SHARKSPAGE

WCQF Game 5: Post-game comments from San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan, Los Angeles Kings head coach Terry Murray

Post-game comments from San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan:

No. They are trying to play that way throughout the season. I don’t think we let up at all at any point tonight as far as energy level goes. We still had a lot of jump in our legs. We were getting to pucks in the offensive zone. That is why they give you days off between games is to recover. I still like the way our 3 lines are going. I thought Jamie McGinn came in and gave us a lot of energy. Scotty (Nichol) would have been a little more usable had he won more faceoffs. Jammer was on the ice for a goal. So they all found ways to contribute individually, not neccessarily collectively.

We get tomorrow to decide that (Niemi or Niittymaki). We will spend time discussing that as a staff. We will make sure they are both feeling good, then we will make a decision.

I don’t think we just focus on tonight, we have to look at the series. When you look at the series, the team that is sloppy coming through the neutral zone is paying the price for it. I listened to Terry talk about his team. We are saying the same thing. You make mistakes, you turn the puck over and it is in your net. You can’t expect goaltenders to stand on their head every night. We will focus on that. We have played in their building, we have won some games. We know the atmosphere. We will go down there, buckle them up and see what we can do.

(Outscored 8-to-1 in first period, which is more concerning) The 8. Realistically 7 of those came in 2 games, or 6 of those came in 2 games I guess. We have got to start better. When you look at their team, they have a real strong belief that they can win with 2, maybe 3. I will have to remind our group of that tomorrow. Hopefully we will be off to a better start that we were here tonight.

I don’t have an idea (why we have only 1 first period goal). We will have to look at it. I am not so concerned about the 1, I am more concerned about the 8.

The 6 players that dressed tonight on the back end, and it is not only the dmen when you talk about coming out of your own zone. The 6 of them are all better than they showed tonight. They know that. I probably don’t even have to tell that to them tomorrow but I will gently remind them. We have handled heavy forechecks throughout the year, we have handled size throughout the year. We have to get together as a group of 5 and make sure we are coming out a lot cleaner than we have.

Post-game comments from Los Angeles Kings head coach Terry Murray:

Going into the game, all the conversations we had with the team were about the checking part of the game. There is no question they were going to come out with a lot of energy, a lot of emotion to try to close this series out tonight. We knew that. We were prepared for that kind of attitude. I thought we were ok at the start of the game. Quick was of course good at the start, as he was all game long. You do settle it out. You do get your opportunity. Whenever you get a team that is pressing a lot, you can show the defensive part of the game. You are going to recover the puck, your are going to be able to attack, a lot of the time it ends up being an oddman rush the other way. You whether the storm in the early going, you get your opportunity and you cash in.

Jonathan Quick has always had the ability to come back with a real solid game. He bounced back after goals he wish he could do over again, or even a game. He has always had that since the first time I have had him here in the NHL. We needed him here tonight, there is no question. They were going to come out with emotion and energy, they were going to put a lot of pucks to the net to try to close this out. At the end of the day he is the difference. He is the reason we are still alive in this series.

(The Clifford-Richardson-Simmonds line) has been good. They are young, they are energized, they are enthusiastic. They really like to play with each other. When I first put that line together, after they played a few games together I had a meeting and that was the topic of conversation. How much they enjoyed to play the speed, the tempo game. To play hard for each other. It has been a good series for them. I am confident, they have my trust. I put them out there against any line. They are pretty responsible on the checking part of it, but really high energy on the offensive side, recovering pucks, moving, creating opportunities for everybody. It was a solid game by them. It is great to see your young guys step up in a pressure situation like this.

Coming in it was time to get back to the basics. We have been very disappointed as a coaching staff, even our players, we are all disappointed with how we played in the two games back at the Staples Center. Totally out of character, we are chasing the puck, leaving the front of the net wide open for tap-in goals, great scoring chances. Even tonight we had one in the third period. Overall, I thought the attitude was good here tonight. We take pride in the red line back into our d-zone. Guys worked hard, checked hard. Quick was good. Our specialty teams, our penalty kill came up very big in the third period with two big kills. That is just all tied in to the attitude we had here tonight.

We still showed a bit of a composure issue for me (Game 5 lead vs Game 3 lead). They come in waves that team. They are very powerful. They have three lines that really can move the puck and get after you. There were opportunities for us to calm things down, I thought it will be something we have to talk about tomorrow in practice. Hey guys, working hard for each other when you do recover the puck is what it is all about. Communication goes a long way. Just yelling and shouting at each other to give everybody a heads up with a young hockey club right now. Bottom line, we got the job done in a not very friendly environment against a team that was very hungry to close this down. They did not want to come back to our building. We are going to be ready to play. We will be a better team back home.

Yes (I am concerned about being outchanced and outshot). Here I am talking about the checking part of the game. It can be better still. Shots on goal. I liked our attitude in that we had a pretty good home plate. There was a lot of C shots, what we categorize as C shots from the perimeter. They still count on the shot clock. We will break it down even furthur as we get back home. There was about a dozen great scoring chances where the goaltender came up big. You know what, when you get into this type of scenario with us, when you get to this time of year in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, your goaltender is going to have to win you a game. That is all there is to it. It is not any big deal, it has been going on for 50 years. This is the way it is. Now we got to bounce back in front of him. We have to be better in front of him for the next game.