NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: PENGUINS v DEVILS

May 11, 2001

Larry Robinson

COACH ROBINSON: Well, they are fine. I think everybody had a pretty good jump. We always start our practice after a day off with a little rust in the hands, but, you know, with not a lot to cover. We had a little -- a few things to go over, but we'll remember get a little more of the small details worked out tonight.

COACH ROBINSON: Well, I think it's easier preparing, because you know what to expect. You've got two of the greatest players in the game, and probably two of the best offensive lines in the League right now in the Lemieux line and Lang and Kovalev and Straka. So those are pretty talented hockey players. I think it is good getting up and knowing that you have to go against this type of guys, as opposed to a whole line of buzz saws in Buffalo. But it didn't really matter who we were going to play. We knew they were both going to be very good.

COACH ROBINSON: We're hoping. He's still day to day. See how he is tomorrow.

COACH ROBINSON: We didn't put him on the ice, but we put him through some pretty heavy workouts off the ice.

COACH ROBINSON: He's certainly not going to play without skating first. That, I can guarantee you, but we'll just have to play it by area and see how it is.

COACH ROBINSON: I think we gave ourselves a little bit of trouble. We certainly gave them, you know, a number of odd-man chances, and you can't give up two-on-ones and three-on-two's or breakaways to talented players like that. We made a lot of mistakes in our zone, mistakes that we can't afford to make. And the other thing is that we really didn't have a full team that could play against them throughout most of the year, so it is kind of a tough read for us.

COACH ROBINSON: You know, when you get to this juncture of the season, I don't think there is momentum. I think it's going to be difficult, and as you go each series, each game, games get tougher and mistakes become magnified. So now, we are into the nitty gritty of the playoffs, and so we know what it's going to do.

COACH ROBINSON: Well, yeah, they can put five guys out there that are pretty scary, when it comes to move-- moving the puck around. But they have also got players that can take them from us. Corbet can get under your skin. Of course Kasparaitis, the whole league knows about Darius, he's just a real buzz saw out there, you have to be careful of him. The rest of them -- they know how to go down at the right time. We are going to have to be very careful about how we play against them.

COACH ROBINSON: I like his -- I like his poise. This is -- this is a huge time of the year, and this guy comes in with very little games under his belt, and it's like he's been there forever. He plays with a lot of poise. He handles the puck well. He challenges; quick glove. He's made some big saves at key times. There's a reason why he's in there and there's a reason why Pittsburgh are still in the playoffs, and a lot of it is because of him.

COACH ROBINSON: I don't know so much -- I would not like to make comparisons like that, but he seems like a nice young fellow, too.

COACH ROBINSON: Yeah.

COACH ROBINSON: Yeah, a lot more. I think during the season they were a lot more -- they didn't mind giving up offensive chances, and I think now they are much more aware of their defensive responsibilities. I think with the fact that they have got a goaltender now who is playing solidly and consistently, you know, they seem to be playing with a lot more confidence in front of them. And the other thing is they are not taking as many penalties. I think during the season, they were trying to make a statement in that they didn't want their so-called superstars being taken advantage of, but everybody knows once you get in the playoff, everybody has got to pull the same load, and so a lot of the same guys who were there talking it during the regular season are not there during the playoff, because it becomes so important just to stay on the ice.

COACH ROBINSON: Not really, because I don't think that there's that much of a difference between Kovalev and Jagr. I think they are both tremendous hockey players.

COACH ROBINSON: My first indication probably, yeah.

COACH ROBINSON: Well, one thing I know, he sure upsets everybody that he plays against, just because of the way that he plays. He's just a big, strong kid and he's tough to move off the puck. He's tough to play against. When I see Bobby, the better he plays is when he's given a challenge, and certainly, against Toronto, that was a big challenge because Sundin was -- played some of his best hockey that I've seen him play, and Bobby did a pretty good job of him.

COACH ROBINSON: I don't know --

COACH ROBINSON: That's wonderful. That's very nice. Very nice. See, you told you I was the last to know.

COACH ROBINSON: Well, the farther you go in the playoffs, depth becomes a real key factor. I think, you know, I think Pittsburgh found out that when you go with a limited lineup, the farther you go in the playoffs, the more it wears them down. And they were the ones that went to four lines in the second and third period and it paid off for them.

COACH ROBINSON: Unbelievable. You know how some guys just seem to shine against certain teams and he seems to be our nemesis. He scored like five goals and four of them are against us this year. But, you know what, I've seen him play. I was with him in Russia this summer when we were over there -- and he's got great skills. He's a very good hockey player. I watched him in the Buffalo series, and I thought he was one of their better players. He played -- he played very well for them. So it is not like -- I mean he's just a guy that's going to come in and surprise you. He's got good skills, and most of the year, they never used him that much in that many key situations.

COACH ROBINSON: No, I don't think so. He didn't practice today, but he worked out a lot off the ice. So we'll see how he responds.

COACH ROBINSON: I would say he was not probable, but there's a good chance he'll be there. Who knows.

COACH ROBINSON: Possible.

COACH ROBINSON: It depends. Certainly if Niedermayer isn't going, then we'll split them up.

COACH ROBINSON: Yeah, probably the way we finished the series.

COACH ROBINSON: Yeah.

COACH ROBINSON: Jagr likes to do that.

COACH ROBINSON: Well, I think the biggest problem that everybody makes is that they tend to collapse down around the goaltender, and you don't give the goaltender a chance, you know, to play his blue area. I think we've got to make a concentrated effort to let Marty do his job, and then we've got to -- we've just got to do a good job with our sticks and covering people and open men in front of him. Because, theoretically, if you think about it, if they have one guy behind the net, then we have someone in front of the net. That's the most important place is you can't score from behind the net. You can create chances from back there, but you can't score. So positioning becomes a key part of it.