The Maple Leafs And The Capitals Expect to Ramp It Up For Game 2!
After rocketing out to a 2-0 lead while out skating and dominating Washington early, Toronto ended up losing in overtime 3-2 to their number one ranked opponents.
In post game comments Leafs coach Mike Bobcock thought that his team played well but after watching the game film he knows that they have more to give! In fact he expects both teams to take their play to a higher level tonight in Washington at 7 p.m. EST.
Photo Credit: NHL.com
“We had a whole bunch of players that were fine, but not as good as they’re capable of being,” explained Leafs coach Mike Babcock. “I’m not trying to take anything away from them. At this time of year, you’re playing real hockey teams. You don’t want to take anything away from the opposition."
"At the same time, you know what you’re capable of and you want to maximize your group, and we didn’t get that done last game.”
Ever the highly decorated motivator, Babcock, who has coached teams to a World Junior Championship, a World Cup, a World Championship, a Stanley Cup, and 2 Olympic Gold Medals knows what to say, how to say it and when to say it.
When asked if the pressure was too much for his young team he said " We've just got good players so let's play! They're the ones who are feeling pressure and we want them real tight!" The tightness that he refers to comes from being heavy favorites this year with a team who's window of opportunity seems to be closing! An Ovechkin led team has never gotten past the second round of the playoffs! That's pressure!
“You get to play this time of year, you want to play well,” said Babcock. “You want to be as good as you’re capable of being. That’s the challenge for us.”
The Capitals want to start game 2 the way that they finished game 1....STRONG!
“We didn’t have our best game and I don’t want to take anything away from Toronto,” chimed in coach Barry Trotz. “But I though the last part of the game, when we settled the game down, we started taking the game over. You look at the zone time, possession time, the chances, all that — we did a really good job.
“We’ve just got to get off to a better start. There was a lot of looseness in our game, especially early. We’ve got to get that fixed up and tightened up. If we come out with the urgency that we need tonight, then hopefully you’ll see a more complete game and go from there.”
