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NHL STANLEY CUP FINAL: SHARKS v PENGUINS

May 30, 2016

Peter DeBoer

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Game One

THE MODERATOR: Questions for coach.

Q. Pete, you've rolled your three D pairs consistently throughout the playoffs. Do you plan on doing that still or could you lean on your top four with the speed that the Penguins present?
COACH DeBOER: We're not changing anything from what got us here. Regardless of who we're playing or the schedule, what point in the season we're at, we're going to play the same way we've played the entire year and the entire playoffs.

Q. You've obviously been around the game for a while. Do you remember a time when you saw two goalies who were in their first playoff experience go to the Cup Final? Do you think this is a reflection of how good these guys are or is this a trend?
COACH DeBOER: There's a lot smarter people than me out there to figure out whether it's a trend.
But it is pretty incredible. You got two guys with the experience these two guys have. I think they're special. I don't think it's a common thing. I don't think you're going to see it yearly. I think it's rare.
But there's been many instances in the history of hockey where a young goaltender has led a team to a Stanley Cup. I think it's all belief. When our guys go in the room and talk to Marty Jones or play in front of him, they're not looking at him like he's a rookie or a 22‑year‑old or a guy that's played only so many games. They look at him like he's a seasoned veteran because he carries himself that way.
I don't think it's a factor for us.

Q. 2012 wasn't a good ending for you. Are you going to make a speech before the game? Tell the guys to relax? I know you said before just the way you got here, you're still going to play. Is there anything special you're going to say to them before the game?
COACH DeBOER: No, I don't think so. Again, I think our approach all along has been business as usual. I think the guys have realized as we got through the L.A. series, as we got through Nashville, Game 7, as we got through a really tough St.Louis team, even at the different points of adversity facing elimination against Nashville, we didn't change. There was no magic speeches. There was no big line combination changes or roster changes or changes to our system.
There's a belief in what we do and the people we have. We're going to keep rolling that out until someone hands us a Cup or tells us to go home.

Q. Pete, I know this isn't the ultimate goal, but is there a sense of what this means to this franchise and the San Jose community, being at this stage of the playoffs for the first time?
COACH DeBOER: There's a sense. I talked about it yesterday. First year in the community, I didn't realize kind of the baggage that was carried around, 25‑year season ticketholders coming up to you with tears in their eyes and crying. There were some moments there after where the gravity of what they've been through and how important this is to them.
But again, those things are for later. The business at hand now is to get off on the right foot, plant the right seeds for this series, impose our game.
Every series is the same: it's whatever team can impose their game on the other team the quickest and for the longest. That's our goal here tonight.

Q. Pete, when you're considering lineup changes and changes to your roster like you just mentioned, I'm curious if it's more what you need or what the opponent presents or is it a combination of both?
COACH DeBOER: Well, or injuries. Nieto came out because of an injury. Wingels jumped in, did a great job. Nieto is healthy, we've got decisions to make. We have a nice mix of guys down there that bring different things.
Zubrus is a big‑body guy that plays a real heavy game that's effective this time of year. Nieto is a speed guy. Wingels is an agitator and a guy that finishes every hit, hard to play against. Spaling does his thing.
The guys in that part of our lineup are interchangeable and they also bring different things. We'll make those decisions as the series gets dictated based on what we feel we need.

Q. Pete, when you talk about planting a seed with how you want to play starting early tonight, what are you seeing? What do you specifically want to see with that?
COACH DeBOER: Well, again, we want to impose our game on them. Our game is puck possession, offensive zone time, pressure, time and space. I'm not going to give you any more than that (laughter).

Q. What has Paul Martin meant to this team and how would you describe his role in the locker room?
COACH DeBOER: Paul's great. He's so understated as a player. His personality is the same, but there's so much substance to his play and as a person. I can't tell you how important he's been, one, on the ice, working with Brent Burns, his veteran leadership, his composure. And two, just the way he carries himself around the room.
He's a classy guy. He's a lot of fun to be around. He's fit in seamlessly with our group. We wouldn't be here without him.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
COACH DeBOER: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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