Barry Trotz
Barry Trotz
Barry Trotzis the head coach of the National Hockey League's Washington Capitals and the former head coach of the NHL's Nashville Predators. He was previously the coach of the American Hockey League's Baltimore Skipjacks and Portland Pirates, with whom he won an AHL championship in 1994. That same year, he won the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award, which is awarded to the outstanding coach in the AHL as voted upon by the AHL Broadcasters and Writers. On February 20, 2013...
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth15 July 1962
CityWinnipeg, Canada
We have needed big goals in our last couple of games, and he has gotten them for us. He plays with a lot of energy. He is a feisty type of guy. You need all kinds of players to be successful as a team. He is part of a good mix.
I think it was a combination of things. The Blues were deeper than we were and maybe a little tougher, and their power play was unbelievable. But in the last 18 months, the climate's changed a little bit.
They really stepped it up. This was like the last day of school. Everyone is looking at the clock and it's 2:55. But we were able to maintain our focus.
I can't really say a whole lot that you can print. Any time you give up three power-play goals in a game, your chances of winning aren't very good. We had a lot of guys who were taxed by all the penalties these last two games.
I feel better about where we're going because of the all-around effort and the game we played. It's the last game before the regular season but we wanted to respond with some good efforts and some good play. And I thought we did.
We have to get as many points as can right now. We have to get some separation. We have a lot of teams playing each other in the Western Conference. We are going to gain some ground on someone.
We were trying to get guys open in front of the net and it just didn't happen. We didn't generate anything there. When you get a chance like that, you have to create havoc and make something happen.
We're in pretty elite company. I told the team that if we can do something special, go for it.
We know how to break down their strengths now. We just have to match them on special teams. Special teams were the difference. We're just going to get better as this series goes on. We've found out how to beat this team.
I was really happy with Mike [Green]. Not only was he contributing offensively, but he was really making good plays, good decisions. Defensively, he was really strong. For a debut, I didn’t know how he would be just coming off a little bit of an injury. He was real strong. I’m glad he got through that. I think he’s looking forward to a good season now.
The team takes on the identity of its top payers… I don't want to take anything away from the Capitals offensively,
At the same time, preparation is important to playoff success.
We're going to be the best in the league at something. We're deep in anthem singers.
This was a surprise. But I tell our guys to expect the unexpected ... When you come to grips with how you have to beat a team, most of the time you are going to be very successful.