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NHL STANLEY CUP FINAL: PREDATORS VS PENGUINSJune 5, 2017Mike FisherFrederick GaudreauPekka RinneNashville, Tennessee - Postgame Nashville - 4, Pittsburgh - 1 THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Pekka, could you take us through what you saw when Crosby came in on the breakaway, the two saves, then the diving? PEKKA RINNE: I don't really know how he had the chance, you know, initially how he got that breakaway. Our D was putting a lot of pressure on him. He had to make a backhand shot. I was able to make the first initial save. I think it was Rust, he was there. I don't really know what happened after that. I mean, always just try to battle it out with me, and he held me out, then finally made kind of a soccer goalie save. I was able to keep the puck out of the net. At the moment, obviously that was a big play. Q. Freddy, I remember you saying after Game 5 in Anaheim how you were able to remove all of the distractions of the big-game situation, just play your game. You're obviously seeing that happen with three goals so far. For a young player, how are you able to do that in the situation you've been placed in? FREDERICK GAUDREAU: I don't know, honestly. I just try to put my focus at the right spot. Yeah, maybe I'm not too old, but I live some stuff maybe. It's two years I'm in the pro. I live some stuff. Every time I was trying to get better mentally. I'm getting to that point where I think I can handle all those situation. Q. Mike, could you follow up on Freddy, a guy who never scored a goal, all of a sudden he's got three goals in the Stanley Cup Final? MIKE FISHER: Clearly the stage is not too big for him. It's been unbelievable for us, the way he's come, he's been so good. Timely goals, composed. You know, he definitely belongs. He's been a huge part of our success. It's good to see, for sure. Q. Pekka, the other day you remarked that people were talking to you like somebody died. Just wondering how different it feels four days later. PEKKA RINNE: I mean, you always have ups and downs. You try to stay even keel. I mean, playoffs, even this year, I don't really want to look back yet. We have work to be done. But I'm sure at the end of the day when you look back, it's a rollercoaster. It's an emotional ride. So it's no different, these Finals. Obviously the first two games, we did a lot of good things. Personally wasn't really happy with my game. But these two games, they've been huge for us. Personally, too, I mean, it's a game of confidence being a goalie. Q. Mike, James gets that puck up to you in the neutral zone. What are you seeing as you're going to your knees there? What are you thinking? What was the third period like, trying to close that out today? MIKE FISHER: Well, I knew Arvi was going. When he goes, he's gone. I tried to handle it. I kind of lost it on my backhand. Then I just tried all I could do to just whack it ahead. I knew he was gone. He made an unbelievable play. As far as the third period, we wanted to just stay on it, not sit back too much. Just keep coming, keep using our speed. We felt so good about our second period. Pekka made unbelievable saves. We got that empty-net goal. We just played a solid third period to close it out. Q. Pekka, the first breakaway that Crosby scored on in the first period, did you remember that the second time around, that he went to backhand? Or is it because they were pressuring him? PEKKA RINNE: Yeah, I thought they were a little bit different plays. He had way more time in the first one. You know, obviously now looking back, I wish I could do something differently with the first one. But it's a pretty good player. A lot of times he likes to snap it quickly with a quick shot. You know, this time he got one by me. Good thing I made the second one. Q. Mike, where does this rank on the list of birthday presents? Has Freddy earned a locker stall yet? MIKE FISHER: That's all I wanted for my birthday. Best gift I could get today for sure. Guys played unbelievable. I'm not going to enjoy it for too long because we got to get back to work. We know how much work we got ahead of us. Freddy, we'll see what we can do. We'll see if we can squeeze him in somewhere (laughter). Q. Freddy, take us through your goal. Did you know it was what in? Do you not want a stall because your superstitious? FREDERICK GAUDREAU: The goal, I mean, I kind of saw it was maybe in. Then I came back to the bench. I heard someone saying with the video replay that it was in. That's basically it. For the stall, I mean, I could be sitting on the floor and I would take it. I'm just happy to be here. I don't really care about the stall, to be honest. Q. Mike, since Game 4 of the last round, you missed two games. Ryan Johansen suffered a season-ending injury. Regardless of that, the group down the middle has been very successful. Why do you think that's been the case? MIKE FISHER: Well, I mean, it really comes down to the way we play as a team. We've been getting guys like Freddy to come in and do such a great job. Sissons has stepped up, played really well. Jarnkrok has, too. Down the line really, when guys have been there. Fiddler has played great. Really it's the way we play as a team. Whoever's in there, if we play a certain way, we know we can be successful. We have to continue to get better in this series because we know it's not getting any easier. There's no question we have to, as the center group, be even better. We know who we're facing. We're going to keep doing that. That's our focus. Q. Pekka, talk about your relationship with this city, the fact that you were the first guy to commit to this team and this town, then you returned from Pittsburgh, got the welcome you got, then what you got tonight from the crowd. PEKKA RINNE: It's special. I mean, this is my home. Been here for a long time. Been fortunate enough to see all the great changes. The city has grown so much. The hockey has grown amazingly. Just being able to be part of it, it means a lot to me. Yeah, before the first game in warmups, you know, the way the crowd reacted, I mean, it's a great feeling. It doesn't matter how much hockey you play, you get goosebumps. It really is a special feeling. I feel like these two final games, everybody has seen what kind of crowd we have, what kind of fans we have in the city of Nashville. Nashville has been able to kind of showcase itself. It's fun to be part of it. Q. Pekka, teams like Pittsburgh have a lot of chances the last couple games, kind of crazy sequences. When you're able to make those saves, how much confidence do you get from that? PEKKA RINNE: I mean, yeah, it is big when you are able to make them. It doesn't need to be highlight reel save. But when you make a timely save especially, it really is a confidence boost. I feel like a lot of times after that, things seem to slow down in your eyes, maybe you see the puck a little bit better, anticipate a little bit better. But it is always a helpful thing. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, guys. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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