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PREGAME: Head Coach Lane Lambert speaks with Everett Fitzhugh before Kraken/Panthers (3/24) · Seattle Kraken Audio Network

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Thanks Mike Clane. A couple of days off here in
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Florida to recharge the batteries and recover from that loss
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: in Columbus. Just take us back through that game in
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Ohio where you felt the team was.
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: Well. I thought we you know, I thought we obviously
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: got off to a bad start. We talked about, you know,
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: the goals against in the first period, and you know,
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: I mean, we've had our fourth line has done a
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: real good job for us most of the year. You know,
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: they've been sort of a bit of a catalyst or
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: a spark. You know, didn't have a good first period
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: and we fell behind through nothing. What's happening right now
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: is we're chasing games, and at this time of the year,
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: it's really really difficult to come back and chase games.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: So you know, we've got to be better right off
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: the bat, and our entire hockey team to a man,
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: has to play more detailed and better hockey. And that's
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: just the way it is. So you know, we had
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: some opportunities, but we spent way too much time on
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: our own zone. And what's happening with that is, you know,
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: we're we're not of the energy to play offense. So
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: it's got to change. It's got to be better.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: I was gonna ask you when you have situations like that,
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: do you feel like it's more between the years with
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: the players, Is it more systematically? Is it more the
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: other day you said do the things that don't require talent? Well,
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: where do you feel that let down lies for your group?
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: It's a mental situation right now, you know. And we've
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: got to find a way to be to be better.
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: That's just the bottom line, you know. It starts with
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: our older players, filters down into our younger guys. We
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: need more from everybody. You know, we get ourselves back
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: into the game. It's three to two and we have
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: another bad change, you know, so we we Those are
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: the kinds of things that I was talking about in
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: terms of, you know, the details that don't take talent. Overall,
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: we just have to be better as a group, starting
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: from myself all the way on down today.
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: Adam Larson Skatson is one thousandth NHL game. He's only
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: missed one game as a member of the Kraken, and
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: that was for the birth of his daughter. So an
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: iron man of all iron men, what has he meant
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: to you to coach and and yeah, not going all
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: the wood. What has he meant for to you, to
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: this team, not only to this group, but but to
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: you as a coach. And where have you What have
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: you noticed about Adam Marson?
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah? Just true pro and it's important for this hockey
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: team to have a true pro on you know, an
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: older guy. Our young kids right now are seeing the
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: fact that he's playing a thousand games. You know, they
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: haven't witnessed what it's taken for him to get to
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: that point. Necessarily, some of them have to a certain
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: degree over the last year or two. But really good
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: example for our young guys. And from my perspective, full
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: respect for a guy who not only plays that long,
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: that certainly plays through sicknesses and injuries, and in my
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: time here he's played through a few. Is that you
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: know not everybody?
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: Would you touched a little bit on my next question.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: You've had the opportunity to coach a number of great players.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Where does he rank in terms of that longevity and
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: when you see him get to this part of his career,
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: what does it take for a guy to play a
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: thousand games in this league, let alone be as a
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: consistent player as he is.
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: Well, First of all. Anybody who plays a thousand games,
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: and I've coached a few of them, you know, it's
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: an incredible accomplishment. All of them, in their own respect,
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: you know, are absolute pleasure to coach. There's a commitment level,
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: there's an understanding of the importance of doing your job.
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: And you know, like I said before, he's a true pro.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: There's a professionalism to being able to play a thousand
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: hockey games in the National Hockey League. That's why not
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: many people do it. And you know there's a certain
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: respect level there that I have for him, that's you know,
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: off the charts.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: Looking at the Panthers here tonight. You got a big
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: win against them at home last week, but a bit
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: of a down year for them. They're going through some
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: injury problems right now, but there's still the two time
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: defending Cup champions until they're not. What did they what
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: challenges did they present to you back in Seattle, and
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: what can we expect out of them? And what do
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: you want to see from your group this evening?
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: Well, they played tight. You know, they're in your face,
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: that's the way they play. And they've got a solid
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: defense obviously. Forsling Eckblad Seth Jones is back now. You know,
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: these guys have won the Stanley Cup twice. Now they're
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: at home. They're a proud hockey team. It has been
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: a down year for them, but only because of injuries.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: They lost their captain obviously before the season started, and
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: you know, and they've had a bunch of other injuries
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: with Kachuck being out for you know, three or four
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: months or whatever it did was. So you know, that
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: combined with the two Stanley Cup runs, has taken a
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: toll on this team. But you know, at the same time,
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: they're a team that they're playing at home. They're proud
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: and you know, they're good. They're a good hockey team.
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: So we have to be at our best and I
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: we obviously have to play by than we've been playing.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: You know, they are the Stanley Cup champions.