Andre Burakovsky has certainly become more of a household name after his breakout two goal performance in game four of the Capitals-Rangers series that resulted in Washington’s 2-1 victory. The Caps now have a three games to one series lead. Before that outstanding display of talent, Burakovsky played a role in the game winning goal on Monday night. After the contest, a 1-0 victory in game three, I caught up with Andre and chatted about his game, the team, and the fans. Here’s what he had to say:
WNST: You look like you’re getting stronger and stronger on the puck. What’s the game like and how fast is it out there?
Burakovsky: It’s playoffs, it’s real fast, you need keep your head up all of the time, everyone is coming hard at you and finishing checks. Obviously everyone is skating the hardest they can out there. It’s going really fast and you need to be ready for every game.
WNST: The Rangers certainly have a lot of speed on their team but the Caps seem to have some guys like you, Kuznetsov, Backstrom, and Marcus Johansson that can handle the puck along the boards and cycle it. Is that part of the Caps strategy?
Burakovsky: Yeah, for sure, the strength of our team is down in there so we have so much skill on our team we can cycle the puck down there and have a long shift on them. If we do that every game then they are going to get tired and then we take advantage of it.
WNST: The Caps had a couple of power plays. What were your thoughts on them?
Burakovsky: The puck was bouncing, but nothing you can do, it’s the same for both teams. I think we came out strong on the power play and we had a lot of good chances to score, but we couldn’t really bury it. We had good chances to score so it’s nice to have the power play working.
WNST: You had a good chance on the power play at the right side of the net. Did Lundqvist save it or did you miss the net?
Burakovsky: The D was kind of in the shooting lane so I just had a little bit over his shoulder to shoot on. It was kind of hard to get it right there but I just missed the net a little bit.
WNST: What were your thoughts on home ice tonight? You get last change for matchups, but also the crowd. What were the things you liked about being home tonight?
Burakovsky: It’s obviously great to be home all of the time. I think the crowd is really helping us, they’re doing an amazing job out there. I think we are getting a little extra energy every time they are supporting us. Like you said, last change is doing a huge difference. I love to be home, it’s great to be here.
WNST: What’s it like when you hear Unleash the Fury, all these clips, and Let’s Go Caps? Can you guys really hear that and feel that?
Burakovsky: Yeah, to be honest, I love Unleash the Fury. I think it’s a real cool video and the stands are just going nuts out there, they’re going crazy. I really love that one.
WNST: So what are you thinking you need to do get a goal here? You’ve had a lot of chances, you’re getting close. I know you’ve got a really good shot.
Burakovsky: Yeah, just going to keep working hard every game, try to get a couple of more shots on the net. I think I had 2 or 3 today, maybe get it up to 5 or 6. Create a little bit more chances, put the pucks in the net.
WNST: The Caps had the puck quite a bit in the 2nd period and there were times when you had the puck, on your line especially, and just couldn’t get pucks to the net. Is it looking for that extra pass too often, are guys in the lanes, or a combination?
Burakovsky: When we’re cycling down there we’re protecting the puck really good but I think the Rangers are doing a good job on D too. So it was hard to get to the net down there.
WNST: You were on for the winning goal and you, Troy Brouwer, and Jay Beagle had just a good, hard working goal. Is it kind of one of those where hard work pays off with a bit of a lucky bounce?
Burakovsky: Yeah, I think it was a good dump in and Brow did an amazing job to get first on the puck and get a little contact down there. I just found the puck and I saw Beags in the middle there and wide open so I just gave him the puck. He did a great job staying with the puck and took his own rebound and got a little bit of a lucky bounce on the D, but still it’s a huge goal.
WNST: What are some of the older guys who’ve been through this before telling you? What kind of advice are they giving to you?
Burakovsky: They’ve been talking a little bit about just play simple all the time. If you don’t have anything, just chip it out. That’s a good play too, you don’t have to always have to find tape to tape, it’s good to just chip it out too.
So, there you have it, the thoughts and focus of the 20 year old just 48 hours before he would become a game four hero. Andre was very humble and quietly confident during the interview, so it’s no surprise to me that he was able to have such a huge impact on game four and the series. He actually stated he was going to “put pucks in the net.”
On Monday night, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend four minutes and 30 seconds with him without anyone else around. On Wednesday night, after he etched his name forever in Caps history, I was unable to get close to him, at all!
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