Derek Laxdal
Derek Laxdal
Derek Laxdalis a former professional ice hockey right winger. Since 2014 he has been head coach of the AHL Texas Stars. Previously he served as head coach of the WHL Edmonton Oil Kings and the ECHL Idaho Steelheads. Laxdal led the Steelheads to the Kelly Cup championship in the 2006–07 season and won the 2014 Memorial Cup with the Oil Kings...
game great hockey normal playoff taste tonight
There's a great taste of playoff hockey right there. ... Tonight was probably more of a normal game you're going to see out of these two teams.
both front great guy knows pull team
You never know in the playoffs. You may have to pull one guy and put the other guy in. And if the team knows it can play well in front of both guys, it's a great situation.
great playoff series sets
This is the kind of series you could see in the finals. It's kind of sad, but it sets up great playoff hockey.
effort finish great guys kept start
I thought from start to finish the guys put in a great effort tonight. I thought they kept buzzing, buzzing.
game good great guys hard hold lead played
I thought our guys played a great first period. You get a big lead and you play hard and sometimes it's hard to hold on to a big lead. But it will be a good character-building game for us.
dan great hacker job key
The key was the shorthanded goal. I thought Dan Hacker did a great job of sparking the team.
definitely disrespect good underdog
That said, I don't want to disrespect their record. They're a very good team. We're definitely the underdog, and we'll take that underdog role.
becomes captain contest pick popularity reason training
The reason I pick the captain is a lot of the times it becomes a popularity contest in training camp.
good literally
We literally got outworked in every zone. It was a clear, simple, good ass kicking.
coming good solid sure
We have a big one coming up in Alaska. We've got to make sure we go up there and play solid hockey. It will be a good test.
boys
The boys were all over him for the celebration.
coming dressing game last love
The big thing is, when you're coming to the end of your career, your love of the game intensifies. When you're in the dressing room, there's such a camaraderie. They're you're family. If it is your last year, then that magnifies it.
history last obviously tonight
I don't know what kind of history they had there, but obviously we had some history tonight and last night. And it makes for some entertaining hockey.
It's a seven-game series. We stole two there and now they got one here.