Anaheim Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau is rarely at a loss for words, though he often fumbles for them even more often than he minces them.
That wasn't the case Thursday, the day after his team dropped Game 6 to the Chicago Blackhawks, when Boudreau told reporters that his Ducks played far from their best.
"I think we were too tentative last night," Boudreau said. "We were waiting for something to happen. What makes you play at your best is when you know you haven't played well and you know you're capable of doing much more."
For the third year in a row, the Ducks will have a chance to extend their postseason with a Game 7 at the friendly confines of the Honda Center. While the Ducks are winless in those last two games, history does not always have to repeat itself, they insist.
Anaheim has played the last two Game 7s with a team that looks far different from the one you see now. The last two teams featured different goalies, different role players and different attitudes.
"Last Game 7 took a toll on us," forward Andrew Cogliano said. "I think we're a different team, I really do. I think we have guys now on the team, guys that have been brought in, that have been in these situations before, I think know what it takes to win. Everyone is a year older now."
The leaders, like captain Ryan Getzlaf and his two alternate captains, Corey Perry and Francois Beauchemin, have learned from the past two elimination games, and their determination has spread throughout the group. The only difference in the leadership group this year is the addition of Ryan Kesler, who needed no extra motivation coming in from Vancouver.
Boudreau on the #NHLDucks Game 7 history: "I’m not bringing that up to them at all. To me, quite frankly, every year is a different entity."
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) May 28, 2015
However, if that group is the motor that makes Anaheim go, it failed to get out of gear Wednesday night. A Game 7 win will require superstar performances from the Ducks' superstars.
"It started with me. I was terrible tonight," Getzlaf said following the loss on Wednesday night. "That's on me. I've got to be better. I've got to calm our group down as we go."
Getzlaf fully shouldered the blame, saying his hesitant plays led to mistakes the Blackhawks capitalized on. He was not an effective leader, he said.
It appears that even one of the best playmakers in the world is capable of second-guessing his decisions.
"All the changing and stuff at the start of the game, I got a little carried away trying to make plays every time I was on the ice instead of just making the right play," he said. "I think it carried over to our group."
His coach didn't necessarily disagree.
"Good leaders, what they do is they take the brunt of the criticism to save a lot of their other teammates," Boudreau said. "I think Ryan made a couple mistakes, like a lot of other guys did. But he was up front, and he's taking the bullet for everybody else."
Bad habits doom #Ducks in Game 6 loss to #Blackhawks, writes @AbbeyMastracco. http://t.co/rVOzbV6lDN #NHL pic.twitter.com/7jLHDvxIl2
— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) May 28, 2015
If Getzlaf had to have a bad game, at least it's out of the way now. Between the four leaders, they have experience in the Stanley Cup Final, Olympics and World Championship games.
Both teams know what it takes to win this next game; it's a matter of who wants it more and who can execute best.
"Our goal wasn't to get to the conference final," Beauchemin said. "Our goal was to get to the Stanley Cup Final. We have a chance to do that in Game 7 here."
