TORTORELLA SHORT WITH ANSWERS AND DOWN IN THE SERIES

 NEW YORK RANGERS HEAD COACH JOHN TORTORELLA

On if he feels like he did after the Rangers lost the first two games against Washington…
If you’re talking about the latter part of the first, second period, I think that’s the way we have to play. And I think we can. I think we can sustain that.

On the Bruins goal at the start of the third period…
The third and fourth goals are defendable. We made coverage mistakes. Our second period is where we want to be. We can’t put it in the net. We had multiple chances. We felt really good going into the third, and to have that type of goal go in on just a two-on-two, it hurts you. And then they’re just going to fill the middle and they’re just going to jam you, so we couldn’t generate much more.

On if he thought the Rangers were close to scoring on their third power play…
Our power play was better tonight. Didn’t score, but it was better.

On if anything off-ice played a role with coverage today…
No. It has nothing to do with coverage. Shouldn’t have even said anything yesterday.

On being down two games to none, as they were against the Capitals…
Listen, we don’t want to lose two games here. No one does. But there’s no give in the team. There will be no give in this team. Again, we need to go win a game. Not look anywhere else, just try to win our first home game this series.

On if the Rangers are struggling to defend against the rush because of turnovers…
No.

On if he’s surprised that the Rangers are having a hard time defending the rush…
I think there are some defendable plays, and that’s hurt us. I think the positioning’s there, but we just haven’t defended it, in a number of different situations.

On how Rick Nash played today…
Nash played better.

On if the Rangers need to execute better or if the Bruins are simply executing…
You always have to try to be better as a team, and if we’re going to win a game, and that’s all we’re looking at, we’re going to have to be better.

On how Henrik Lundqvist played today…
I’m not evaluating our goaltending. I don’t need to evaluate Henrik. We know what Henrik is.

 

 

DAN GIRARDI PRESS CONFERENCE: GAME 1 BOSTON

 

NEW YORK RANGERS DEFENSEMAN DAN GIRARDI
On what impact the long penalty kill in OT had…
We had to battle for the kill, we were in our end for a long time but guys did whatever they could to get in front of shots and get pucks out. If anything I think it should have gotten us going because we were out there for a while and got the job done. Unfortunately, we couldn’t generate too much in overtime.

On what positives come out of the loss…
I don’t know. I definitely thought our game was pretty good. They are a very opportunistic team. We don’t get pucks deep or turn pucks over, they make you pay. We just got to do a good job of cleaning that up for the next game and it could have been anyone’s game. We got a goal early in the second to get us a lead, but other than that I thought it was pretty good.

On their own power play attempts tonight…
Its kind of, I don’t want to say frustrating but it needs to be better. We need to get good chances and create momentum. We got to get a goal on the power play, it’s a difference maker and we don’t get one and we lose the game. We definitely have to figure out something with that.

On if losing another overtime makes it harder to overcome…
I don’t think so. We have a couple days here to kind of chew on it and digest it and see what we did wrong. We got some time to rest and get back at it in the afternoon.

 

CLAUDE JULIEN MORNING PRESS CONFERENCE: WASHINGTON

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2156653/031613_pregame_presser_Julien.mp3

CLAUDE JULIEN PRE-GAME: WASHINGTON CAPITALS

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2156653/030513_pregame_presser_Julien.mp3

CLAUDE NOEL FOLLIWNG LOSS TO BRUINS

WINNIPEG JETS HEAD COACH CLAUDE NOEL

On how he thought his team played tonight…

Well I thought we were way better than we were the first game. I thought our timing was way better, we gave them some good chances. But I thought that [Ondrej] Pavelec played well. I thought we played a better game, we’re still trying to get a little bit more from some of our offensive players, obviously. But I thought [Evander] Kane, [Olli] Jokinen, [Kyle] Wellwood, even when we made the change was good, I thought that they had a good game. We had an opportunity to close out the game and our power play really never helped us, especially at the end. You get the opportunity five-on-four or four-on-three you’ve got to get a lot more opportunities at the net. You may not score, but you at least need to generate more than you did.

On getting one point tonight…

Well you know, there has been so much talk during the lockout, when there’s nothing to talk about, about our road record. So I think that the players were aware of that and wanted to kind of put our foot in the right direction, and I thought we did that tonight. This is a tough building and this is a hard team, they’ve got four balanced lines, good defense and they play with some weight so you have to earn every inch of ice. And I thought we battled hard, we defended, and when we made some mistakes we made some. [Ondrej] Pavelec was really good for us.

On switching up the lines to attempt to generate offense…

Well you have to try to get lines going. You know the [Bryan] Little, [Blake] Wheeler line, I didn’t think that they were very good. We tried to change some things around a little bit and just move some things. And then the game got close and you know face-offs were we weren’t very good at, [Alexander] Burmistrov probably should have played a little more in the third, especially later in the third because he’s a good defending player. But it starts with face-offs and I use [Jim] Slater in that position and that probably brought on the change. And then you get so close that you’re just kind of dealing with nine guys.

On some of the players being upset that they didn’t get a second point…

Well I think it’s only fair. I mean you look at it and see ok, if you didn’t have the power plays, I think we had two power plays that we could have gotten something going out of that. And I think that’s the place where you need to close out these games. And I think that’s where you need to be reliant on there. And if you’ve got chances that’s a big difference but if you’re not really generating any scoring chances you really aren’t helping yourself. You’ve got to be reliant on that and the players on there have got to recognize that’s a big opportunity to close out a game and an opponent you’re competing with.

On what he thought of the paring of Mark Stuart and Rob Hainsey…

Yeah you know what I thought they played well; I thought our defense as a whole was good. But I thought Hainsey and Stewy [Mark Stuart] played well, and with the absence of [Zach] Bogosian, it moves Stuart into a more prominent role. And I think he’s handled that well and competes hard, which he did today.

On how Paul Postma is doing…

I thought [Paul] Postma played a lot better, with a lot more poise, as did other players. But I thought Postma was real good, I like it when he uses his speed a little bit more. He jumped up and played a little bit, fired one off the post, which was a good play. So there was a lot of positives to get out of this and we’ll take the point right now.

On what to expect from the Washington Capitals tomorrow…

Well they will be waiting for us. They’ve got a new coach so, I’m not sure, they’ve had three coaches in a year, so it will be interesting to see what they’ve got going. But we have to concern ourselves with our game. We know what they can do, they’re an offensive team that can do some things and they’re a team that we would like to get ahead of. So it’s going to be a huge game for us. And if we’re able to get ourselves a win we’re able to get three out of four points and we’ll take that, especially on the road. So we’ll be shooting for that win.

On Kyle Wellwood…

Well you know [Kyle] Wellwood was pretty good in the game, I didn’t have a problem with him in the game. It was a coaches decision, it wasn’t that I was unhappy with his play it just generates that way when you look at size match-ups and you look at trying to get pressure on forechecks and reloads. You need some speed to defend, and I think that’s kind of how that got itself generated.

On how Bryan Little handled himself on the wing…

I thought he did pretty good, it’s a tough transition when you’re in a heated game like this. I thought that he handled himself well so that’s something we may consider. But there was nothing happening with him, Wheeler, or Ladd, and you had to really work to find anything happening. There were some turnovers from that line, it was a tough night.

On having back to back games…

I don’t think we fear back to backs like it’s an elephant in the room or anything. I think it’s another game for us we’ll just get some rest. And it’s an afternoon game for us so hopefully we will be able to recover. So I think our team’s mindset is a little bit better and I think that we’re going to tackle that animal.

PAILLE AND BOURQUE AGREE TO CONTRACTS

Bruins sign Paille and Bourque

BOSTON BRUINS SIGN DANIEL PAILLE TO A THREE-YEAR CONTRACT, CHRIS BOURQUE TO A TWO-YEAR CONTRACT
BOSTON, MA – Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today, June 1, that the club has signed forward Daniel Paille to a three-year contract through the 2014-15 season and forward Chris Bourque to a two-year contract through the 2013-14 season. Paille’s contract is worth $1.3 million annually over the three years of his deal. Bourque’s deal will be a two-way contract in year one (2012-13) and is worth $550,000 at the NHL level and $200,000 at the American Hockey League level. In year two, it will be a one-way contract worth $550,000.
Chiarelli and Paille will be available on a conference call on Friday, June 1 at 3:00 p.m. ET.

The 2011-12 season marked the 28-year-old Paille’s third as a member of the Boston Bruins. In his three seasons, he has skated in 186 regular season games with 25 goals, 22 assists and 55 penalty minutes. Paille has appeared in 46 postseason contests with Boston and has tallied four goals and five assists for nine points. During the Bruins 2011 Stanley Cup Championship run, Paille played in all 25 playoff games and recorded 3-3=6 totals.

For his career, the 6’0, 200-pound native of Welland, Ontario has played in 381 NHL games with Buffalo and Boston and has registered 60 goals, 64 assists and 109 penalty minutes. He was originally drafted by the Sabres in the first round (20th overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He was acquired by the Bruins from Buffalo on October 20, 2009 for a 2010 third round pick (Kevin Sunder).

Bourque was acquired by the Bruins from the Washington Capitals on May 26, 2012 for forward Zach Hamill.  The 26-year-old native of Boston, MA has skated in 33 career NHL games with Washington and Pittsburgh and notched one goal and three assists. This past season, he appeared in 73 regular season games for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), and led the league in scoring after compiling 27-66=93 totals with 42 penalty minutes. In five playoff games, he tallied one goal and three assists.

The 5’8”, 180-pound left wing was originally drafted by the Capitals in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.
He is the son of Ray Bourque, the Boston Bruins Hall-of-Famer who owns records for most goals, assists and points by a defenseman in the National Hockey League. Ray Bourque is also currently the Bruins all-time career leader in games played, assists, and points.

BRUINS FALL IN GAME 7; CAPITALS TAKE SERIES

BRUINS LOSE GAME 7 IN OVERTIME

BY KEVIN HARRIMANBOSTON SPORTS DESK PUBLISHER BOSTON – The doors to the Bruins locker room were closed for a longer than usual amount of time following Wednesday’s Game 7 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals. When the doors were finally opened to the media,  what we saw was a group of stunned, beat up hockey players. The Bruins had just been bounced from the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. They would not get  a chance to defend their title. Bruins Captain Zdeno Chara sat quietly in front of his locker in the corner. Chara was sporting two black eyes, what looked like a broken nose and a right ankle that defied description. Tyler Seguin sat at his locker and stared at the floor. The second year player had just seen the other side of hockey. Last year, his first in the league as a rookie, Seguin was a Stanley Cup Champion. In his second season, Seguin is one and done. Dennis Seidenberg, who, along with Chara, carried the heaviest load of the series, summed up the feeling   of the locker room. When he was asked if he was shocked that the season was over,   Seideneberg paused for  a second and answered in the affirmative. “ Yeah for sure, I mean it’s such a weird feeling.  I mean you play hard, it’s a tight game and suddenly a bounce goes against you and suddenly the season’s over, ” said Seidenberg. ”For the first few minutes, and even right now, you’re wondering what time practice is tomorrow, but there is no practice.  I mean it’s going to be a long summer and we have to get ready for next year again. “ Milan Lucic shared Seidenberg’s feelings on being stunned. “Yeah, especially standing here after a first round loss – it’s been almost five years since we lost in the first round. So, it’s – like I said, we fought hard; we tried to do whatever we can to give ourselves a chance to win ”I mean, you look at last year’s team – we got bounces, everyone was able to stay healthy and this year, unfortunately we were missing some guys that played big parts in us moving forward in what we accomplished last year. So, not much else to say – just got to think about it and try to let it go and get ready for next year, I guess.” Tim Thomas, who may have played his last game as a Bruins (his no trade clause expires at end of June) felt as though his team would be moving on to the next round. He too admitted being shocked following the loss. ”I don’t know. I’m, I’d have to say I’m probably in shock.” said Thomas. “ I really believed that we were going to win tonight. I thought that, I really had a deep feeling that this wasn’t the end of the road for us tonight, that this wasn’t going to be the last game of the season. And so that’s my first reaction.” To their credit, each member of the team stayed around to speak with the media at their lockers.  The tones were low and their voices were soft, barely audible at times. But they stayed and answered all of the questions fired at them.

CHRIS KELLY PRESS CONFERENCE: GAME 7

BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD CHRIS KELLY

On what he will do for the rest of the day… Long nap, lunch – same thing I’ve done for the last 600 or 700 plus games that I’ve played.  The exact same thing – skate, eat, nap, come back.

On what has been discussed today… To be honest everything’s pretty much the same.  We know what’s at stake.  We just need to go out there and play well.

On whether the crowd increases the team’s energy… Yeah it’s always great to have that Game 7 at home.  We’ve worked hard all year to put ourselves in this position and there’s no better place than playing in front of our fans in Boston here, so we’re excited.

On Tim Thomas not being aware of the crowd’s energy till after the game… That’s a good thing; we want to just be focused on the task at hand.  To be honest, you hear the noise, but I don’t think I could ever point out a person in the crowd or point out a certain sign or things like that.  It’s a collective noise, which I like. I think it’s great.

On if he wouldn’t want anyone else in net besides Thomas night… No, I think he’s the guy that I’m sure 29 other teams would want in net in this situation.

On whether home ice makes a difference… I don’t know being at home is a nice luxury to have.  Like you said, home team hasn’t seemed to be the advantage that both sides were hoping for, but we’re just going to go out there and play hard.  We gave ourselves another chance with winning Game 6.

On how he felt waking up this morning… Same as it was the day before.  Obviously, you can’t get too high or too low in these situations.  I think being through these types of games in hockey throughout our lives is a good thing.  I woke up ready to come to the rink and skate this morning and do all the fun things that I do every other day when I come in the rink.

On whether he will have fun tonight… Yeah this is a great opportunity.  I think that’s how you should look at it.  This is an opportunity that a lot of people don’t get a chance to take advantage of or be part of.  I never had the opportunity to play in a Game 7 until I got here last year and that was one of those things that I remember thinking going against Montreal.  For one, I got to play the Montreal Canadians in the playoffs, which was something that was pretty neat and then I got to play Game 7.  I didn’t think I’d get to play three of them, but this is just a great opportunity.

On the importance of getting production from the first line… Yeah, like I said I think a few days ago, the strength of our hockey team is how deep we are.  All four lines contribute, both defensively and offensively.  Obviously, they’ve been doing a lot of little things that maybe go unnoticed by a lot of people, but it was nice to see them get rewarded with goals and points, because I know you guys love them, love those.

KEVIN HARRIMAN

JULIEN TO CARON: “….STAY READY……”

CLAUDE JULIEN PRESS CONFERENCE

BOSTON BRUINS HEAD COACH CLAUDE JULIEN

On if Patrice Bergeron will play in tonight’s game… Yes, I think so.

On the way Jordan Caron has stayed ready and prepared throughout the series… Well we talked to him before the series started, because I thought if anything, he was a real good player for us in that last stretch of the regular season. And it was tough to take him out but we went with some experienced guys, first and foremost. The one thing that we said to him – we said you’ve got to stay ready because there’s going to come a point where we’re going to need you and obviously we did last game.

On the Game 7 experience… Well, I mean, it’s a Game 7. I think its Game 7 for both teams. I think our guys are ready for it and I’m sure they are, too [Washington]. There’s not much you can say about those games except that you come ready to play, you do the best you can, you try and be as focused and poised and everything else that you can be. And try and control the things that you can and hope that those are the elements that’s going to help you succeed.

On how to minimize costly mistakes in a deciding Game 7… Yeah, I think it’s just a matter of not getting sloppy. You’ve got to make strong plays in those Game 7’s and you’ve got to minimize the mistakes. That was actually one of our things that we talked about before last game. Back-to-back games and tired people sometimes will make mistakes and we had to be strong mentally and try and avoid the mistake that was going to cost us not only the game, but the series. So, we overcame that. I think a lot [we’ve been] saying today is we’ve got to minimize those mistakes and play with confidence.

KEVIN HARRIMAN

CLAUDE JULIEN PRESS CONFERENCE

BRUINS vs CAPITALS GAME 7 WED