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NHL STANLEY CUP FINAL: PREDATORS VS PENGUINS

May 30, 2017

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Practice Day

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. P.K., first Stanley Cup game under your belt. What surprised you about last night, if anything?
P.K. SUBBAN: Oh, there were no surprises. Playoff hockey is usually there's obviously a lot of anticipation. We had some days off. We've been kind of chomping at the bit to get at it.

I think the game is kind of what everybody expected from an intensity standpoint. Maybe not from the score, the way the game went. I thought it was a good hockey game, especially from an entertainment standpoint. I'm sure a lot of fans were happy with that.

Q. P.K., can you talk a little bit about your defense. All post-season you have been contributing offensively, but in addition to that you held the Penguins to 12 shots on goal. What is it that allows you to produce so well offensively while not losing anything on the defensive end?
P.K. SUBBAN: I think defense, it's six guys on the ice, including a goaltender. Phil and Sissy are great two-way forwards. I think that helps the defense, when you have forwards that are reliable. You know when you pinch or you slam down the walls to try to keep the puck in, these guys are smart enough to know they have to back you up.

As a five-man unit, we've done a great job all season, but in particular the playoffs, we've done an outstanding job of playing in solid blocks of fives, especially in the D zone, neutral zone and even in the offensive zone. We've just done a great job as a group. We're going to have to continue that for success in the playoffs here.

Q. Colton, Mike Fisher has been very complimentary of you particularly in the role that you have assumed in the last three games. What are some of the things that he's imparted on you in this position, and what do you admire most about the way he conducts himself as a captain?
COLTON SISSONS: Fishy has been a guy I've looked up to for a long time, tried to model my play after. Whenever I receive kind words from him, it actually means quite a lot to me. Just his leadership and presence on and off the ice is something to admire, something that I always work towards.

He's always been there to step up for us defensively, offensively, ever since I've known him. I'm just trying to do the same now.

Q. P.K., you don't have the 1-0 series lead you had in the first three rounds, does that change much for this group?
P.K. SUBBAN: No. I mean, whether you win or lose, you got to prepare for Game 2. We're going to prepare for that. At the end of the day, there was a lot of positives for us to take out of that hockey game.

It's a Stanley Cup Finals. You got to play a full 60 minutes. We did a lot of great things last game, good things, but we have to do great things to win our next one. That's what today's about, just preparing for that.

Our group's ready to go.

Q. Filip, what was your reaction when the off-side ruling came in and disallowed the goal? If you had a message to the league moving forward about this rule, what would it be?
FILIP FORSBERG: First of all, I wasn't thinking about it at all until they didn't drop the puck. I knew something was up.

When you look at the video, it could easily go either way. You could easily call a goal, you can easily call a no goal as well. It's kind of inconclusive, in my opinion.

At the same time we have got to trust Toronto and trust the refs that they're doing their job. That's my opinion on that.

Q. Filip, Pekka Rinne obviously has been a rock for you throughout the playoffs, the season. Maybe didn't have the best outing last night. Talk about the support you guys are giving to him, expecting him to bounce back probably in Game 2.
FILIP FORSBERG: I think, to be honest, it's not a lot you can do on the goals. A couple tough bounces, stuff like that. I mean, if you look at the stats, it obviously doesn't look good in one game. If you look in the playoffs, he's been the best player in the playoffs, for sure.

Looking back since I came here a couple years ago, he's been the best player in almost all of the games played. We have all the belief in Pekks we can ever have. I'm looking forward to see him play next game.

Q. P.K., not so much about last night, but the way replay works, off-side replay works, what are your thoughts on how the rule has come in, how it's been applied? Do you like it the way it is or would you like to see it change?
P.K. SUBBAN: I'm probably the worst person to ask because I hardly ever really pay attention to rule changes and stuff like that.

You know, it's tough because, even so, I watched the replay just on the Jumbotron. I thought for sure it was going to be a good goal, you know. I didn't get the explanation. I'm not really sure.

But, I mean, we're sadly mistaken if we don't think that changes or rules that are brought into the game or out of the game aren't there to help the game be better. There's no question that we're trying to make the game better and more fun.

Obviously we would have loved that goal to have counted, but it didn't, so... At the end of the day, rule changes are going to affect games, but that's why you got to win four games to win a series. There's still a lot of hockey left to be played.

Q. P.K., this team has been so good all season, especially in the playoffs, bouncing back after a loss, why? What is it about your team that allows you guys to respond so quickly?
P.K. SUBBAN: Culture and leadership, I'd say. I think our team has been tested many times this season, whether we've had guys out of the lineup or we've gone through rough patches. We've always responded the right way.

You talk about culture, that starts with management, that trickling down to what we have as a leadership group. Our leadership group is not just guys with Cs and As on their jerseys, they do an amazing job. It's our group. The attitude in the dressing room, I mean, we go down 3-0, we come back in, everybody has something to say.

Anybody that's ever played professional sports, it's easy in a Stanley Cup game to come back in the room, everybody is quiet, nerves. But that's not our hockey club. We know how good we can be. The way we responded was typical Nashville Predators.

We've had adversity earlier on in the playoffs. We responded well. I go back to the Chicago series. I think it was Game 3, we were down 2-0. We found a way to come back against a Stanley Cup championship team. We did that again yesterday, we just didn't finish it off.

For a team that doesn't have really have that much experience, we've got a lot of young guys, Gaudreau getting his first NHL goal. We've got a lot of guys with not a lot of playoff experience, I thought they responded well. That says a lot about our hockey club.

Q. P.K., you spoke about Gaudreau. Your thoughts on his play, the kind of teammate he is.
COLTON SISSONS: I've played with Freddy a little bit in the minors, saw him come up from the East Coast. He's one of the greatest teammates I've had. He's so humble. He's just a quiet kid that goes about his business. He's done that at every level.

It's really not surprising him having success up here, being thrust into a situation that's not very easy in the NHL, in the Western Conference Finals, then the Cup Final now.

Yeah, just proud of him. He's a great friend of mine. We're happy to have him, lucky to have him on our team.

Q. Colton, talk about your time with Milwaukee, coming up? This franchise prides itself on developing players that way. And P.K., what Phil Housley has meant to you?
FILIP FORSBERG: I think we obviously got a good organization down in Milwaukee with the coaches and everything. It's a really good way to go. At the time, I'm going to be honest, I didn't want to play there. But looking back, it was a great time. Obviously me and Siss, a bunch of other guys played there. A lot of guys ended up here. Milwaukee has a lot in that, just the way they treat the players, the persons as well.

I came over as a 19-year-old guy, hopefully I left there, yeah, a lot more mature, on and off the ice. I think that helps a lot.

COLTON SISSONS: Yeah, I agree with Fil. A lot of us spent a lot of time down there, a couple seasons. Just great coaching staff that teaches you how to be a pro. Just go through the ups and downs of being a professional hockey player. You learn a lot, gain a lot of confidence. They gave us a ton of opportunity to play a lot of minutes, every situation. It really prepares us for that next step.

P.K. SUBBAN: With Phil, I just think his impact hasn't just helped me, but it's helped everybody on our team, defense and forwards. But obviously specifically with the defensemen, working with them every day.

I mean, I've said it before, but Howie has a wealth of knowledge, being one of the best defensemen to ever play the game. His numbers, his career, what he's accomplished speaks for itself.

My opinion, what separates him from a lot of people, he knows when to say something and when not to. I think that says a lot about him. He knows everything. I mean, he's been around. He's done it all. He's played for a long time. He's played in big games. I just think he just has this calmness to him that he brings to our locker room, to the defense specifically.

I think it just helps us big-time. We go out there and play our game. He's been great for us.

Q. P.K., my apology for asking this here. Did you know a catfish was an instrument of crime, and your thoughts on the tosser being charged with three crimes last night?
P.K. SUBBAN: I did not. I did not. But you know what, I hope someone saved the catfish, because I've never had it before. Maybe I'll have some for dinner tonight (laughter).

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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NHL STANLEY CUP FINAL: PREDATORS VS PENGUINS

May 30, 2017

Filip Forsberg

P.K. Subban

Colton Sissons