But inside the dressing room, can there be momentum around guys just kind of just saying, "Well, we, we can still do this"? That, uh, you know, "The game's on the schedule, we gotta play and we gotta go out there." Can there be momentum behind that?

Yeah, certainly is.

I think, you know, when you g- when you go through, um, you know, the course of now 84 games, you're gonna go through different situations and times where you get banged up or y- you know, you have guys out, or it's a, it, it, it's a tough part of the schedule with whether it's travel or games.

You know, that's what makes the NHL the hardest league in the world, and we have, we have good players, we have capable players.

You know, I'd like ...

I, I liked lots of things that we did in Vegas.

I liked lots of the things that we did early in the game against Winnipeg.

This, this one counts, guys." How, how, uh, flexible, uh, from a coaching standpoint can you be, like, in the midst of the game itself?

Now here they come"?

Well, I think you always know when, you know, you always know when a team's coming from behind in, in the third period.

There's gonna be some, you know, things that they do to, to, to press and, uh, you know.

I, I just thought we were a little bit loose in, in some of our coverages, uh, to be honest.

And I think that's, you know, something when a team presses hard like that, that's got a lot of offensive skill, uh, you know, in the last two games we've had leads and, uh, you know, we were able to maintain it.

Last night we weren't.

So y- you know, even the last two games, there were some things that went on in the game that, that can be better.

[crowd cheering]

How did this preseason affect you differently in terms of how you use players and how you prepare for this season?

Yeah, it was a little bit different.

You know, you've been doing training camp for so long and you're used to, you know, basically the six exhibition games.

Most of the guys would play two to three, the veteran guys.

Some of the younger guys might play four or five.

And you do have a longer period, you know, where you can implement some things.

So, you know, we took the road as I had discussions in the summer with a lot of veteran players and talked about, you know, here's camp.

But for the head coach, it's got to bleed in there at some point.

When you first got here, kind of joining a season in progress, how much vision of a long-term fit did you even have at that point?

Well, I think it's more when you come in, you know, when you come in in season as such, you're kind of, you know, everything's thrown at you right at once.

So you really is trying to just get to know the players, kind of see what's going on, stabilize the situation and try to continue to grow it.

And then you have the offseason.

Then I would say over the last couple of years, just it's been, you know, like I said, it's been it's a great organization to be in the way that we're treated, you know, the way that the organization is run.

It does allow you to not have to deal with a lot of, You know, outside distractions or things, everything's pretty well in line.

So you can really focus on on coaching and then, you know, to be honest, getting to know getting to know the players and the team.

How much did your whole team grow last year, both defensively what they did here with the Wilds and the guys playing the Olympics, you get the breakthrough in the first round and how much will that carry over to this year?

What do you learn as a coach from this experience and these guys, and what can, what can it take to get 'em over the, the top there to a second round series as well?

Yeah, I, I, you know, I've learned a lot.

I think, you know, we've, uh...

You know, uh, I'd say in the first series, you know, the guys, there was a more maturity about us, I say, than a year ago versus, versus Vegas.

And I think internally the expectation and the belief that, you know, we are good enough to, to win the series and, and, and get on a run.

And I think the, a lot of the, the, the penalty discipline, I think, uh, playing with, with emotion and not emotional.

Uh, you know, I think a lot of the details of, of the game.

that-That you are gonna have to, as a tandem, figure out this off-season on how to get, you know, better, faster, bigger penalty killers, whatever it may be?

How much does that stuff, you know, eat at you?

Yeah, I mean, those are the little margins in the game, right, when it gets tight and we had a huge block and, you know, we got the icing.

And then, you know, they put some – They got the deflection shot.

We knew coming into the series that was going to be a big part of it.

Even Spurgey's got it tied up and it shoots right in and deflects.

It wasn't like it was an errant or missed assignment.

It was something that they do well and when it mattered the most.

John, was there more offense for you guys? Was there more that you could have done in terms of an attack and a push, even in the third period when you had the two-goal lead, as opposed to what happened? Was it a little prevent defense, or were they not allowing you

you thought of Boldy and his play in this series? And what are some maybe some of the details that he can look to do tonight to free him up a little bit and be be the impact player that, you know,

he's clearly been? Yeah, I think that – I think Bolz has had some good moments in the series.

I think when he's a beast on the puck, it's a different game.

When he's on pucks and he's over pucks and he's controlling it and he's playing with that competitive edge, that's usually when – that's when his skill comes out.

That's when he has the ability to be a dominant player in the game.

And I think that he's had that at times in the series.

I think early in the series he had some good looks, didn't get rewarded for it.

These guys just, is it not even a factor, just saying, you just keep going, just keep going? Is there signs or tells from them that, like, they're good to go, keep going? Yeah.

Did you see something going on with that line that just made it kind of ineffective?

No, like the one thing I will say to you, Mike, is like we can talk about line combos and stuff like that.

We got out-competed last night.

Like game three, we out-competed them.

We were the harder team, won more puck battles.

Last night, they were the harder team.

They were more competitive in the hard areas of the ice.

You obviously don't want to be in the situation, but can desperation work? Can there be positives towards the situation to do the things that you're saying they need to do?

What did they do to adjust and, and maybe why did it take you so late to, to adjust back?

Well, we, you know, I think there was a lot of things that, that you just said there were the truth.

I think we didn't, uh, we didn't play direct enough.

I think the, the style of game that, uh, we needed to play to win the game, we didn't, we didn't ...

We, we made the conscious choice not to play that way tonight.

So, you know, we'll, we'll readdress that, and then we'll get ready for game five.

Just what are you expecting in terms of pushback now that you're, you're up against it?

Well, I just think it's, it's no different, like, e- every playoff game you go through.

I mean, whatever it is, desperation, urgency, can you maintain whatever that feeling is regardless of what the series is?

Yeah, I mean, we talked about that this morning, that it's the playoffs, so every game is urgent.

Yeah.

I just think we got to what we got to the game that gave us a chance.

Like we said, we had a couple days, I think, to rest and regroup and really wrap our head around the series, the improvements that we need to make.

And I think, you know, guys came in with some clear heads, really focused on Colorado.

And I think that it's, you know, to us it's not like it's, yeah, we played a good game and won the game, but it's a race to four.

I would imagine you're not surprised with the way he came back, but is that another thing that goes in, like, okay, the maturity, showing maturity and

Does that say something? I mean, do you try and build on that or just how do you, how do you digest that part of it?

Yeah.

I like ...

Listen, the game was helter-skelter.

We lost the game.

There's certain areas we gotta clean up and be ready to clean up, and we will.

It's, you know, you, you ...

Mm-hmm.

Does that say something? I mean, do you try and build on that, or just how do you, how do you digest that part of it?

Yeah, I like, listen, the game was helter-skelter.

We lost the game.

There's certain areas we gotta clean up and be ready to clean up, and we will.

It's, you know, you, you, if you lose a game, you gotta take the lessons out of it and move on.

If you win a game, you gotta take the lessons out of it and continue to move on.

That's what, that's what playoff hockey is.

Mm-hmm.

Et vendredi uniquement au cinéma.

Well, I think, you know, I think we, we, we were doing, uh, pretty well before Hughes came in, but I think to be able to add, to add a guy of his caliber with, you know, hi- his experiences, his abilities, um, he just, you know, I think he just elevates, uh, our team just as from an offensive perspective.

He can move the puck, he makes plays.

He's an offensive play driver.

I think it sets our D core up Where we have some good pairings, and I think everyone slots in, uh, where they need to be.

But I think the also, you know, the other thing too is when you, when you bring a player, like any player into your room, you're bringing the player, and you're also bringing the person and his experiences and his competitiveness and his character.

And you know, Huggy's come in, he's a, he's an unbelievable competitor.

Uh, how much do you like working for a GM like that?

Go skate, Quinn."?

Y- you know, it's really a combo when you get, you know...

A lot of times the best players, you know, they wanna know what you just de- kind of the intricacies of, uh, what you do tactically.

But for the most part, you know, it was in, when we just talked about, um, you know, I actually had the opportunity to coach two of his brothers so finally, uh, I have a chance to coach, uh, coach Quinn full time.

Uh, really just a little bit about some D zone coverage, some line rush defense and, and some breakout situations.

Those were things that he felt that he just wanted to take a look at really quick.

So we had a little bit of a, a package.

Like, who has to adapt to who here? Does Quinn adapt to how the Wild play or do the Wild lean into, "Hey, we've got Quinn Hughes, let's lean into what Quinn Hughes can do here"? Or is it a combination of both?

Go skate, Quinn."

Y- you know, it's really a combo when you get...

You know, a lot of times the best players, you know, they want to know what just the, kind of the intricacies of, uh, what you do tactically.

But for the most part, you know, it was in one we just talked about, um, you know, I actually had the opportunity to coach two of his brothers.

So finally, uh, have a chance to coach, uh, Coach Quinn full-time.

Uh-... really just a little bit about some D zone coverage, some line rush defense, and, and some breakout situations.

Those are things that he felt that he just wanted to take a look at really quick.

Let's lean into what Quinn Hughes can do here"? Or is it a combination of both?

How important is it for your group here, the wild, and those guys, their experience there, listening to those messages from the big boys potentially saying, watch the lines, have a good F3, win your battles, and then buying into that and then ultimately producing a good quality hockey?

Yeah, I think it was great for Brock and Bold's.

They came in, and it was nice to see them play as well as they played in a high-stakes environment with the best players in the world against the best players in the world.

They didn't take a back seat.

I thought they got better and better as the tournament went on, and both played major roles as the tournament continued to grow.

So to see them be able to be in that environment around that type of a team and that competition, to not take a step back and kind of look around, but they played to their identities, and they did a really good job.

I think that's only beneficial for them, but also for our team here in Minnesota.

Does it change at all? And how are you prepping for that?