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NHL STANLEY CUP FINAL: PREDATORS VS PENGUINSJune 7, 2017Peter LavioletteMike FisherPittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Practice Day THE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. Mike, you show up at the airport, there's so many fans that are so supportive. Not a tradition seen in a lot of hockey markets. MIKE FISHER: Got a little bit last year. This year it's ramped up even more. I mean, we feel the support. We appreciate it. To have that, when you come back, even when we came back from 2-0, there were people out there. Regardless, they're there. Says a lot about our fans, the job they've done. Q. Peter, what's the luxury of having two shutdown defensive units like Josi-Ellis and Subban-Ekholm? PETER LAVIOLETTE: I mean, I think our D has played well all year. It has been good. Really it's a block of them. I don't think Yannick Weber and Matt Irwin get as much credit for the job they do. Those top four guys you're talking about, they take on good minutes. I think it really comes into play when you play a team that has two top centermen. We've had to do that going through a few series now. Chicago has two top lines. Anaheim really can hurt you with their two centermen. Same holds true here. Having the ability to have those four players available, it's been good for us. It's gotten us a long way in the regular season, certainly in the playoffs. Again, you have to include the last two guys in there, Matt Irwin, Yannick Weber. They've done a terrific job, as well. They've had to play against those guys, as well. Q. Peter, every defenseman that I talked to previously that was here talked about what Shea Weber meant to them, how he helped them along. I know he's not here, but for lack of a better term, is his DNA still in this defense corps, do you think? PETER LAVIOLETTE: I think everybody enjoyed working with Shea. When you have someone that's had a career like he's had, I think it's easy to learn on a daily basis how to live your life, how to play the game, how to practice hard every day. Certainly the way he plays the game, the way he practices. I learn all the time. I learn from my players, past and present. I learn from coaches along the way, coaches that I've worked with. I think everybody, if you just have your eyes open, if you're alert and aware, you can always learn. Q. Mike, you've been here once before, took a while to get back, you don't know what the future holds. How much more do you appreciate this two-out-of-three moment that you're facing? MIKE FISHER: Well, I'm trying to enjoy everything. The whole run, it's been incredible. But I'm trying to stay -- not look too far ahead, stay focused on what we have to do. You know, it's a grind, it's hard to get here. So when you do get here, you got to make the most of it. I think our guys have done a good job of just staying focused and realizing what we got to do. We got a lot of confidence in our group, but we also have a lot of respect in our opponent. I think that's brought out the best in us. We know it's going to have to. Two-out-of-three now. It's pedal down. We're ready. Q. Peter, from your previous trips to the Cup Final, how did you learn from those, apply them to this series as far as managing things off the ice for your players, the glare and spotlight of a Cup Final? Have you been able to learn over the years? PETER LAVIOLETTE: I think there's always little things that you learn along the way. Even going back to the first couple years when I was with the Islanders, I remember there was one time we had a big win. I remember talking to Mike Milbury. He thought we should go to the rink the next day. I thought it would be best just to stay away. Now I've switched on that, kind of come full circle. Even when we've had these two days off in between, we come in. Even though we may not work out, it's a chance for us to meet as a team, to get together, maybe have a quick meeting, maybe say something to the players that might end one game and start a new day, start a new game, have some lunch, just move forward. That's just an example, I think, of learning over the years about playoff hockey and what it takes. I think you're constantly learning with regard to that. We're not necessarily this one run, then give you an image of what another run might be. This is our own group of guys. Our guys have worked hard to get to this point. Our season wasn't a layup. It wasn't given. We weren't given a pass here. We earned our stripes along the way. Went through some good times, some tough times. I think that made us who we are, molded us into the team we are today. Constantly I think learning. Q. It is obvious if you want to win the Stanley Cup, you have to win at least one game in Pittsburgh. You've had success in the playoffs in winning on the road. Is there something you emphasize more than you would for a road game than you would normally considering the circumstances? MIKE FISHER: We know we can play better in this building. We know we're going to have to. This is a team that Games 1 and 2, there were a few minutes where we liked our game for some of it, then other parts of it, they took over. They capitalized. We did a better job of managing the game that way in Games 3 and 4. We know this game we're going to have to be at our best, there's no question. We know who we're facing, in their building. We got to be ready to be at our best. We know it's an exciting challenge. I think you'll see we'll be ready for it, so... Q. Mike, you referred to enjoying the moment. Peter, you're so buttoned up, so focused, so serious. This is a business trip, et cetera, goal on the line. Are you having any fun? Is this a good time or does that come later? PETER LAVIOLETTE: I think we have fun. I mean, we do laugh a little bit. But it is business, too. There's a lot of work that has to be done on a daily basis for everybody, not just coaches or not just players. There's the organization, the guys on video, the equipment, the trainers. It is business. I don't think you get to this point if you aren't business. A lot of times what you see up here, you're asking direct questions about the game tomorrow or about a situation. I do think it is a lot of business. But, believe it or not, I do smile once in a while. I've seen Mike smile a lot. We are enjoying it because we're here. We're playing. I said it to the guys the other day and it was after a tough loss, June whatever, when we got back home, 0-2. I said, How lucky are we? How lucky are we to be playing hockey in June? We smile once in a while, but not too much. Q. They won the Cup last year. You have not won the Cup as a team. Do you think you might be hungrier for it, you might be able to use that to your advantage? PETER LAVIOLETTE: Me personally, I think if two teams get to this point, they're both hungry to win a Cup. Our guys are hungry. We respect the fact they've done it. We respect the fact that they're hungry. Now we got to go play a game, decide who is going to get it. Obviously Game 5 is a big game. You know, again, I don't think you get to this point if your team's not ready and hungry and prepared, willing to do whatever it takes to be successful. MIKE FISHER: Yeah, I mean, they're -- we're both here for a reason. Like we talked about, it's a grind. They've come through three tough teams and so have we. We're all here for a reason. Part of that's because of hunger, that desire. For us, it's the first Cup. At the end of the day, everyone wants that. That's what we all as kids dream about. Regardless of how many, that's a special thing, and it means a lot. That's what it's going to come down to here in the next few days. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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