Michèl Therrien Tuesday Télé-conférence

On Tuesday afternoon Montréal Canadiens head coach Michèl Therrien held a télé-conference to answer media questions about his plans for the remainder of the playoff’s.

His first question came from RDS and pertained to Max Pacioretty.

Q: (Max) Pacioretty has 39 goals, and four goals in the playoffs. What’s impressed you the most about his growth and his leadership with the team this year?

The coach thought that Max has become a real young leader with the team. He’s been given more responsibility this past year. He is one of the guys that Therrien would use at the end of the game if they have the lead and they’re looking for a quick goal. He believes that Max has a good attitude, he’s been working hard, and that he’s growing inside the club. He will become a real leader with time and growing with maturity.

The next question was from the New York Times.

Q: I want to know if you think the two days off will help to re-energize your team? That was a long, emotional series with Boston, and a quick turnaround. Do you think it will be good to help your team that way?

The coach does believe that the team will turnaround. The first game was tough for them, they did not get a real break between Game 7 and Game 1, as well as it being an afternoon game. It showed with the result. Even though they lost Game 2, he believed that they regrouped well, and played as a highly energetic team. They played a solid game. The day off will be mentally good for the players, and he’s anxious to see the guys tomorrow. He’s optimistic they can get their first win soon, seeing as how playoff momentum can change real quick.

Question three was from ESPN/TSN.

Q: Is there a difference in the Rangers after after what happened with Marty St. Louis? Can you just tell something about this Ranger team?

Coach Therrien said that obviously he knows this is a good hockey team, and they have some leadership that has won a cup in the past. It’s the best team they have met, but he likes the way the Habs played on Monday, and it has given him confidence for Game 3. He said that with the leadership of Marty St. Louis, a guy who’s won an Olympic Gold Medal and a Stanley cup, that he’s doing a helluva job with the Rangers.

Radio Canada Sports.

Q: You talked about your team playing better yesterday, and they certainly did a better job. What do you have to do though to step it up? What didn’t you do yesterday?

Coach Therrien thought that even though the team kept focus, and did a lot of good things, that Lundqvist was phenomenal in the game. There are way they can get better, and the team did give up a little bit in the odd man rush. Those are just little things they are capable of fixing. He likes how they engage in the game, but that they need some breaks. Yesterday, they didn’t get any. The Rangers got theirs, and they capitalized on it. They need that one win to change momentum.

Q: You had 41 shots at them (Rangers), but did you feel that there were times when you could have done a better job of getting second chances or taking advantage.

The Coach said he had to give credit to the Rangers. The Habs made quite a few shots, sometimes missing the net by a few inches, and they battled to get rebounds. Rene Bourque got three scoring chances on rebounds, but Lundqvist made all the right saves. The Rangers and their defense did an excellent job to block the Habs chances.

The next question was from the New York Times and pertained to Rick Nash’s previous slump.

Q: Coach, I wanted to ask you, Rick Nash has been slumping for a long time, and now he’s scored twice in two games. He looks like he’s regained his scoring touch. Is there any special attention that you have to pay now to Rick Nash in terms of checking him more closely or anything like that?

The coach agreed that he’s a world class player, and they try to pay attention to everyone on the ice. He said that they were going to pay attention to all the Rangers, not just Nash.

James Murphy from TSN.ca

Q: In the first two rounds you’ve been riding the high, and getting a lot of breaks, and now things have turned the other way. How much do you lean on your veteran core right now to help the younger kids ride the wave?

Coach Therrien says that he has the luxury of coaching a great group of players who care. That is the reason they’ve made it this far. The guys are going to come to the rink with the right attitude, and make sure the team is ready for Thursday night. They’ve surprised a lot of people throughout the season. At the start of the season many people believed they wouldn’t even make it to the playoffs, but they did. It was a big shock when they swept the Tampa Bay Lightning, and an even bigger surprise when they beat the Bruins. He feels that even though people may not believe in them, that the team believes in themselves.

Q: What do you think about Alex Galchenyuk yesterday, the different look he gave your team, and that line with Vanek. What do you expect from him next game?

The coach was happy with how he played, especially for not playing in six weeks. In a game that is not the same pace as a regular season game, Alex did very well in his first game back. He was very capable and made some plays. The more the series goes on, the more we’re going to see Alex getting better and better.