Devils Coach Peter DeBoer discusses Game 6 of Stanley Cup Final

New Jersey Devils Coach Peter DeBoer faced the media on Monday to discuss Monday night’s Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Kings lead the series, 3-2, but the Devils have won the last two games. Below are highlights from the transcript (provided by the NHL) of the news conference.

Q. Pete, do you get the sense with each passing game maybe the anxiety or pressure that your team is feeling is decreasing as you win these games or is it the same heading into every game?DeBOER: Yeah, I think it’s the same feeling as when we were down 3-0. Like I said, I think the hockey world pretty much wrote us off, and I think we feel we’ve played with no pressure because of that. I don’t think that’s changed because all of a sudden it’s 3-2 now.

Q. You are 4-0 in elimination games right now. It’s not something you can simulate unless you’re in the last game of the regular season and have to win to get in the playoffs. What prepares you for an elimination game?DeBOER: Yeah, I don’t know if there is preparation. That comes from within your room. That’s gut-check time. Those are the questions that you don’t know how your team will respond to as a coach until you get in those situations. There’s clues during the year. At different points you get those pressure points, a must-win or a big game, to end a losing streak and you see how your team responds. Until you’re actually facing the fact of going home for the summer unless you win, you’re not really sure how you’re going to respond.

Q. As things get chippier, how paramount does discipline come for your team?

DeBOER: Well, it’s critical. It’s been critical to us the entire playoffs. It’s one of the things that has separated us from some of the teams we’ve played at different points: the ability to turn the other cheek and walk away. That has to continue. We can’t change the formula that has worked for us from the drop of the puck the first game of the playoffs. We almost didn’t make it past the first round because of penalties. We fixed that since then, but that can’t change.

Q. Are there any lineup changes?

COACH DeBOER: Same lineup.

Q. You’re not thinking about it when you’re in the game, but what is it like when you’re watching Marty [goalie Martin Brodeur] turn back the clock? COACH DeBOER: You catch yourself as a fan sometimes watching him, some of the things he does. I’m sure upon reflection, I’ll look back and have a deeper appreciation for it. You’re so caught up in the moment that you don’t appreciate what you’re seeing as much as I know I probably will down the road.

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