On whether there’s someone he has played with or coached like Justin Williams:
Good question. Just trying to think of guys I played with and then guys I coached. I’d probably have to think about it ’cause there’s not one guy that jumps out as the very same. [Reporter: Larmer?] Steve Larmer was a doifferent type of player. Larm shot left, Willie shoots right. [Reporter: Does that maybe kind of speak to what Justin is?] Unique? [Reporter: Yes.] That’s a good one. I’ll come up with one, but too much going on there. I’ll get you a good one.
On why he has “outlasted” all his brothers as an NHL coach:
I don’t think ‘outlast’ is a really good way of saying it. They all played longer than I did. I was coaching when I was forced into coaching at 29 years old. That’s what I did in order to stay in the game because I couldn’t play no more. Obviously with that, you know, I was the only one of my brothers that went up through the system, meaning coaching in the minors, coaching an organization, and advancing through the coaching with the organization, meaning being an assistant coach, being a head coach. That is still the way to be a coach for a long time and be a top coach.
On whether Dustin Brown’s postseason performance after the regular season is representative of that of the team:
Well, he’s a big part of the identity of our hockey club. I think it’s kind of beating a dead horse. He and I have talked a lot about his regular season. The only thing that made the difference then was making the playoffs. Where he was going to make the difference was for our team to make the playoffs and then be a forceful player at playoff time. You know, the type of person he is, that’s deep down what he wanted. Nobody was more dissatisfied with his regular season more than Brownie was. It’s good to see him have some success. It’s good to see him on a team that’s still playing.
On the opportunity to win a second Stanley Cup:
Well, most players, coaches, trainers never get any chance, zero. So when you get the opportunity, and I’ve been fortunate to be in quite a few of them, so it’s always a testament to the group you have and to understand how tough it is. That’s why not many people or teams win it because it’s hard for them to take on the whole challenge of what it to is to win and the price you got to pay and the sacrifice you got to make.
On any “bragging rights” over his brothers having won a Stanley Cup as a coach:
No. I think our family’s close enough — when they won it, we very seldom talked about it, other than being very proud of my brothers. That in itself is very special, they won six. I’m pretty proud of them.
On the mood of the team when trailing San Jose three-nothing:
I don’t remember our mood after Game 3. I recall our mood the third period of Game 1 when we put Martin Jones in – we could see we’re not a team when somebody says, go away, and we go away. We’re a team that’s going to respond. Doesn’t mean you’re always going to win, but you’re going to respond. The other team is going to know they played you. I saw that in period one of Game 3. We knew we were winning the series; it just took a little bit longer.
On Drew Doughty’s goal-saving penalty on Rick Nash, and his decision making:
I think that play in particular, Nash a very forceful player for them the last two games, and you’re going to have to match his skill set to make a play like that. Nash is a special player, and so is Drew Doughty. You’re talking about two guys that made special plays there.
On anything different about this team this year compared to the team two years ago:
Well, the core is basically the same, but it’s certainly not the same type of team. If you just look at it from just the players that are playing last night, Gaborik, Pearson, Toffoli, Clifford, that’s four of your 12 guys that weren’t on that team that we go back to always. Muzzin. Those are five pretty significant players that had not played one second of a Stanley Cup Final. We’ll still evaluate those five guys as this series goes along to see how they’ve performed in the Stanley Cup Final.
On whether the 2004 Stanley Cup Final loss to Tampa Bay still stings:
No, I moved on in a hurry. It’s something that everybody wants to talk about. You go to the seventh game of the Stanley Cup, you get beat 2-1. The best and worst part of winning is till you’ve won it, you don’t really understand what that is. Then when you lose, you’re pretty close to understanding it Anybody that’s never been in either one of those positions, they’ll never understand it, never. That’s why there’s teams that say they’re happy to make the playoffs because they don’t understand the big goal part of it.
On whether it’s tough to leave players out of the lineup with a Stanley Cup on the line:
No. We’re trying to win a game. The sheet tells you you can only dress 20 players. If I could only dress 12, I’d dress 12. If I could dress 30, I’d dress 30. But it says 18 and 2, so you go, ‘This is going to give us the best opportunity to win tonight.’
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