Game 6 Pregame Quotes: Dave Tippett

Q.  Where did you get the idea or what did you see in Toby Petersen that made you think this would be a good matchup for him?

COACH DAVE TIPPETT:  Probably the speed element.  I mean, there's a couple things.  He's got very good hockey sense and the speed element was something we felt we were lacking.  He's a player that plays fast.  He makes solid plays.  He's not spectacular from any stretch of the imagination, but is a very conscious player on both sides of the puck.

We were down 3?0.  We had to find something to give us a little spark, and he's been one of those guys.

Q.  What is it about the playoffs?  First round we see Stephane Robidas step up, take on a role in the first round, then we see Toby Petersen doing that.  Is that guys rising to the occasion?

COACH DAVE TIPPETT:  That's exactly it.  There's certain players, you've seen it through the history of playoffs, there's certain players that jump up and just for whatever reason they get on a roll and they grab the spotlight and they have an effect on whether it's a series or a whole playoffs.

You've seen it in goaltenders.  I had an ex?teammate in Washington, John Druce, had 14 goals out of nowhere.  Those things happen.  But you're looking for players that can have an impact.  Usually you have the ones that go the whole playoffs, but you have initial impacts here and there, and Toby is having a little more immediate impact, just a situational thing for us right now.

Q.  Can you update us on the status of Lehtinen and Boucher?

COACH DAVE TIPPETT:  Lehtinen hasn't skated yet.  Boucher has skated the last couple days.  I think he is getting closer.  I haven't talked to the doctor yet this morning, so we'll see where he's at.  Lehtinen and Barnes are certainly not available to us.  Boucher is getting closer.

We call them all day to day.  He's the closest day to day there is.  Fistric is back.  He's battled some illness, but back and skated for a couple days.  He's possibly an option, too.

Q.  A chance either Boucher or Fistric getting in tonight?

COACH DAVE TIPPETT:  I doubt it tonight.  We have a couple issues we're dealing with.  We'll see where that goes.

Q.  How much does the last line change play a factor in tonight's game?

COACH DAVE TIPPETT:  Well, there's certain advantages you can get from that certainly.  You're not changing on the fly as much.  But we're a team, it's that fine line between you want to make sure you have the right people on the ice, but you also make sure your team's not losing rhythm.  Those are things that as a coach you deal with every night whether you're home or on the road.

Q.  You mentioned a couple issues.  Is Miettinen one of those?

COACH DAVE TIPPETT:  No, no.  We're always planning ways to try to tinker and get better.  We'll see where we get to tonight.