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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: DUCKS v RED WINGS

May 14, 2007

Mike Babcock

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA: Practice Day

JAMEY HORAN: Questions for Coach Babcock.

Q. Talk about the struggles five-on-five? Is it what they're doing?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: No. They've been good. I think you always got to give the other team credit. We're good teams. Our power play and penalty kill has been good. Dom has been good. We haven't been very good five-on-five. They've been better than us in that area. Yet in saying that, I think for the first 25 minutes of the game last night, they were better than us. Then I thought for the next 35, everything was pretty even. I thought they were better than us again in overtime.
When you're playing good teams, there's always going to be momentum swings in the game. You just want yours to be longer than theirs. I didn't like our start last night. For whatever reason, they were able to establish a physical game early. We didn't engage right I way. It took us a long time, I thought, to engage physically in the game and get involved.

Q. What can be done to generate more offense from the lines, besides Datsyuk and Zetterberg?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: They're pretty good. Obviously we want everyone going. That's how we've been able to get to where we're at, generating offense from everyone.
Right now we're only generating goals on the power play or specialty teams. When you look at that, those are the guys that are out there.
But we haven't spent enough time in their zone. To me, that's not quick enough coming out of our zone, therefore not enough speed through the neutral zone, you're not on top of their D.
We've addressed that. Now we got to execute.

Q. When they had these long possessions, cycling down there, seemed to have the puck for a long period of time, what is the best way to counteract that? Also, how draining is that on the D?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: It can be real draining. Both teams want to spend as much time in the offensive zone. I think when you talk about puck possession in today's game, people often refer to that - puck possession to me is the cycle down low, draw a penalty, more chance you got a chance to get to the net. They've done a better job of putting pressure on our D than we've done of putting pressure on their D.
We haven't had the quick turnover and the great outlet pass like we normally do to leave them. It's been more grind it around the wall than normally we're used to.

Q. How tough is it to recoup from an overtime loss? Does it gnaw at you more?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: No. The sun got up today and so did we. I don't think anybody thought this was going to be easy. I think everybody thought this was going to be a real battle. Thus far it's been that way. Yet in saying that, sitting here, I don't want to take anything away from the other team, because I think that's real important, we don't think we've played as good as we can - not even close. We have to play better.
You know, in the end, your one-on-one battles and your determination has to show.

Q. Kyle Calder is playing four minutes a game now. Any thought about putting in somebody else? What are you seeing that's not happening there?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: There is thought about putting in someone else.

Q. Can you elaborate a little?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Who is it going to be? Kopy is playing tomorrow.

Q. What does Calder have to do to get to earn more minutes?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: It's like everybody: you have to be involved. Obviously I'm not finding a way to get him enough minutes, get him on the ice. It's pretty straightforward on our team. It's not about the individual or anyone's name, it's about the team. Whoever's playing hard and making good things happen gets more ice time. We don't evaluate at the end who got the ice time; we just look to see did we play the people that were playing the best. That's our focus.
We're putting Kopy in because we think he can skate, we think he can take the body, we think he can generate the forecheck for us.

Q. Todd Bertuzzi, a challenging last few years, let's say, certainly difficult situation with the injury in Florida. How has he responded to this room and to this situation?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Well, I think he's been outstanding. Bert, for me, has been nothing but classy and great to deal with, very coachable, really trying - probably trying too hard. Wants to be at the form he was at the top of his game. He's been out a long time, missed a lot of hockey. I think that's a challenge for him mentally.
In saying that, we think he's been good. I mean, he's got a real simple role with us: be strong on the wall, get the puck in, get on the forecheck, take it to the net hard, try to hang on to the puck as long as you can and be a physical factor.

Q. He's always been a frontline guy. You're not asking him to do that here. How hard is it for a player like that to respond to that kind of role?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: I think it's hard. I think it's real difficult.
In saying that, though, it's like anything: if you're doing it, you get it. If you're not doing it, you don't get it. Now, it's not like the regular season where if you brought a guy in on a trade and you play him 17, 18, 22 minutes a night to get him going. We're not trying anybody out right now; we're trying to win.

Q. How much can you expect from Kopy? Hasn't played since December. Any concern there? What did you see in practice the last couple weeks?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: The way I look at it is this: what we did in that spot the last little bit isn't helping us, so we're going to go at it this way. We think Kopy is a good player. I look at Marchant. He didn't play for a long time. Come back, steps right in. In saying that, that guy's a veteran, proven player. Mentally he can handle it.
I have all those concerns, as well. Just the positives outweigh the negatives. That's the decision.

Q. Is this pretty much the same Sammy Pahlsson you coached or a matter of him having more confidence?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: By the time I was done here, he was an elite player, too. If you go back to our '03 run, Sammy Pahlsson, Steve Thomas and Chistov won us just about every series. Rucchin was the match-up guy. But you knew Pahlsson was going to be in. He's just evolved his game.
The interesting thing about players is how smart we are in this business. When I was first here, Sammy got sent to the minors. Wouldn't go. Went to Europe. Came back, was one of our best players. They got this guy named Kunitz. Put on waivers. Got him back.
We like to all think we're that smart. Sometimes you're not as smart as you think you are.
Sammy is a great player, person, plays hard.

End of FastScripts

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