most we we like to protect the middle of the ice we like to attack the middle of the ice and um defensively um it’s just you know we don’t give up a lot and then all of a sudden we give up a chance like the fourth goal like the guy’s standing in the blue paint all alone you know um we just got to continue right now when things aren’t going your way like again the first two goals are deflection goals I got to be honest I don’t know if I’ve ever seen this many deflection goals go against any team I’ve ever coached before we got to do a better job of controlling sticks so that we make life a little easier for on our goalenders here because you know you know the we we play good hockey in stretches and we don’t give up much and then all of a sudden bang I mean it was 2-1 and I think Benner made two breakaway saves when is there just a lack of communication out there when you’re talking about guys just not being connected tight yeah um well there’s two things that are definitely going on there’s guys that are are not confident right now. So, when you’re conf not confident, you’re a little hesitant. So, you you’re not you don’t have the puck as much. You’re not killing plays as much, especially defensively. Um and then you know with u the other part is just not um trying to say this where as a team you have a sense that you know you know exactly where you’re going to go with the puck. And right now that that fluidity to our game isn’t there consistently. And when it’s not like like the first 10 minutes of the first and the first 10 minutes of the second, it was there. When it evaporates, it’s like we we don’t back each other up the correct way. Defensive struggles this year. Is that surprised you given how well you guys defended last year? It’s shocking to be honest. you know, uh the amount of gradea a chances that we’ve given up is um has been, you know, uh and it sometimes it’s our tracking, sometimes our dzone coverage, sometimes it’s our puck management. uh something ugly is rearing its head uh every game and we just got to get back to the drawing board and work together and you know be excited about the challenge and opportunity of how long a season is. You’re going to go 36 and one. Almost every team in the NHL this year will go 36 and one in 10 games. Now we did it in our first 10 games. Now, if we go 63 and one in the next 10, we’re back to 500. At one point, we’re going to go 8 and two. But we have to start turning the corner with our habits. The habits get you through this. And then when the when it turns like it did last year, I’m not talking about last year, but it does turn and we just got to make it turn as quick as possible. Jim, what’s I mean confidence it can turn quickly, but from a coaching staff, what can you do to help these guys gain their confidence back is but just preaching the habits and the work ethic needed, you know? Um, I’ve said I’ve said this many times. When a goal scorer doesn’t score and he starts to press, the first thing he does is he stops working and he just figures it works it thinks about results. And I think that’s happening to us a little bit as a team. We start the game off great. We’re in their end. We’re attacking their net. uh they get a deflection goal and boom, we don’t get back to that energy level that we had just previously. And you got to be able to battle through it. And every team, you know, is usually has a a portion of their season where they go through this and you end up being better once you go through it. But going through it is painful as it is for our fans, as it is for our ownership, and for us in the room. Jim, what stood out to you about Dylan obviously works hard at practice and had such a great year last year, but what stood out about him this year so far? Um, well, the last two games I’ve really liked Dylan Holloway’s game. It’s starting to trend in the right direction. The same work ethic and for a lack of better English vocabulary, stick tuitiveness on pucks. He’s just like, and that’s what he did. He just kept coming up with pucks today. He’s going through two or three people to win those pucks. Um, and if he keeps playing like that with that kind of work ethic, his talent’s going to take over. He’s, you know, been pressing a little bit because the season didn’t start off the way it ended last year for him. So now he’s adjusting his work ethic and his habits and it’s coming. I was ask about Braden Shen. It seems like he’s trying to do everything he can. He’s saying all the right things in the locker room. He scores, drops the early on. Just can you speak to him trying to get the team over the hump? Braden Shen is doing everything he can and and I think he’s he’s he cares so much as a captain and trying to help everybody else that at times it affects his own energy levels in the game, you know, and but you love it because he does care that much. You know, we need everybody to care and work as much as our captain. We’re going to be fine. Thank you.

Cam Fowler, Brayden Schenn and Jim Montgomery speak to the media after a 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 28.