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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: DUCKS v RED WINGS

May 16, 2007

Mike Babcock

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA: Practice Day

JAMEY HORAN: Questions for Coach Babcock.

Q. Your thoughts on the suspension.
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Well, we got the best league in the world, we got the best people running it, the best officials. They did what they thought was right.

Q. Can one guy make a big, big impact on a game?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Yeah. I think all the best players make a huge impact on the game. But if you think they're going away just 'cause of one guy - I think it's well documented, we're missing some pretty good D. Play. We're going to do the same.
Our whole plan is to have the best game we can possibly have tomorrow. That's our whole focus. Doesn't matter the individuals we're playing, just the team we're playing.

Q. The league ruled it was a blow to the head, which is something they're trying to get out of the game. Was one game enough? If Holmstrom doesn't come back, do you think it's more?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: I don't know. My brain doesn't work like that. To me you either did it or you didn't do it. Doesn't matter to me if someone comes back or doesn't come back. That has nothing to do with it in my mind the way I think.
But I think the league made a decision and that's it. Let's move on.

Q. One game enough, though?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: I think the league made a decision. Let's move on.

Q. How about your team? The Ducks are trying to forget about last night. Your team has to forget about last night?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Last night's over with. We're preparing for - we say this all year long. The most important game of the year is the one you're playing. Obviously for us that's tomorrow. We're in a series with a really good hockey club. It's our intention to just keep coming and keep coming and keep coming and find a way to win.
It's not going to be easy. We're very respectful of our opponent, yet we think we got a good team.

Q. Separating Pavel and Hank, can you talk about how much that not only sparked their two lines but all four lines and especially five-on-five play?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: That's part of it. I did that the night before, too, and nothing happened. Just we did it from the start till the end basically. The bottom line is our team played way better. We got skating. I didn't think we skated in the first two games of the series like we could. It looked a lot like the San Jose series where we weren't very good early.
We think we can continue to get better. We thought we had the puck more. We thought we made better plays, and therefore had more speed. We have to continue to do that if we want to be successful.

Q. Beyond the hit that he took, he scored two goals, Holmstrom. Does his impact on this team and these playoffs cease to amaze you at any point?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Who's tougher than Holmer? He gets hit in the eye in the Calgary series. Power play goes dead. Comes back, power play's turned around. Holmer to me is what our team's about. You can do what you want. You can cross-check him. You can smack him. You did whatever you want. He's going to keep coming. We plan on doing the same thing.
I think that's important at this time of year. You're just not going to be deterred. You're a determined group that believes we have an opportunity, and we believe our effort and our preparation better be equal to the opportunity, and it's a good opportunity.

Q. Talk about the back end and the way some of those guys have stepped up since Schneider has gotten hurt.
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: They're good players. A lot of people would tell you that one of the reasons they're better is because they get to play more now. Things have changed. But the bottom line is in this game, you got to have good fortune, good luck at playoff time with injuries. But when you don't, you got to get other people to step up and just play.
I think they've been good. We expect them to be good. We got good players and we expect them to play hard.

Q. When you came to training camp this year, you knew you weren't going to have Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, what did you think would happen in your dressing room in terms of leadership or chemistry? Are you surprised at how it's actually turned out seven or eight months later?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: I'm not surprised one bit. I knew there was going to be a time for people to engage, to get comfortable to do what they do. I don't think Nicklas Lidstrom had any trouble with it whatsoever. I don't think Chris Chelios, those guys. I think the guys - I don't want to say trouble. The guys who had to get used to being the guys were Pav and Hank. They are the guys. They're the guys driving the bus up front. That's the facts. Before you could always wait for someone else, now you can't.
When the game's on the line, you got to have poise. Your determination's got to come through. I think they've done a good job of that. You look at the determination of Pavel Datsyuk or the determination of Kris Draper, Henrik Zetterberg, it's a pretty determined group up front. Then you have Cheli, Lidstrom, Hasek in the net. We think that our group, leadership-wise, is as deep and as good as any. The thing about Nick is not only does he do everything right, but he has so much poise about him that, I mean, I think those things are contagious.

Q. Brian Burke credited the Red Wings for not putting Tomas in an ambulance last night, maybe trying to milk it for more, a longer suspension, whatever. Were you trying to make any kind of statement or was he just ready to play?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Well, I told you, Tomas is a tough guy. Everybody saw it. He's got cuts, he's got 13 stitches. It's not like it's a boo-boo here we're talking about. This is a guy who wants to play, and we're about playing.
If you think there was any thought process into, Oh, how can we milk this? That's not how it works. I said already, I don't believe that's how the league should work. Did you do something? Did you not do something? Make a decision. The league did. We're fine by it. Let's go.

Q. Not depending on how badly injured the player was; just by the act itself?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Straightforward to me.
JAMEY HORAN: Thanks, Coach.

End of FastScripts

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