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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE MEDIA CONFERENCE

May 7, 2008

Ryan Malone

SCHUYLER BAEHMAN: With us we have Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Ryan Malone. Ryan this post season is averaging a point a game in his team's nine games with three goals and six assists. Ryan Malone of course became the first born and trained native of the area to play in an NHL game, debuting with the Penguins who had selected him in the fourth round of the 1999 draft.
Thanks again to Ryan for taking the time today and we'll open it up for questions.

Q. Your goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, before the playoffs, the critics had some question marks about what he would deliver for you guys. So far that speaks for itself. What do the guys in the room feel about Marc-Andre right now?
RYAN MALONE: They feel great and confident. I mean, me and Flower broke into the league together about four years ago. I think especially this year, you can add Brooks Orpik in there, too. I think we all kind of figured out what it took, how consistent you have to play. Flower from day one's always been staying after in practice, getting out there early, he battles on every shot in practice. So you knew this guy was going to be a great goaltender.
It's nice to see things working out so far in the playoffs.

Q. Born and raised in Pittsburgh. I'm sure you have a lot of appreciation for the team's history. Your father played for the team for several years. Can you talk about what this means to you to be a part of history and how important it would be for this team, for Pittsburgh, to go forward and do real well here in the next round or two?
RYAN MALONE: It's honestly crazy. I think I pinch myself every morning. I was in the stands in the early '90s watching them win the Cups. To be part of this now is unbelievable. Every day pulling the sweater on, you're privileged and honored.
To get where we're at now, from my first year in the league to how we rebuild the team, Craig did a great job of putting the pieces in place, then Ray obviously added his guys. But, you know, to see the team turn around like this in a couple years is great. You're just excited and can't wait for Friday to start it.

Q. I'm sure you probably hung around the locker room as a kid when your dad was playing. Can you talk about those experiences.
RYAN MALONE: Oh, definitely. I think me and my younger brother, we were always around any day we had school off. My dad might sneak us out to get on the ice with the guys maybe after practice. We grew up with Ron used Mark Recchi's hockey stick, Jaromir Jagr's hockey stick growing up.
When I first came to the team here, the same training staff. Craig was the GM. I grew up with his kid. Eddie Johnson had a kid here that was my age. Joey Mullen had a couple kids we were close with. It was weird and comfortable I guess at the same time making the team and being part of the team.
You know, I grew up pulling the sweater on from day one. Hopefully I can continue to pull it over for a long time.

Q. Can you talk, do you feel like this series is pretty evenly matched overall, even though it is a 2 versus a 6? How do you slow down a team that's knocked off the No. 1 and 3 seeds in the Eastern Conference playoffs so far?
RYAN MALONE: I think we match up pretty evenly. We know what they bring to the table. We know what we bring to the table. They wouldn't be in the situation if it wasn't for the great team they have. We definitely respect them.
It's gonna be a battle. It's gonna be fun. I think as a hockey player, these are the games you want to be a part of. For the fans, it's going to be something to watch. I can only assume so.
I think everyone's just excited. We just can't wait till the puck drops on Friday.

Q. You're from Pittsburgh, as R.J. Umberger. Is there a special rivalry between you two guys? Are you surprised by his success in these playoffs?
RYAN MALONE: I grew up on kind of the other side of the city. Maybe my junior year of high school, our team didn't really even play their team, and he was already moving on to the USA development teams, I believe.
But being from Pittsburgh, you keep your eye on guys that end up getting drafted. I believe he's been the highest draft pick from Pittsburgh.
Then to comment on his playoffs, I mean, he definitely was pretty hot last year, that's for sure. So hopefully we can slow him down a little bit.
You know, being from Pittsburgh, you want to see other guys do well - just not against us.

Q. Your team has played the fewest games of the four remaining. How did the club deal with the layoff between each series, and in particular your upcoming series with Philly?
RYAN MALONE: Well, I think Philly has the same amount of days, maybe a day more than us. But I think it's a perfect amount. You kind of get a day off, day to get back into it. We have two good practices here before Friday. So I think it worked out, you know, perfect.
Coming from college, that's kind of the schedule you're used to where you have all week to kind of get ready for a team for the weekend. But obviously it's a little different than that. But you prepare yourself the same way, get in the gym a couple times, make sure you're ready for a long, hard series.

Q. Do you feel the team needs to experience adversity before it can fully appreciate success as your team is having this season?
RYAN MALONE: I hope not. I think we went through a lot of adversity during the regular season. Even the first Ranger game we were down 3-0. You know, the last Ranger game, we were up 2-0 and they came back. I thought the guys stayed strong, stayed confident, believed in each other.
Hopefully we don't see too much adversity. It's the playoffs. I'm sure you're gonna see it sooner or later. We got to make sure we stick together and keep our faith and keep our confidence.

Q. Looking at the Penguins, you have a number of players who are going to be UFAs next year, including yourself. Is there much talk amongst the guys about having to get it done this year because this group might not be together next year?
RYAN MALONE: No. I don't think anyone has really mentioned it. I think we all maybe realize it or see it through the media and whatnot. But it's never been brought up.
I think everyone's worried about winning. I mean, that's the biggest thing, is the team wants to win. I think the great thing about the group of guys we have is everyone's doing it for each other, and everyone's doing their role the best they can. Everyone's trying to be the difference out there. That's what I think makes the team successful, is when everyone is trying to be the difference-maker.

Q. How good is Evgeni Malkin's English? Is his English okay?
RYAN MALONE: His English is okay. He kind of understands. Especially if I say something, he can repeat it pretty good. So, you know, hopefully next year, he'll start doing more interviews. Hopefully maybe he'll do one later on this year for you guys.

Q. You had a difficult time last year in the playoffs. What did you learn from that experience that you've been able to take and be so successful this time around?
RYAN MALONE: I think just how really simple you have to play. Ottawa kept the puck moving forward, shot everything on net, just kept their feet moving was the big thing. Those first 10 minutes of Game 1, felt like they had 10 guys on the ice for everybody on our team (laughter). They were flying around.
But, you know, they kept it really simple. I think that's the key, is you don't want to try to beat too many guys one-on-one. You can leave that up to Gino and Sid and Hoss, being around those guys. Most of us, just try to keep it simple, keep the feet moving. Really when you're in one-on-one battles, I think all those little things go a long way, especially in the playoffs.

Q. Were you a little overwhelmed? What was that overwhelming feeling like in the first game last year?
RYAN MALONE: I think everyone was just like, All right, this is what playoffs is, we got to get going here. I think we did a better job of turning it around in Game 2. We had the one game at home. I couldn't remember if it was three or four we were close to winning, maybe could turn the series. They ended up finding a way to win.
I think also if you look at the playoffs so far this year, the teams, you got to be lucky and get some bounces, you got to get some calls. It really comes down to maybe that one power-play or that one penalty against you that might end up costing you. It's really those little fine details that might put you over the hump.
So I think everyone is doing a good job of paying attention to those.

Q. Pretty simple question. How soon until the hate kicks in between these two teams?
RYAN MALONE: Probably right when the puck drops, I think (laughter). The first shift there, I know the fans in Pittsburgh here will be crazy. We'll all be jacked up, ready to go. You know, the first hit, then after that the rest will be history I think. It's going to be a fun series for everybody. Everyone's excited to get going. I'm sure the Philly guys are excited. You know, why not beat each other up a little bit to get on to the next round?

Q. Obviously you're going to target Sidney and Malkin. How do you respond? You're on one of the top units. Will you keep your eye out, paying extra special attention?
RYAN MALONE: Yeah, a little bit. Some guys are a little cheaper than other guys. There's no names involved, but (laughter). You always want to make sure you're watching your star players. You know they're going to go out there and finish their checks. You want to make sure they're keeping it as clean as possible.
It's when they start whacking 'em, (indiscernible) them, other things like that, that kind of brings the other attention. It's my job and other guys on the team that you try to limit those extra whacks if you can. But you got to make sure at the end of the night you're getting the W. So you don't want to put yourself or your team in a bad position, so you got to be smart about it, as well. Should be interesting to see what happens.

Q. We had Jarkko Ruutu in Vancouver for about five years. Is there anybody on the Penguins who can out-talk Jarkko Ruutu?
RYAN MALONE: Gill maybe. Picked him up. He can talk in the locker room anyway (laughter). On the ice, Ruut is great at what he does. Obviously you know what he does, how valuable it is to any team. He's a big part of our team. I think we have a lot of pieces that make us a great hockey club. He's definitely a big piece of that.
SCHUYLER BAEHMAN: Thank you, Ryan.

End of FastScripts

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