Although the Kings had a chance to do something they’ve never done before – sweep a series 4-0…and something that’s never been done in the NHL – sweep a President’s Trophy winner out of the first round…it wasn’t to be. Led by the return of Daniel Sedin, the Vancouver Canucks made the necessary adjustments being down 1-0 at the first intermission and controlled the final 40 minutes of play. They were outhit 50-26 and outshot 44-30, yet won the game 3-1. After the final buzzer, here’s what they were saying back in the locker room…
Goalie Cory Schneider on the overall game – “They’re looking to move on just as badly as we are looking to stay alive. We knew that in their building they were going to do everything they could to put us away now and not let us hang around so [I was] doing as much as I could to keep us in the game and, sure enough, the power play came up huge and we had a big goal in the third [period].”
Schneider on the Canucks not getting the start they wanted – “No, but that’s what a goalie is there for, especially on the road. You have to come up with some big save early on and give your guys a chance to get into the game, get into the rhythm, and get comfortable on the road. I thought our second and third periods were better and we got stronger as the game went on.”
Schneider on his comfort level in the game – “It’s always good to get into the rhythm. You play one a few nights ago and I think that momentum and rhythm carries over to the next one and you’re a little more at ease, a little less nervous, a little more confident–all those things come together and it’s just fun to play in environments like this.”
Forward Alex Burrows on having both Sedins in the line-up – “As soon as you see Danny [Daniel Sedin] back there–so patient with the puck and he breaks it down as good as anybody in the League. Especially with Hanky [Henrik Sedin] there, they’re able to move the puck to open areas and find lanes and find seams and that’s why they’re unbelievable together.”
Burrows on the overall game – “It was do or die for us and it’s only one game. We have to keep going and win the next one and we’ll go from there.”
Burrows on the power play – “It’s huge; it’s a huge weapon, especially nowadays with penalties that are called every game. It’s a huge weapon to have and we were able to get two big ones there tonight and that was the difference.”
Coach Alain Vigneault on the overall game – “We needed obviously a few of our guys to elevate their performance and obviously Schneider came up real big for us tonight. He gave us a chance in the first period when our guys were a little bit tight and not as quick as far as moving the puck and doing the right things. He gave us a chance to get our legs and find our hands and after that I thought we played pretty good.”
Vigneault on the mindset needed – “It was either continue to play or we were done. I thought our guys in the first period were a little bit tight and they loosened up. I think they probably fed a little bit off Schneider’s performance there. He was in total control and even though we were down 1-0, I thought we came out in the second period and got a little momentum and we finally got a bounce on our second goal. We hadn’t had a bounce so far in this series, in my mind anyway. We got a bounce and built off that.”
Vigneault on Daniel Sedin’s return – “It was nice to see #22 and it was nice to see #33 back to the way that he can play. Obviously he was trying really hard and doing all the right things. Both of those guys together are such great players and they proved that tonight even though Daniel hadn’t practiced a lot in the last little while here. They came out and had a stellar performance tonight.”
We also tweeted additional Vigneault comments live from his presser last night. You can find those by clicking the button below.
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If you missed the MayorsManor LIVE show, where we previewed game four and spoke with Daniel Sedin, Jeff Carter and others – click here to listen now.
Also, be sure to check out some great comments from Rob Scuderi and Drew Doughty posted this afternoon.
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