Q. Alain, you talked about yesterday how today the players can talk about maybe moving on. How do you make sure their focus is in the right spot?
COACH VIGNEAULT: By giving them a precise plan with precise things to focus on. Our guys are a mature group. They know it’s going to be a real tough game. We’re just going to do what we’ve been doing all year long: focus on our process, focus on our game, go out there and play real hard.
Q. Sports psychologists always talk about envisioning the moment. Do you allow your players to think that way, what it will lead to?
COACH VIGNEAULT: When I think our guys need to be in the moment, like I just said, need to focus on what they need to do on the ice. That’s the most important thing. That’s how you’re going to get your best game on the ice.
If you do that, you give yourself a chance to win. That’s what we want to do tonight, we want to give ourselves a chance to win.
Q. I know a coach says, We take care of our business. When you have a desperate hockey team and they have to throw something else at you, what are the kinds of things you tap the guys on the shoulder and say, They’re going to give you a bit more of this or that. What are you expecting?
COACH VIGNEAULT: You can’t control the opposition, but you can control how you play, your energy level, your intensity on the ice. That’s what we’re going to do.
San Jose we know is a great hockey team. They’ve got different weapons that obviously they’ve tried to put on the ice. They’re going to continue to put those weapons on the ice.
But at the end of the day we’re going to focus on us, focus on what we do best, try to play fast out there, and hopefully it will be good for us tonight.
Q. Maybe the best aspects of the Sharks’ play this series has been their starts. How important is it that you have the better start in an elimination game this evening?
COACH VIGNEAULT: You know, we’re going to play in front of our fans. I think there’s going to be a lot of energy, a lot of excitement in this building. For the most part throughout the year, we’ve been a team that has started real well, if you look at our stats.
But it all means nothing. Tonight is another game. We’re going to give it our best shot.
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*Transcript from Vigneault’s media session this morning
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