April 8, 2025 • 6 mins
Pregame conversation between Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma and Everett Fitzhugh, ahead of the Apr. 8 matchup at Delta Center between the Kraken and Utah Hockey Club.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Mike. Dan Bilesman joins us once again earlier today. Before
the game, you stress to the larger media group the
importance of tonight playing simple, playing aggressive, getting into the fight.
You know what's going to be a slog. We welcome
the slog here tonight. But in this second game of
a back to back, what does that game plan look
like against a team that they're tragic? Numbers down to
(00:22):
one for the Utah Hockey Club and for the Kraken,
I'll save you the numbers and the stats, but you're
looking for your first winning game two of a back
to back this season.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Yes, I think it's a It's got to affect your
mentality of how you play and what you expect in
the game, and that comes from both of you know,
a physical aspect. It's gonna be tough, it's gonna be
a slog. Make it easier on yourself by how you
execute with the puck and the mentality. And they're an
(00:51):
aggressive team. Their d are down the walls, and if
you don't execute hard and you don't get it by
there D, it's going to be you're gonna be faced
with the team that, especially in this building, comes pretty
hard at you, so our execution shouldn't reflect that. And
you know, again, make it a simple game, make it
an easy game. Let the puck do the work. To
(01:14):
make this game all about us playing in the offensive zone,
and which is it's easier to play there, It's funner
to play there. So let's make everything we do, every
decision we make, every puck play we make all about that.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Dan, it was probably one of your toughest tests of
the season, going up against the second best home team
in the NHL in terms of wins, and you got
two goals in the first period, you survived a push
after push after push in the next forty to get
your third win in a row on the road.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
It certainly felt you know, I I you've mentioned the push.
I thought it was like it was a really highly
contested game on both sides of the puck. And I think,
you know, we we had some We got the two
goals at the end of the first period that got
us a two to one lead, but you know, the
(02:08):
we had the toven him two breakaways in the second
at the Jayden Schwartz, you know, second chance off, a
face off play, a cloud of dust, and an unbelievable
say by Kemper. I kept it at two to one,
and that after that I kind of felt like, you know,
you might not get another one. It was like the
goal both goaltenders were playing really well, and it felt
(02:32):
like it was gonna be a drawn out battle right
to the end. And you know, I liked looking up
at the score where it felt like there was a
little bit of an onslaught in the third period, but
we kept the shots down to twenty five. I think
they got a few more right at the end, but
kept it under twenty five. Chances were at a minimal.
Guys were blocking shots and paying the price to keep
(02:55):
the buck out of the net, and an overall, it
was a great, great win for the group.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
This three game rower, this five game road trip to
the first three games have seen goals, they've seen hits.
Alexia took a puck off the face last night. Joey
decord has been unbelievable. What does it say to this
group that despite there only being now four games left,
they're still in the fight, They're still out to win games,
They're still out to prove a point not only to
(03:20):
the rest of the league, but to the folks in
the locker room.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
As well. That's what it says. I I think the
guys take a great deal of pride in how we're
playing and and you know, I think the eye test
is kind of the answer to me because I playing
with passion, playing for each other, paying the price, and
(03:45):
you know that puts you in a that puts you
in a spot to win hockey games. And we've you know,
you win them. You win them a bunch of different ways.
But you know, I think we've had some different tests
with some good teams, some teams that are fighting for playoffs,
Like the the La test was against a team that
(04:05):
doesn't give up anything and a really good defensive team,
and you know it was the game was just that
it was a hard fought battle both ways. We played
good defense, they played good defense. You know, our guys
paid the price to get the win. And that's that
says a lot about the group in there.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Special teams has played a big role for the cracking
in recent games. Your PK has been near perfect the
last five. I don't want to stress on the power
play too much the last few games because a lot
of those were abbreviated power plays and it's hard to
do something with thirty plus seconds of power play time.
But what have you made of the of the special
teams play, especially these last five games.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
We got to get them to sync up, I'll say,
because you know, three and four games ago, the power
play got us some goals and we're a big part
of our success. And recently in the last few games,
the PK as has stepped up and done a great job,
(05:08):
you know, and it's in some tough situations. I think,
you know, the the LA game in particular, is a
game where you know, they get the first goal and
then they get a power play of which could put
them up to nothing in the game and make it,
you know, kind of write the story of the game.
And the PK had to come up huge. And I
(05:31):
and I love the way they're I love the way
they're doing it. They're doing it with it on their toes,
they're doing it being a little bit more aggressive. They're
doing it, you know, blocking shots at the end of
the day. And they had a three on five in
that game for a minute forty five or so. And
that's a tough task. And I had seen anything in
(05:52):
San Jose, but had a tough task. And uh, you know,
you're gonna see Mattie Grenier's gonna see Toby, You're gonna
see Brendon mont Or you're gonna see rig You're gonna
see Taylor Stevens and all blocking shots and that uh,
that p K too. To deny it and be a
factor in the game.
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Mike. Dan Bilesman joins us once again earlier today. Before
the game, you stress to the larger media group the
importance of tonight playing simple, playing aggressive, getting into the fight.
You know what's going to be a slog. We welcome
the slog here tonight. But in this second game of
a back to back, what does that game plan look
like against a team that they're tragic? Numbers down to
(00:22):
one for the Utah Hockey Club and for the Kraken,
I'll save you the numbers and the stats, but you're
looking for your first winning game two of a back
to back this season.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Yes, I think it's a It's got to affect your
mentality of how you play and what you expect in
the game, and that comes from both of you know,
a physical aspect. It's gonna be tough, it's gonna be
a slog. Make it easier on yourself by how you
execute with the puck and the mentality. And they're an
(00:51):
aggressive team. Their d are down the walls, and if
you don't execute hard and you don't get it by
there D, it's going to be you're gonna be faced
with the team that, especially in this building, comes pretty
hard at you, so our execution shouldn't reflect that. And
you know, again, make it a simple game, make it
an easy game. Let the puck do the work. To
(01:14):
make this game all about us playing in the offensive zone,
and which is it's easier to play there, It's funner
to play there. So let's make everything we do, every
decision we make, every puck play we make all about that.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Dan, it was probably one of your toughest tests of
the season, going up against the second best home team
in the NHL in terms of wins, and you got
two goals in the first period, you survived a push
after push after push in the next forty to get
your third win in a row on the road.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
It certainly felt you know, I I you've mentioned the push.
I thought it was like it was a really highly
contested game on both sides of the puck. And I think,
you know, we we had some We got the two
goals at the end of the first period that got
us a two to one lead, but you know, the
(02:08):
we had the toven him two breakaways in the second
at the Jayden Schwartz, you know, second chance off, a
face off play, a cloud of dust, and an unbelievable
say by Kemper. I kept it at two to one,
and that after that I kind of felt like, you know,
you might not get another one. It was like the
goal both goaltenders were playing really well, and it felt
(02:32):
like it was gonna be a drawn out battle right
to the end. And you know, I liked looking up
at the score where it felt like there was a
little bit of an onslaught in the third period, but
we kept the shots down to twenty five. I think
they got a few more right at the end, but
kept it under twenty five. Chances were at a minimal.
Guys were blocking shots and paying the price to keep
(02:55):
the buck out of the net, and an overall, it
was a great, great win for the group.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
This three game rower, this five game road trip to
the first three games have seen goals, they've seen hits.
Alexia took a puck off the face last night. Joey
decord has been unbelievable. What does it say to this
group that despite there only being now four games left,
they're still in the fight, They're still out to win games,
They're still out to prove a point not only to
(03:20):
the rest of the league, but to the folks in
the locker room.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
As well. That's what it says. I I think the
guys take a great deal of pride in how we're
playing and and you know, I think the eye test
is kind of the answer to me because I playing
with passion, playing for each other, paying the price, and
(03:45):
you know that puts you in a that puts you
in a spot to win hockey games. And we've you know,
you win them. You win them a bunch of different ways.
But you know, I think we've had some different tests
with some good teams, some teams that are fighting for playoffs,
Like the the La test was against a team that
(04:05):
doesn't give up anything and a really good defensive team,
and you know it was the game was just that
it was a hard fought battle both ways. We played
good defense, they played good defense. You know, our guys
paid the price to get the win. And that's that
says a lot about the group in there.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Special teams has played a big role for the cracking
in recent games. Your PK has been near perfect the
last five. I don't want to stress on the power
play too much the last few games because a lot
of those were abbreviated power plays and it's hard to
do something with thirty plus seconds of power play time.
But what have you made of the of the special
teams play, especially these last five games.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
We got to get them to sync up, I'll say,
because you know, three and four games ago, the power
play got us some goals and we're a big part
of our success. And recently in the last few games,
the PK as has stepped up and done a great job,
(05:08):
you know, and it's in some tough situations. I think,
you know, the the LA game in particular, is a
game where you know, they get the first goal and
then they get a power play of which could put
them up to nothing in the game and make it,
you know, kind of write the story of the game.
And the PK had to come up huge. And I
(05:31):
and I love the way they're I love the way
they're doing it. They're doing it with it on their toes,
they're doing it being a little bit more aggressive. They're
doing it, you know, blocking shots at the end of
the day. And they had a three on five in
that game for a minute forty five or so. And
that's a tough task. And I had seen anything in
(05:52):
San Jose, but had a tough task. And uh, you know,
you're gonna see Mattie Grenier's gonna see Toby, You're gonna
see Brendon mont Or you're gonna see rig You're gonna
see Taylor Stevens and all blocking shots and that uh,
that p K too. To deny it and be a
factor in the game.
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