Zach Bogosian: Lightning driven by urgency, not panic

Zach Bogosian said that the Tampa Bay Lightning didn't panic after the blowout Game 2 loss to Colorado and that a sense of urgency drove them to a dominant win at home in Game 3.

Video Transcript

ZACH BOGOSIAN: Certainly gives us confidence back there. You know, he's a special player that doesn't come around very often. So we're obviously very fortunate to have him. And he's been the backbone of this organization for as long as he's been here. So it's impressive to see.

- Front right.

- Zach, can you kind of speak to the depth-- scoring depth that this team has? I mean, you've been without Brayden Point for most of the playoffs. A guy like Alex Killorn hasn't scored. And yet you've got so many guys with five-plus goals to be able to contribute and chip in that way.

ZACH BOGOSIAN: Yeah, that's huge. I mean, you don't go this deep without depth, obviously. And it's something that we have. And it seems like guys are stepping up at key moments of the game. And I don't think you can rely on one or two guys to provide offense for you in the regular season, let alone the playoffs. So team depth is-- it's huge.

- On the left side, third row.

- Yeah, a question for Nick Paul. It's got to be tough joining a team that's a two-time defending champ. But as a guy who's never been in the playoffs before, was that extra challenging? And what have you discovered about what makes the Lightning so resilient?

NICK PAUL: Yeah. It's definitely thoughts that went through my head when I came here with the trade. But, I mean, coming into this locker room and seeing how tight guys are and making me feel at home and just making me feel comfortable on the ice, you know?

Go for dinner with them right away. They make me feel like I've been here forever. And then I go on the ice, I'm just worried about hockey. I don't have to worry about anything else.

And, I mean, when you got the group we have in there, leaders all the way down, doing it right every single day, every single game, stepping up when someone needs to step up, it's easy just to follow suit. So the transition has been good. And the guys have been just awesome in how they lead and how they interact with everyone.

- On the right side. Erik.

- I think for Zach, with the way you guys lose game 2, is there any doubt that starts to creep in? And how much does that change with the guys you-- with the way you find your footing in game 3?

ZACH BOGOSIAN: I mean, there's-- I wouldn't say doubt. You just feel a little more sense of urgency. It's something that we've obviously gone through before. And there's no panic, but there are certainly things that we felt we needed to adjust a little bit. And I thought we did a better job of that last night. But, no doubt, it's more of just going out and executing our game plan and knowing how we can play.

- On the left side. Ken.

- Nick, going back to Vasilevskiy, what have you learned about him being around him on a daily basis that maybe you didn't know as an opponent?

NICK PAUL: I mean, he's consistent. He's focused all the time. He's always dialed in. And I think that's what makes him such a good goalie. No days off for him. He's always focused. He's just taking everything serious. And then when game time comes, you guys see, whenever there's a big save that needs to be made, he makes it. He's been the backbone.

I mean, he's just unbelievable. Best goalie out there. So you can tell with his routines and how he takes care of himself every single day that there's a reason why he's the best.

- We'll take a few more. Back left. Luke.

- For both of you, if you could, you guys have been on other teams, around other captains. What makes Steven Stamkos most unique as a leader in this league?

ZACH BOGOSIAN: I've known Stammer for a long time, dating back to when we played against each other in the OHL. I just think just how he--his personality, gets along with everyone in the room. When he speaks, everyone listens.

You've seen over the last few years, he's gone through so many injuries and gone through personal adversity that usually goes one of two ways. And he chose to fight through that.

And just how he plays. Like, when you have your captain finishing checks, blocking shots, back-checking, and obviously super gifted offensively, that's rare. Just for whether he's a captain or not, I just think the caliber of player that he is and for him to do-- kind of check all those boxes, it's super-- it's impressive. It's very rare.

- Nick, do you want to add to that?

NICK PAUL: I mean, he just touched it all.

[LAUGHTER]

- We'll take two more questions. Front left. Tom.

- Nick, you guys got a game last night, but you're still down in the series. They're probably going to make some adjustments. What's your mindset as you guys head into the next game here to kind of even the series?

NICK PAUL: I think it's just the same thing as last game. Game at a time. We come focused, prepared, worrying about ourselves, you know? Worrying about our details. Worrying about what makes us successful and what gives us the best chance to win. And it's just a team effort.

I think, yesterday, we really came prepared, dialed, ready to play. And we just kept building off each other. So I think that's another key to tomorrow, just same attitude. It's another huge game for us. So just come in ready to play and playing for each other and getting ready for a battle.

- Last question, Sergei. Left side.

- For both of you guys, if you could. You have superstar players up and down the lineup. When Ondrej Palát delivers like he has at the biggest stage, or on the biggest stage, how much of a boost does that give a team? And what does it say about, I guess, his play?

NICK PAUL: Yeah, I mean, he's not scared to step up with big moments, and he's shown that time and time again. So when you got a team, when you've got a lot of people ready to stand up and take the opportunity, it's huge.

But, I mean, plus just a guy that-- such a good guy off the ice. Goes, every day, practice. Works super hard and does everything right. And when game time comes and we need a goal, he's been the guy to deliver. So, I mean, big moments, he comes to play. So it's huge for our team.

ZACH BOGOSIAN: Yeah, I mean, that's-- I think with him, just-- he's been with Tampa his entire career. And for him to build his way up, starting in the minors and then getting called. There's so many good players that have come through the locker room. But he's been one of the more consistent guys, obviously, the last-- I don't know how many years he's been here, but we'll call it 10 or whatever.

But just it's impressive to see. He's a quiet professional, works extremely hard. Probably doesn't get as much credit as he deserves because there is a lot of-- when you're on superstar teams, there's a lot of people that like to talk about the guys that score the beautiful goals. But he's right up there with scoring some huge goals for us this playoffs. But you just see what he's done in the last number of years, it's awesome.