PREGAME: Everett Fitzhugh with Lane Lambert at Washington (10/21)

Everett Fitzhugh's one-on-one conversation with head coach Lane Lambert before the Oct. 21 matchup between the Seattle Kraken and Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Thanks Mike, We're back with cracking heead coach Lane, Lambert Lane.
Your first regulation loss of the season last night in Philadelphia.
Just take us through those sixty minutes in a game
in which it seemed the Kraken just couldn't find their
footing against the Flyers.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Yeah, we we couldn't quite find our footing. I thought
we started the game well, we scored, you know, gave
up a tough goal on a on a mistake I guess,
so to speak, you know, to let them back in
at one one, but then had a couple of chances
short handed, had a breakaway, you know, I had a
two on one shorthanded, and you know, we didn't bury those,

(00:36):
and when you don't, you know, at times, things can
come back and haunt you a little bit. They ended
up scoring right away after that on the pedal on
the power play, and and you know, the game just
kind of it got away from us a little bit.
You know, I thought we made some maybe some uncharacteristic mistakes.

(00:57):
But at the end of the day too, when I
look over that game and I analyze it, it's never
as bad as you think it is, and it's never
as good as you think it is, so, you know,
the game was fairly even, to be honest with you,
when we analyze all the scoring.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
Chances first time this season, I guess the crack and really,
at least from a press box view, have gone through
a bit of adversity and couldn't get to that system
and that style. You know in the manner that you
would like. What's the mindset going into back to back?
Some coaches will tell you that, hey, I like the flush,
it put it behind me and move on. What's going
to be that message going into the nanscape.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Well, we talked about it this morning and we you know,
there's certain areas that we have to be better. For me,
it was about individual battles. We weren't hard enough, we
weren't any plays, and we're playing against a team that,
in my opinion, is bigger than the team we played
last night. And so what's the message? You know, you
better be ready to go and we've got to win

(01:53):
more battles.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
Last year, the Kraken winlessen game two's of back to backs,
different team, different coach. This year, what is your philosophy
when it comes to back to backs and how you
approach these games?

Speaker 2 (02:06):
No, excuses. You know, you can get into these games
and you get a rhythm going, but this is where
your structure comes into play. Is there fatigue, Sure, there's
fatigue sometimes, but that's where you have to make sure
they're in the right spots all the time and you
need your goaltender to play well. There's not too many

(02:26):
teams that have a good back to back record that
don't get good goaltending from their goaltenders.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Berkeley Catton is NHL debut last night, gets his first
NHL points. What did you make of his game and
how he's been progressing here through his time practicing, watching
being around this team.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
I thought he played for the most part, I thought
he played well. He made a couple of plays, made
a nice playoff of face off, and you know, I
think it's like any other player that plays his first
NHL game. You know, the eyes are a little big,
and things are coming at you fast, and you know,
we'll see, we'll see where he goes from here tonight.

(03:04):
Looking forward to seeing him in his second.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
Game with the Washington Capitals. They returned twenty of their
twenty three players from last year, one of the best
teams in the NHL for the last few seasons. What
do they bring that can be so difficult for your
team to come back? And of course alex Ovechkin still
kicking at forty years old.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
Yeah, well, they have a you know, like I say,
they got a big lineup. They got a solid defense
group that Scott size. Their forwards are big protus of Vetchkin,
Tom Wilson. You know, they play with pace and they
play hard at the net, and we're going to have
to be prepared to get into a war around the

(03:44):
around the paint and our zone and in their zone.

Speaker 1 (03:46):
Last one here, Alex Ovechkin closing in on nine hundred goals.
You've had a chance to coach him. I'm sure you've
watched him as a fan as well. What makes him
such a special player and why has he been able
to be so successful, so consistent for so long.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
He's just good. You know, he can shoot the pocket
like no other. And I guess really the thing about
it for me is take away everything you know he's
I mean he's two hundred and forty pounds, two hundred
and forty five pounds. You know, he can play the
game anyway you want to play it. Just sort of
a unique player nobody's ever seen the likes of it.

(04:23):
He is the best goal scorer of all time in
my mind, no question about it. And he loves the game.
That's probably the most most unique thing. That's why he's
been doing it so long. He loves it. He loves
when he scores, he loves when his teammates score, he
loves when they win. So he's just good. He's a
good human being.