01-04-2020, 06:44 AM
ANAHEIM – One of the things Bruce Boudreau did after taking over as Anaheim Ducks coach was have some inspirational quotes painted on the teams dressing room walls at the Honda Center. Words from Muhammad Ali, Jack Nicklaus, John Wooden, Jerry West, Vince Lombardi and Roy Williams are now there to be viewed by players on a daily basis. Does Boudreau have a favourite saying? "No, I think theyre all good. I think theyre all inspirational and the whole goal of those quotes was, quite frankly, who wrote them," he explained. "It wasnt some normal guy. These guys were champions and they talked about hard work and they were willing to do the hard work and thats how they became champions." Winning has not come easy to Boudreau in the NHL playoffs. His teams have won six division titles and posted a .663 winning percentage in 517 regular-season games, but never advanced past the second round of the post-season. His record in the playoffs as a NHL head coach is 27-28 entering Wednesday nights Game 6 showdown with the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center. On Tuesday, the 59-year-old bench boss was asked whats the biggest challenge he faces coaching at this time of year. "Winning," he responded immediately. "The competition is so picked up from the regular season. You watch the pre-season and you go, Wow, this is a really good game, and then the regular season goes on and you go, How can it get any tougher than this? The playoffs come and you think the regular season is a piece of cake compared to what youre going through here. "Its knowing when to practise hard and when not to practise hard, when to make it easy and just keep building them up. Usually youre saying the same message so theyve heard the same message for eight months so you dont want them to get tired of it." The message may be the same, but Boudreau has made a number of changes that have helped turned the tide in his teams second round series against the Kings. "Hes a coach who isnt afraid to make moves in terms of personnel," said Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano. "Hes not a coach that gets set in his ways in terms of the lineup or guys playing in certain positions. He has confidence in guys and hes good with the players in terms of giving them confidence. If hes going to move guys around, hes good at communicating with guys about that. Hes a coach that makes adjustments to other teams." After the Ducks lost the first two games of the series, Boudreau called up defenceman Sami Vatanen from the American Hockey League and played him 20 minutes a night, including on the power play. The Ducks have scored four man-advantage goals in the three games since the Finn was recalled from Norfolk. In general, Vatanen has given the Ducks blue line a different dimension and helped them move the puck more easily against the notoriously stingy Kings. But the adjustments didnt end with Vatanen. In Game 4, Boudreau made the bold decision to start 20-year-old John Gibson, a goalie with zero NHL playoff experience and only three games of regular season experience, over veteran Jonas Hiller, who had won Game 3 in relief of the injured Frederik Andersen. Gibson posted a 28-save shutout in his debut and followed that up with a steady 39-save win on Monday night. After first-line winger Matt Beleskey went down with an injury, Boudreau elevated 21-year-old Devante Smith-Pelly, who had generated some quality chances, but failed to register a point in the series through three games, to the top line alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Smith-Pelly has since scored three goals and fired eight shots on net over the last two outings. "I think two things come to mind," said Ducks defenceman Ben Lovejoy when asked what makes Boudreau a good coach. "Just the confidence he gives his players. I know when I first came here that was just eyeopening for me. He puts players in a position where they can be successful and more often than not, playing for him, they are." Lovejoy was traded by the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Ducks for a fifth-round pick during the 2012-13 season. Under Boudreau, he has moved into a top pairing role alongside Cam Fowler. "Then theres his ability to roll four lines and three sets of D," Lovejoy continued. "I think that when youre a defenceman playing nine to 12 minutes a night, you get out there to not make a mistake. Its impossible to have a tight gap when you dont play a lot so we roll four lines, we roll three sets of D and I really think that helps. And, I think, come crunch time, Getzlaf and Perry havent played 26 minutes. Theyre fresh. Theyre ready to go and to carry the rest of the team when the time comes." And while Boudreau is easy for players to like, he is not afraid of making tough calls. In the first round of this years playoffs, Boudreau benched beloved future Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne in Game 4 against the Dallas Stars. It was move that, considering Selannes stature in the game and the dressing room, could have backfired. Instead, the move seemed to spark Selanne, who has two goals against the Kings and picked up an assist in the Game 5 win. "He cares," said Getzlaf, the Ducks captain. "Thats the biggest thing with him. He cares about each of us individually and that makes you want to play harder for him." But the knock against Boudreau has been that he cant get it done in the post-season. Boudreaus Washington Capitals came close to making the conference finals in 2009, pushing the Penguins to Game 7 before ultimately being blown out in the decisive game. "Well, the difference last time was we were down 3-2 going into Game 6 in Pittsburgh and had to win and we did," Boudreau said. "This time, were up 3-2 so I keep telling my wife, Its a different circumstance, so hopefully a different result. "As you go on, the steps get harder and harder and harder and the one thing I have learned in a very brief time is that when they talk about the Cup being the hardest thing to win [theyre right]. I mean, were not even halfway there and [were] realizing how tough it is. This is a heck of a journey you have to make and, again, [youre] trying to keep it fresh, because were not even out of the second round." Last year, the Ducks squandered a 3-2 first-round series lead against the underdog Detroit Red Wings before losing Game 7 on home ice. Getzlaf has noticed that Boudreau has made a subtle change in his approach. "Hes evolved," Getzlaf explained. "Hes done a great job in calming himself down. Bruce tends to get a little wound up at times, emotional in the game and thats good at times." And while Boudreau has managed his emotions better, he is still the same fun-loving guy, who always seems willing to talk hockey with reporters long after the formal media session ends. "I get asked this question a lot and I maintain that youre not going to tell quirky stories about your boss on camera so Im not going to tell them about mine," Lovejoy said with a laugh. "Ive loved playing for Bruce. I think everybody in the locker room does too, but you can ask somebody else for those stories." "At the end of the day, Bruce is a players coach," Cogliano said. "A coach you can approach, talk to and hes up front with you and I think thats why a lot of guys like him." Marcelo Balboa Jersey . -- Coyotes coach Dave Tippett thinks of one thing when he watches Eastern Conference teams struggle against Western opponents before they get to Phoenix: His team must keep pace. Auston Trusty Jersey . Heck, we might just miss the BCS. Maybe? It sort of worked out this season. Top-ranked Florida State (13-0) was the only team to get through the regular season unbeaten, and the Seminoles did it in dominating fashion. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/ . Arsene Wenger reportedly wants to convert the player into an attacking force, much like he did with Robin Van Persie. Cobi Jones Jersey . - Roger Federer squandered a big lead and lost to No. USA Soccer Jerseys 2019 . Charlottetown scored four times in the third period en route to a 5-2 win over the defending champion Halifax Mooseheads on Friday. OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Senators said they needed four points this weekend to make a serious playoff push. After an overtime loss Saturday in Montreal and a 3-1 defeat on home ice to the Colorado Avalanche, the Senators walked away from their weekend games with just one point. "It was a big weekend for us and we lose both games," said Senators captain Jason Spezza. "We played good but its a different way to lose every night and results are the only thing that matter right now. "We didnt turn the puck over much, we created a lot but again. It just wasnt enough to win the game and its unacceptable." Andre Benoit, Nick Holden and John Mitchell scored for the Avalanche (44-19-5) while Matt Duchene had two assists as Colorado picked its third win in four games, and seventh in its past nine. Semyon Varlamov made 38 saves. The Colorado goalie was just six seconds away from his second shutout of the season and 13th in his career until Mika Zibanejad scored at 19:54. Robin Lehner made 19 saves in his second straight start for the Senators (28-26-13) since Craig Anderson was injured last week in a loss to the Nashville Predators. "Response to the game (Saturday) was positive," said Senators coach Paul MacLean. "A lot of the statistical things were positive, but at the end of the day its the score that matters and we gave up three goals and only scored one. "We created opportunities to score but I dont think we got to their net as hard as we could have and we missed the net a number of times." Nursing a 1-0 lead heading into the third period, the Avalanche were awarded their first and only power play of the game when Ottawa forward Chris Neil closed his hand on the puck and was called for delay of game. Duchene took a shot during the man advantage that Lehner stopped but the rebound went right to Holden, who was alone at the side of the net and scored at 3:10. "The power play was sharp again, we had only one opportunity but scored aa very important goal for us," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said before praising the play of his goaltender.dddddddddddd "He was very solid and he made some very key saves. I thought we had too many turnovers in that second period. Our goalie was without a doubt the first star of the game." The Senators pressed throughout the period, but the game was virtually over when Mitchell beat Lehner from in tight with less than three minutes to go in the game. Following a scoreless opening period, Ottawa held a heavy edge in play over the second 20 minutes. Ottawa outshot the Avalanche 20-8 in the second period but it was former Senator Andre Benoit that scored the periods only goal and gave Colorado a 1-0 lead in the process. The Avalanche broke out three-on-one late in the period and after receiving a drop pass from Patrick Bordeleau, Benoit moved into the slot and put a shot over the shoulder of Lehner. "Its always fun to score against an old team and I had lots of family and friends here. Hopefully they keep going in," said Benoit, who is from St. Albert, about 30 minutes from Ottawa. "It was a big game and we were able to get a win. We have to keep this going now." Benoit was a fan favourite in Ottawa despite playing just 41 games for the Senators over two seasons. He has played in 66 of Colorados 68 games this season and has nine goals in 107 career games. Four of those have come in his last nine games. Notes: Matt Kassian, Patrick Wiercioch and Craig Anderson were scratches Sunday for the Senators. Scratches for the Avalanche were P.A. Parenteau, Paul Stastny, Paul Carey, Ryan Wilson and Reto BerraaSenators defenceman Erik Karlsson played his 300th NHL game on Sunday. Forward Kyle Turris played in his 300th game Saturday in the Senators loss to MontrealaThe last time the Avalanche recorded 44 wins in a season was back in 2007-08aThe Avalanche are the only team in the NHL to sore at least one goal in every game this season. ' ' '