Post by hawksgm on May 10, 2009 20:58:37 GMT -5
The Hawks learned upon finishing off the Canucks in Game 6 that their next opponent would be the Anaheim Ducks. While they may have officially dropped the Mighty part of the name, the fact of the matter is that they are as mighty as ever and the Hawks were not looking forward to facing the wave upon wave of offensive firepower that the Ducks sport on pretty much every line. They also sport one of the better defensive top 6 in the TFNHL and are further supported by All-World goalie Roberto Luongo.
Any team getting ready to face this team is going to start doubting their chances, regardless if they verbalize those doubts or not. Things could not have started off worse after the Hawks lost the first game of the series and gave up 6 goals in the process.
The Hawks regrouped, beared down and won the next 4 games to close out the series.
"It's never a fun experience when you just complete a series against a team like Vancouver and then have to face a team that has as much talent, if not more. We got caught in the first game I think giving them to much credit, we stood around a little and allowed them to do what they wanted and 1) didn't make them earn anything and 2) didn't make them pay for anything. After game 1 we spoke a bit in the lockerroom and we all, to a man, committed to each other that we were going to make them work for every inch on the ice and we were going to bring a physical element to the games that I don't think they saw in the first series. We were lucky enough that a few of their D got hurt and a few others got a little over-zealous and were suspended. Both teams played hard, but I think we worked a little harder and as they say, you earn your breaks and I think we did that in this series" Those were the words from veteran Joe Sakic.
Jose Theodore added "This team has busted their humps all season long and have got this team to the PO's disspite the bad season I had. I didn't want to be the reason that the season ended and I asked the guys to see what they could do to allow me to see the puck on most shots and I would do anything I could do to stop the puck and give this team a chance to win some games. It's not always pretty, but at the end of the day, as long I give up one less goal than my team scores, I and the team feel we did our jobs. I'm just really happy that I was able to help this team win."
All Captain Vincent Lecavalier had to say was this "Things do not get any easier. We have the Dallas Stars up next and trust me, it's no accident that they are here. They are a very talented group that plays very well together and are so strong defensively. We have our work cut out for us."
GM Phil Grote stated that "We feel very fortunate to be in this position. A few bounces the other way and we are conducting exit interviews. That Ducks team is so talented and they are so young, they will be back here, mark my words. However, if the reports are true, they will not be here with their GM which saddens me. He constructed a great team with a great future and it would be very sad should the reports be true."
"We will check out some tapes of the Dallas-Columbus series and see if there's something that we can look at to exploit and see if we can further extend our season"
Should be another good series.
Any team getting ready to face this team is going to start doubting their chances, regardless if they verbalize those doubts or not. Things could not have started off worse after the Hawks lost the first game of the series and gave up 6 goals in the process.
The Hawks regrouped, beared down and won the next 4 games to close out the series.
"It's never a fun experience when you just complete a series against a team like Vancouver and then have to face a team that has as much talent, if not more. We got caught in the first game I think giving them to much credit, we stood around a little and allowed them to do what they wanted and 1) didn't make them earn anything and 2) didn't make them pay for anything. After game 1 we spoke a bit in the lockerroom and we all, to a man, committed to each other that we were going to make them work for every inch on the ice and we were going to bring a physical element to the games that I don't think they saw in the first series. We were lucky enough that a few of their D got hurt and a few others got a little over-zealous and were suspended. Both teams played hard, but I think we worked a little harder and as they say, you earn your breaks and I think we did that in this series" Those were the words from veteran Joe Sakic.
Jose Theodore added "This team has busted their humps all season long and have got this team to the PO's disspite the bad season I had. I didn't want to be the reason that the season ended and I asked the guys to see what they could do to allow me to see the puck on most shots and I would do anything I could do to stop the puck and give this team a chance to win some games. It's not always pretty, but at the end of the day, as long I give up one less goal than my team scores, I and the team feel we did our jobs. I'm just really happy that I was able to help this team win."
All Captain Vincent Lecavalier had to say was this "Things do not get any easier. We have the Dallas Stars up next and trust me, it's no accident that they are here. They are a very talented group that plays very well together and are so strong defensively. We have our work cut out for us."
GM Phil Grote stated that "We feel very fortunate to be in this position. A few bounces the other way and we are conducting exit interviews. That Ducks team is so talented and they are so young, they will be back here, mark my words. However, if the reports are true, they will not be here with their GM which saddens me. He constructed a great team with a great future and it would be very sad should the reports be true."
"We will check out some tapes of the Dallas-Columbus series and see if there's something that we can look at to exploit and see if we can further extend our season"
Should be another good series.