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PREGAME: Lane Lambert interview with Everett Fitzhugh before the Sabres/Kraken matchup (12/14) · Seattle Kraken Audio Network

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Thanks Mike Lane. A tough one in Utah the other night,
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: where once again, this final score not indicative of how
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: the team played. A couple of empty net goals against.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: But just take us back through those sixty minutes in Utah.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: Well again, you know, not indicative a couple of empty
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: net goals against which we've you know, we've had a
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: couple of those in the last week. You know the
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: Minnesota game as well, where we gave up two empty
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: net goals. It's a one goal hockey game. Disappointed in
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: the fact that, you know, it was seven and a
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: half or eight minutes left, we're tied.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Again.
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: The theme and the trend is not you know, it
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: does not going the right way for us. We have
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: to find a way to be better in those situations,
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: you know. And I thought our commitment level was high.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: I thought we blocked a lot of shots. But I
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: also thought that we were slow defensively, slow to close,
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: and I thought we spent too much time in our zone. So,
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: you know, at the end of the day, could we
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: have gotten points out of that game? I thought our
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: goaltender played well again, and yes we could have, But
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: you know, we have to spend less time.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: In our own it's been a rough stretch for Seattle.
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: But you've said multiple times, including this morning, you've liked
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: how the team has played, The effort's been there, they've
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: they've played good enough to win or at least get points.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: How do you manage that frustration? Where do you think
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: the crack can have more to give in these areas well?
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: I just think that you know, I have I have
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: liked a lot about our our work ethic, but at
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: the end of the day, that's just required. Let's face it.
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: You know, you're required to come to the rank and
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: you're required to work, so you know, to say we've
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: been working, you know, that's great, that's all fine and dandy,
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: But I think just little areas of detail for our
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: hockey team. This is, you know, the time of the
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: season basically where you know the cream starts to separate
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: itself a little bit and are you on the right
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: side or the wrong side. And our attention to detail,
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: in my opinion, has dropped slightly, whether it be sickness,
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: whether it be distractions outside with Christmas season, whether it
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: be you know it's fatigue. You know, there's got to
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: be more attention to detail in certain areas. And that's
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: you know, I've always said, and I've said it before
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: to you, you never know what five seconds is going
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: to win to lose your hockey game. We've had a
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: lot of situations where five seconds is one is a
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: hockey game, and we're having too many situations where the
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: five seconds is losing us games right now.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: This morning, you also talked about because of the injuries
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: and the sickness, guys have been elevated into different more
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: different roles. From what you've seen so far, from those players,
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: what do you like about your lineup that you've tossed
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: out there every single night. You know, you talked about
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: Elie Tovin in this morning, Freddie Gadrou being on the
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: second line as well. What have you liked about some
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: of these players and their efforts in these elevated roles.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: Well, I think to your point you mentioned Freddie, I
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: think Freddie's done a really good job. He's up on
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: the you know, up on the whatever, the top six,
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: and he's playing right wing. He makes plays. This is
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: a good opportunity, Freddy to show us, you know, that
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: he's more than a fourth line center, you know, and
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: he certainly has the ability to score with his goals
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: last year, his goal numbers last year, and he's made
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: some really good plays to play. He made the Marchmen
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: on Marchman's first goal in Utah was outstanding off the wall,
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: you know, And so that's been good. Like when you
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: have people go down and you give players an opportunity,
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: you like to see them take advantage of it, and
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: then you know, you know going forward when players come
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: back that you know your team's even better because you
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: can keep a guy in that spot. I'd say Freddie
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: Budrouzman a real bright light for US.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: Buffalo Sabers are a team that leeds the league if
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: you're brought up this morning in rush chances and they're
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: a team that on paper has so much talent, but
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: they're not getting the results that they would like either.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: What about the Buffalo Sabers do you feel would present
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: some challenges for Seattle here this evening and given everything
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: that happened that's been happening with the cracking lately, what's
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: going to be that game plan tonight against Buffalo?
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: Well, they're a very talented offensive hockey team there. Do
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: you join the rush more than any other team in
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: the league, Like you say they're number one in the league,
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: and aug Man rushes and it starts from the back end,
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: and you know they're not afraid to get five guys
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: up in the rush. You know. So if you manage
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: the puck and you force them to go two hundred
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: feet and you stay above them, there can be some
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: frustration that sits in there. You have to look to
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: do that. If you don't, they're going to hurt you.
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: And you know, so you have to make sure that
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: you have a right mindset going into a hockey game
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: against this team. They want a high event game, and
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: they're good at high event offensively. They're not great at
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: high event defensively, but no team is. So you know,
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: our game plan has got to be smart.