Domique Ducharme Gave His Thoughts On Yesterday's Game, with a Clear Head
Dominique Ducharme met with reporters this morning to give his usual press conference. He had a clear head after another 6-3 loss to the powerful Tampa Lightning.
He was asked a series of questions and answered them as transparently as possible. After a third consecutive loss, it would not be surprising if Ducharme made changes to his team, he did not close the door on the subject.
"If that's the case, then that's what it will be. We look at it like that every game, and the same things will be done in the next few hours, the next few days, to prepare for our game on Monday. "
Players like Tomas Tatar, Jake Evans, Alexander Romanov and Brett Kulak could see their names inserted into the lineup Monday. The most likely change is the removal of Erik Gustafsson who had a rough game last night. Could we see Alexander Romanov replace him? It's not impossible, because according to Ducharme, Romanov is clearly part of the Tricolore's plans.
"He [Romanov] played 54 games this season and two more in the playoffs. He's part of the team. He's young. We're still working with him. Just because he's not in uniform doesn't mean he's not part of the team. He's still learning! "
However, he was adamant that there is no way Carey Price won't be in net for Monday's Game 4.
"Carey is our guy. He's going to play on Monday. If you're wondering who our goalie is going to be on Monday, it's going to be Carey. You can point to one guy or the other, but it's a team sport. We're going to have to be better in front of him. We're going to have to have the 20 guys in uniform on Monday play their best game. That's it! "
Ducharme also gave his thoughts on his team's performance last night. He analyzed the turning points of the game, including what sunk the CH.
"We fell behind quickly in the game. We definitely pushed to come back, and when you're down by two goals, we scored a big goal at the end of the period, but then again, they scored two quick goals early in the second and all of a sudden it's 4-1. It's not a lack of will, especially in a situation where you have to push, so we forced the game rather than being patient. That's kind of the effect of chasing the score. "
If you were wondering if the CH head coach still believed in his team's chances, the answer is yes. It will be tough, but doable.
"Yesterday's game was a different game, but we learned through the season, through the playoffs, a lot of situations. We're going to use that. You know, there's been nothing normal about our season, and there's been nothing normal about the playoffs. It seems like things are happening to us that haven't happened to anybody else. So now we're dealing with something different. We're not going to fold like that. We're going to fight, and the first thing we're going to do is fight on Monday night to go out and get the win. "
The driver knows that coming back from behind against a team as well off as the Lightning will be a daunting task. However, it will have to be handled one game at a time, just like against Toronto.
"It happened in the series against Toronto [to fall behind 1-3]. First, you can't look too far ahead. Sometimes you look at the mountain and it looks really high. There are steps to take, and the first one is to win a game at home [on Monday]! "
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Will the Lightning Win the Stanley Cup Monday? | ||
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