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The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Washington Capitals 5-2 in Game 4 Monday night at Lenovo Center to take a 3-1 series lead.
The Canes struck early and often as they once again overwhelmed the Capitals through the 60-minute affair.
After the game, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour, along with Seth Jarvis, Dmitry Orlov, Taylor Hall and Sean Walker, spoke with the media in Raleigh. Here's what they had to say:
Rod Brind'Amour
On getting contributions all throughout the lineup: That's how we have to do it to get it done. We've done it that year all year and that's what's expected. Everyone is expected to chip in. That's obviously what is happening.
On the response goals in the third period: Those were huge plays, obviously. You need those plays. That's the difference, right? Getting those individual efforts. That's really what those were. Good plays, but burying, finishing your chances at crucial times of the game. Both those goals were huge for us.
On Taylor Hall getting a pass for not backchecking on his goal: It was a read. We had possession of the puck, so it was actually a good play by him.
On if he expected Hall to fit as well as he has: Not right away. I think it took a while. I didn't really know... obviously knew the player, but didn't know where his game was at. Hadn't really watched him the last little while. It was good then to just give him a clean slate. Just told him, 'You show us what you have,' and that's kind of what he's done. I think he's come in here and just wanted to be a part of it and not anything more than that. He's clearly been a good addition for us.
On if the national media's focus on Carolina being a "shot volume team" annoys him: It's lazy. Because you're not really watching the game then. You're picking out a part of it. But there's a method to all of it. Anyway, it doesn't irk me, it's fine. It is what you're trying to do. Put pucks to the net. Like, that's how you score.
On Sean Walker taking shifts with Jaccob Slavin: Jaccob kind of played in the third, if you noticed, a little more than normal. So he was playing with everybody and we know why. But Walks has just been solid and we've been talking about him a little bit here lately. I think his game has gone up another level and he's earned that ice time if that's how you want to look at it. Clearly, that goal tonight was an indicator of what he's capable of. I know his numbers maybe weren't great this year that way, but you watched him all year, he had a lot of good opportunities. He's capable of doing that.
On the penalty kill: The kill was huge tonight, obviously. I know they got one 5v3, but I think it's all about timing too. Early in the game, we have six minutes of penalties in the first period and that just takes you right out of anything. To be able to come out of their with the lead was a big key. Our kill has been solid and obviously that was a big part of tonight.
On the core's experience: There's certainly no panic when things don't go our way. Tonight, they were closing the gap and we just kept playing. Our older guys have been through this and even our not so old guys have been through it for a few years. So I think there's a little bit of maturity there.
On Frederik Andersen: You look at the end of the night and I'm like, '21 shots?' Felt like a lot worse than that, but there were a lot of close ones and early. I know they hit the post on one, but he made some big saves. It's just a different game when you can play from in front, that's for sure.
On if he feels his team is getting stronger as the series goes along: I don't know. I mean, if I'm just honest about how I feel about it, I thought our first two games might have been better than some of these games. Just the way the game went and the chances we've given up. A little too much here for me, but obviously at this time of the year, it's about results. I like where we're at, that's for sure.
On Jalen Chatfield potentially tweaking something: Yeah. He did [pull up] but he seemed fine after. I guess we'll find out more tomorrow.
Seth Jarvis
On if he felt like they broke Washington's will in this game: No. There's still another game and the hardest one to win is the one to close it out. We know they're experienced and that they've been through a lot of playoffs and a lot of runs, so we're expecting their best next game. But it's a good step in the right direction.
On the response goals: It's amazing. Hallsy's was huge. Walks... We had contributions all across the board. Guys stepped up. That's why you bring those guys in. To make the impact that they had tonight.
On Taylor Hall: He won the Hart for a reason. He's an elite player. Still is. You love to see a guy like that get rewarded and to come up in a situation like this when it really matters, was awesome to see.
On the penalty kill: It's huge. You never want to [have to rely on it], but when the time comes, everyone answers the bell really well. Your best penalty killer is always your goalie and Freddie played amazing again. We as a unit did really well and just hopefully we can keep it going.
On his spinning, no-look pass: Fishy made a great play to me there coming late and then I saw the D trying to poach and I knew Svechy was there. You could hear him from across the ice coming down. Just tried to get the puck to him. He's hit like six crossbars this series, so more are bound to go in. Just have to keep feeding him and he's going to put them in.
On having Andersen's back with some goal scoring: He's had our back all series, so it's about time we helped him out a little bit. Not that he needed it. He played great and there's not a lot he could do on those goals. It's nice to see them start going in though and nice to contribute offensively and not have to rely on him so much.
On getting on the scoresheet: It's been a while it feels like. I've had some chances and to get one like that is great. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come.
On getting contributions up and down the lineup: It's not bad. Exactly what we want.
On having a chance to advance in Game 5: It's nice to be on this side of it. Just the opportunity to end it is huge. You don't want to give them any life, give them any hope so hopefully we finish the job over there.
On if he thinks Washington is feeling the pressure: They're desperate. I think everyone knows the situation. We just have to match their desperation and up it and make sure we come ready to go because they're going to give us their best and we just have to be prepared for it.
Dmitry Orlov
On the defensive effort: Freddie, obviously, was great today again. When we have bad breaks, he makes the saves at the right time and keeps us in the game. They have a good team. We see how they play. Sometimes breaks happen, but you have to find ways and block shots and be in lanes. It's always huge in these moments of the games. Obviously we're happy where we are in the series, but it's not over. It's always hard to finish and now we just have to reset, take a rest and be ready for the next game.
On what was going though his mind when he went to the box to make it a 5v3: There was a lot going on. Almost crap myself there, you know? The boys, they didn't allow a second one. Marty also had a chance on a 2-on-1 and I was hoping he would score that to make it easier on us. It was a bad play by me taking that penalty. Obviously they scored 5v3, but overall, the PK was good. Just need to be smarter and not lose concentration on certain plays.
On if he can sense Washington's growing frustrations: Yeah. When you lose, it doesn't matter which team you played against, sometimes frustration doesn't help. I think they have a lot of experience and they're going to figure it out. But on our side, we don't need to worry about them. We need to worry about us and our system and how we want to play.
On the team's overall effort: It's what you try to do. It's playoff hockey and you just try to leave everything out there. Sacrifice for your teammates. That's how you win. Sometimes you can cheat a game, but you have to put your face out there to try and stop the puck. Make a big hit or take a big hit to make a play. All these small things make a difference in the playoffs and that's what you try to do and what we need to keep doing.
On Taylor Hall: Especially the breakaway goal was huge. Two-goal lead again and gives us a breath. It's an individual play, an individual read to stay at the far blueline and he got the puck and just used his chance and basically finished the game.
On Sean Walker: He's skating well, has skill offensively and defensively he plays hard. He's a perfect fit for this organization and for us he's been playing great all season. Today he finally got rewarded and scored and got an assist. It's awesome. We need everyone. Sometimes it's different guys who score or who make a nice play. We need everyone.
On having a chance to close out the series: Right now, we'll get our workout done, get an off-day tomorrow, enjoy a little bit of rest, and then come in on Wednesday, practice and then fly to D.C. Then we're going to be focused on finishing the series and obviously we're going to do video to see what we did wrong and what we can do better and get ready.
On if the pressure is on their shoulder: It's never easy to close a series. It's always the hardest game of the series. It's going to be a lot of emotions, a lot of scrums. They'll battle for their lives, for their season. It's important that we are ready. We cannot just come and expect it to be easy. It's not going to be easy. We have to be more focused on them and bring it more than they do.
Taylor Hall
On what he was seeing on his breakaway goal: I got my head up and just tried to look where the goalie was. He plays somewhat deep in his net, so shooting is a pretty good option. If you deke, he's going to have a better chance at it, so I just picked my corner and it was a good shot.
On how he got that open: Everyone was asking me if I was cheating for offense, but I just kind of read that Sean was going to rim the puck around and Rosey was going to have a bit of time. If I didn't get a breakaway there, we were going to exit with possession, so I thought it was just something to try. Rosey and I made eye contact and he made a great pass. We needed that goal.
On if they feel like they're just a step ahead of the Capitals: I mean, we don't feel like that. They had some really good pressure at times tonight and we had to rely on Freddie probably more than we would like. They're a very good offensive team. They have skilled players throughout their lineup and they're not afraid to make plays at all times. The play is never really dead when you're playing against them, but obviously we like where we're at. We have a couple days here to regroup and it's about trying to go into their building and play the best that we can.
On if they can feel Washington getting frustrated: I don't know. That's a question for them. I don't know how they're feeling. I think we still have some things in our game that we can get better at. The series isn't over until it's over. An elimination game is always the hardest one to win and they're probably going to play their best game of the series in Game 5. So we'll be ready.
On if Washington started to open up as the game went along: A bit. In Game 3, you could see that they really tried to open it up when they got down and tonight was a little bit of the same. But they're probably pretty happy with how they played. They had some good looks and they drew a lot of penalties which is a sign that they were making plays and putting us on our heels a little bit. But it's the playoffs and momentum swings are kind of everything. So it's about managing those and trying to just step on the pedal no matter what the score is and trying to get the crowd momentum back in our favor.
On the opportunity he now has in Carolina: It's what you kind of train for and look forward to when you're in the summer, in the dog days and certainly when I was in Chicago in the bottom of the league, bottom of the standings. Kind of knew I was going to get traded here and didn't know what to expect from the group or from the fans and obviously I felt really comfortable here and it's an amazing group of guys. It's been a lot of fun to get to this point and know that we have a lot more left.
On if he knew his game would fit the Hurricanes as well as it has: I had a feeling it would be a good match. I played a lot of games here with Jersey, had a playoff series with Boston here. As soon as I got here and they gave the systems run down and showed me video, I was even more happy with how things were probably going to go. It was a tough start for me statistically, but I got going and found a good rhythm. I think off the ice, I felt like a part of the group really quickly and that helped everything else. But the style of play is aggressive, it's in your face and once you get the hang of it, there's not a lot of thinking and that bodes well for my game.
Sean Walker
On his goal: As far as I remember, the play just kind of got pinched off at the blueline and then the puck squirted out. Hallsy made a great play to keep it going and then saw me coming. I felt like they were backchecking really hard, so I kind of just read that and tried to be patient. Once I stepped inside, I felt like I had a good lane and so I shot it and just happy it went in.
On the response goals: I think that's something that is really important, especially at this time of year. You have to answer when teams are making their push. Obviously you don't want to give up those goals, especially late in the third, but I think as a whole, we kept our composure, didn't really panic and just stuck to our systems. Again, Hallsy made a great play on his goal and happy that I got mine too. Worked out well.
On the penalty kill: I think obviously special teams is such a key at this time of the year. Again, we don't want to be relying on our penalty kill as much as we have, but we're really confident when those guys are going out there that we're going to get the job done. Obviously 5v3, there's a better chance that they're going to score, but 5v4 I think we did a really solid job. That's what we're looking for every night.
On Frederik Andersen: I think it's just so apparent the confidence that he's giving us. We can play a lot more aggressive. Mistakes are going to happen, but he's been bailing us out tons. Just going out there every night and just knowing that he's back there and he's playing unbelievable really, so it's really comforting feeling. Like we said, we don't want to rely on him as much as we have. Some grade-As we're giving up, but those are things we're going to look at. Again, he's playing really well and it's giving us a great chance every night.
On playing alongside Jaccob Slavin in the third: I think the adjustment is so easy. He's so unbelievable to play with. I don't think there's enough positives that you could say about a guy like that. Transition was easy. You just go out there and try to do your job and he's kind of taking care of a lot of it for you. So yeah, it felt great.
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