Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov, Cole Sillinger & HC Dean Evason, CBJ vs. Wild | Postgame Media

Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov, Cole Sillinger & HC Dean Evason, CBJ vs. Wild | Postgame Media

Yeah, I mean, um, I feel like it’s the same thing we’ve been saying, like we’re playing well enough to win, but it’s getting old that we keep losing. Um, I mean, enough is enough. It’s it’s unacceptable. And, um, I get the whole thing where like you got to stay positive and move forward. And I agree with all that, but at the end of the day, like this is getting outrageous. I mean, we’re a good hockey team and we’re just losing games. Um, so maybe we’re not a good hockey team. I don’t know. I mean, at the end of the day, you have to win games to be a good team. And, um, yeah, it’s frustrating. I mean, definitely a good hockey team over there, but I don’t think they’re better than us. They just they win. Um, that’s what it comes down to. >> It’s such a fine line, right, Zach? I mean, can you [snorts] you can’t even really put your finger on any one thing. It’s such a fine line. >> Yeah, it is. I mean, at the end of the day, guys just have to step up and give a little bit more. um especially in crunch time and third periods. Obviously, it’s been a hot topic and um we just have to dig in and find ways to win. I mean, it’s not just me. Like, I’m the one saying this, but we’re all sick of it, you know, but at the end of the day, it’s on no one else but us to get ourselves out of it. And, you know, it is a fine line, but um we’re on the wrong side of it more times than not. And like I said, that’s unacceptable. >> Tonight, it’s just a greasy goal that gives them the lead. You know, nothing pretty about it. Are you getting enough of those that kind of an effort type of goal? >> No. No, not at all. I mean, Boon scored a big one last game, and that’s what we need more of. It’s not always going to be the seam play from Kiler tonight or the two-on- ones. Um, we have to manufacture, you know, dirty goals and goals around the blue and tips and um it’s on all of us though. I mean, when guys are there as D, we have to deliver it and get it to the net and put them in positions to succeed. and when we have it, um, we need guys that want to get there and score those goals. Um, I definitely feel like we can score more of them. >> Did you feel like they dialed it up in the start of the third? Did you feel an uptick there? >> Yeah, I mean, that’s just a good hockey team that knows how to win. Um, there was no panic in their game. There was, you know, it was just them coming up, playing their game in the third period, playing hard, getting back on track. um they did nothing out of the ordinary except just stick to their game plan and just keep coming and keep coming and um that’s what happens. I mean, good teams find ways to win and they don’t stray away from the game plan. They don’t, you know, turn pucks over at the Blues or whatever it is. I mean, they just play a direct simple game and then at the end of the day, their skill will take over and they’ll make plays and score. Um I hope we can learn from that and learn from watching a team like that who’s won six straight and on a bit of a heater right now. Um, but yeah, like I said, enough is enough of with this losing. >> You kind of heard what what Zach was saying there is got to be getting old at this point, right? To be right in hockey games for most of the game and then wind up on the wrong end of it. >> Yeah. Um, you at this point we got to figure out how to win games and uh otherwise uh our season will be done early. So, um, can’t fall behind now cuz, uh, it’ll be too hard to catch up. So, like I said, we got to figure out how to win and we got to figure out quick. >> From your estimation, what what are those steps? What what’s what was missing in a game like tonight? >> I don’t know. I think um maybe uh just kind of getting away from our game. I think um as you saw the other team kind of and as Z said, um they didn’t panic. to kind of continue to play the, you know, the right way, the same way. Um, I think we got to get to the paint more, score more of those greasy goals, shots, tips, rebounds. Um, yeah, and then, uh, be better in our structure in the third periods. >> Your team’s up one nothing in the second period and pretty much dominating the play. Do you do you view that as a missed opportunity where that’s where you need to score more goals to put yourself in a better position? [snorts] >> I mean obviously we had opportunities to take a bigger lead. Um but at the end of the day if the game has to you know end one nothing then that’s the way we got to win games too. So, uh, at the end of the day, it’s, uh, scoring more goals than the other team or not giving up as many goals as the other team. And, uh, we haven’t done a good job of that. >> Well, a well played game, but not the outcome. That that storyline has to be getting a little tiresome, I would imagine, in this room, right? >> Yeah. I mean, obviously, you want to win games and you don’t want to continue to I mean, play good hockey, sort of to say, and and uh and and not get the results. And um I mean, but you know, NHL is a tough league. There’s no time to to to feel sorry for oursel or or to hang our heads and uh you know, it’s just to continue to to, you know, get better and and look at things and look at areas to to improve. Was it deflating for you guys tonight to be controlling things the way you were in the in the second period and and all of a sudden you turn around and they’ve got a 2-1 lead? >> I mean, yeah, there’s there’s, you know, obviously opportunities to to I mean, get a bigger lead and and uh you know, he’s making some good saves and, you know, Jeff was making some good saves as well. And uh I mean yeah, hockey is just being played and uh you know obviously you uh when the game’s ended, you want to have more goals than the other team. So we either got to find a way to score more goals or or or keep more pucks out of our net um to win hockey games. >> Well, you guys have talked a lot about scoring greasy goals, getting in there, battling kind of like their goal, their 3-2 goal. What’s missing? How come that hasn’t been a regular part of your guys’s performance? >> Yeah, I mean I think you know when we’re in areas to shoot the puck um [snorts] you know to to to deliver it and to you know I guess not be too cute so to say and you know I feel like you know there’s there’s been opportunities um where you and we may be trying to look for the extra shot. I thought tonight we we had a a pretty good shot mentality and you know it’s just a matter of you know getting getting eyes and getting screens in front of their in front of the goalies. I mean the goalies nowadays are are so big and and uh you know take up a lot of space. So you know the more you can keep you know your body in front of their eyes um then you know pucks can be laying there and and then it just comes down to you know get on the inside and and uh you know finding those third four chances to to put the puck in the net. the third period. Is it as simple as just the other team is making one extra play a night just execution-wise? >> I mean, I guess you could say that. Um, and that ex Well, I guess you could just say that, you know, they’re scoring a goal and we’re not or or or they’re getting a a goal and we’re not. And, you know, that’s why, you know, the results are the way they are. I don’t necessarily have the answer to for you as far as you know, you know, why. Um, but you know, at the end of the day, they’re uh they’re scoring an [clears throat and snorts] extra goal and and uh that’s ice hockey. >> A couple of the guys in the room are saying that tonight it it’s really starting to get unacceptable the way that these games are going. Is that the way you see it as well? >> Well, we need Yeah, we need a little more. For two periods, we’re we’re pretty good, right? um and you know hanging in there and then you know we we make some [clears throat] pretty silly mistakes, right? Um so obviously we got to clean that up but um yeah of course um you know we have games that are are are winnable and andor to get to overtime andor to a shootout or at the very least and uh we haven’t did that and we didn’t do that here tonight. How much how close were you to challenging that 3-2 goal? That’s >> Yeah, we fig Yeah, our thought process was that whenever the puck’s available and you’re going for the puck and even though he spins them, um the puck’s there, they’re going to side on we think side on uh um that he was fishing or he’s allowed to go in there and try to dig at the puck. But yeah, we we debated it obviously. >> Dean, it seems like the mistakes are minimal, but how would you evaluate the intensity in the third period? >> Well, listen, our our our try was there. I didn’t like at the end obviously when we turn it over and then, you know, they score, but um you know, we wish we had a little more intensity in that area, but um but you know, we our try is there. our tries there. Um, we’re not questioning that. We need we need a little more, you know, of uh of everybody. >> Are you guys tough enough, greasy enough at net front, both ends of the ice, >> or do you want more? >> No, of course. Right. That’s we’ve talked about uh a lot is shooting the puck and getting to the net and boxing out. And you know, Ericson X goal is a prime example. But we can’t allow people just to skate freely to the net. We we’ve Yeah, we have to get a little um harder and tougher and greasier in those areas and firmer. Um you know, it’s something as you guys know a few days ago we worked on on that exact thing, collapsing and getting the job done and we uh we just didn’t here uh tonight obviously on that goal. >> Your team’s up one- nothing in the second period. pretty dominant start to the period, but then Minnesota ends up with lead. Is that one area of concern for your team that you’re not able to more utilize the time when you’re dominating a game? >> Yeah, I [sighs] mean, it’s easy to say, you know, their goalender made some real good saves and played well and but we’ve said that a lot here as of late. So, we’re either getting the hottest goalies or we’re making the goalies look really hot, right? Um so, yeah. Um to Porz’s comment, yeah, we we do got to get a little firmer and a little greasier in front of it.

Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov, Cole Sillinger and Head Coach Dean Evason speak to the media postgame.

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