NYR vs DAL: Mike Sullivan Postgame Media Availability | Dec. 2, 2025

NYR vs DAL: Mike Sullivan Postgame Media Availability | Dec. 2, 2025

number of games this year where you you played pretty well in this building and haven’t gotten the results. Tonight you had the process and and finally did get the results. How important is it to have a night like that for these guys to see kind of Well, I just think, you know, it certainly re reinforces the game we’re trying to play when you have success. And so, you know, I thought the guys played hard all night. I thought we competed hard um against a really good team. So, you know, given the fact that the way the third period went, I felt like we were controlling play there pretty well in the third. We had a couple of really good looks. Um, we hit the post and right right before they they come down and score. And so, you know, given the given the fact that it’s been a bit of a struggle to find wins here in this building, that could have that could have affected the group in a negative way. And I give the players a lot of credit because I think there was a certain determination in their mindset tonight that that that wasn’t going to that wasn’t going to beat us. And I just I love the response and just the stick tuitiveness to, you know, to continue to push and look for that next goal. You know, obviously we get we get a great six on five goal. It’s just good play by everybody involved. And then the overtime the overtime winner. Uh the same thing. So, um I’m I’m happy for the players because obviously they care a lot about about winning, but they care in particular a lot about winning at home and you know, so I’m I couldn’t be happier for the guys. I think they I think they worked hard and I think they earned it. 41 shots tonight went on that I think had over 70 attempts. Um was that part of the reset that maybe you guys went through over the last few days after that game on Saturday to just keep putting the puck there? Yeah, I think, you know, it’s not that we want to we’re trying to become this high shot volume team and just shoot from everywhere. I don’t think that’s I don’t think that’s what we’re trying to accomplish. Um, you know, having said that, I think we want to, you know, we want to create a hybrid game where we have an opportunity and we have some players, I think, that are going to be more selective with with when they put the puck at the net. They might look for a a higher quality look. Uh and we certainly don’t want to discourage our, you know, our uh our elite players from from doing that. You know, that they they act on their instincts and we don’t want to get in the way of their instincts. There’s another element to the game where we can manufacture offense by putting more pucks in play and creating broken plays and making it making it hard on our opponents and forcing them to have to defend the scoring area. And so we’re looking for the balance between the two where, you know, we allow our guy, our uh star players in particular, the the latitude to act on their instincts, but also uh you know, there’s another game out there that I think we’re capable of, you know, manufacturing offense off the shot, creating off the shot, and we’re trying to encourage our guys given the fact that in particular that it’s been a little bit of a struggle to score at home. There’s no better way uh I think to to break coverage down than a shot on goal. It’s hard to defend that next play. And so I think that that was part of the conversation that we’ve had most recently and certainly they took it to heart tonight. Are you are you surprised by the offense you’ve gotten out of Java particularly over the last month? Um well I I don’t know that we we thought you know 20 something games in he’d have five goals you know. Uh but certainly we we felt like he’s a guy that I mean obviously his core competency is his ability to defend. He’s hard to play against. He’s one of the better defending defenseman we think in the league. Um having said that we, you know, we believe he has the ability to help our offense. Uh whether it be with outlet passes or joining the rush or being active off the offensive blue line. Um, I won’t lie, I’m surprised with, you know, how effective he’s been, uh, just with his instincts in particular the way he jumps off the offensive blue line. I think he’s done a really good job for us there. And, you know, he he’s he’s created a lot um, just with with how he’s active off the blue line in particular. When he goes into the high slot, he creates that high slot tip or he gets a rebound opportunity when he gets in that area of the rink. and uh and he’s really good at when he go the timing of when he jumps and I think that’s an instinct. It’s hard to teach that and uh he certainly has shown that in this first part of the season. Kind of going off of that, just how much faith do you have in him to step up here with Adam Fox out? Well, we have a lot of faith in him. I mean, obviously we think he’s a very good defenseman. Uh we thought he was a good defenseman when we signed him and he’s been everything we had hoped he’d be and then some. And so, um he defends hard. we rely on him in so many situations. Uh, you know, he’s, you know, as as we just mentioned, he’s helped us uh on the offensive side maybe a little bit more than we had we had had expected, which uh which is great. So, he’s I’m sure his he’s feeling it a little bit himself is, you know, he’s he’s confident and, you know, he he’s really uh the the way he’s the way he’s jumping off that offensive blue line is certainly instinctive. Um, and I think I think confidence helps with respect to that and I think he’s feeling pretty confident right now. How important was this also for JT? You know, he’s been a guy who’s beating himself up a little bit when things haven’t gotten him well. Obviously, it’s a bad bounce in that second goal for Dallas, but to come back and boost up your captain, how important is that for? Yeah, I mean, I think it’s huge. You know, it’s it’s a tough puck that that he gets in the high ice, you know, and uh obviously that’s um that’s a tough situation and and you know JT’s a he’s a heart and soul guy. I know the guys, you know, I know how the players, his teammates feel about them. And so I think, you know, a a sign of a a good team or a team in a true sense of the word is when you rally around your teammates. As I said, I really like the response after after we get scored against. You know, we didn’t sink. That you, you know, you get the feeling behind the bench. You can tell when when those types of moments affect a team either in a negative way or the opposite. And you could feel it when you’re on the bench. And the the feeling I got tonight was that, you know, that the response was the right one that, you know, to answer and just, you know, drop the puck and play and let’s keep going at these guys and let’s try to dig in here and find a way to, you know, to get that tying goal. I give the players a lot of credit. I thought they played hard to that response. the last the power play um didn’t score a goal obviously, but the last four minutes there that you had, they moved around pretty good and looked good. What What did you see? Did you feel like they grew into it or, you know, how you how’ you see the Yeah, I thought they got they got better as the as the game went on, they haven’t had a lot of reps in some of the positions they’re in. Uh obviously without Foxy up there, it’s a very different look. You know, we’re asking guys to do things that uh maybe isn’t in their comfort zone. Uh, we know they’re capable, but I think I think they’ll get better in time when they get repetitions at it. You know, they’re all talented guys. Uh, they’re all very capable guys. I just think we’ve got to get some more reps at it so that they’re more comfortable in the spots. You know, in particular, the you know, the biggest one is Brad up top. You know, that’s that’s not an easy situation we’re putting him in. But, um, we know he’s very capable. He has elite talent. He has elite vision. you know, he has the ability to to distribute pucks up there and and he’s very good at at, you know, at finding ways to get pucks through from up top, which is an important uh attribute when you play in that position. So, I I think in time, you know, it I I felt like when we we had the power play going pretty good here the last the last 10 or 12 games, it’s been one of the better power plays in the league. And uh you know obviously losing Foxy is a he’s a huge part of that. So there’s going to be a little bit of an adjustment uh to us finding our way here. It it I’m not surprised with the with the way it went. I I did think as it went on I I thought we get better and I think we’ll continue to get better moving forward.

New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan discusses defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov’s goal and the team’s performance following the Rangers’ 3-2 overtime win over the Dallas Stars on December 2.

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