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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HURRICANES v PENGUINS

May 24, 2009

Paul Maurice

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: Practice Day

Q. Everybody knows the odds and things like that. But also you get a game at home. What is the message to your team tomorrow?
COACH MAURICE: Just that most importantly, don't view the whole picture. Just get a small glimpse. We need to have to get some relief to reclaim. And then there's more of a chance to play after that game.
The question you asked me after Game 1 of the Boston series, we thought we were 0-6 against them at that point. That's the most important thing. The reason we've gotten here is the belief to stay in the fight as long as we possibly can. Now we're at a point there's no tomorrow.
So I don't know how many cliches that is, but insert your favorite cliche at this point.

Q. Is there almost some release of burden when you're down 3-0, in terms of playing loose? I mean, everyone knows what the stats are. So is there something that you take from that?
COACH MAURICE: If I thought playing loose was a remedy to a problem that got us to 0-3, maybe. But I don't think that's a factor. That's missing from our game.

Q. Yeah, I mean --
COACH MAURICE: No, but mentally, I understand the question. I think in different areas, I do think. And I think you saw it in Boston, in the Boston series. To get down 3-1, for them, that was their point where they kind of released all the thoughts of the next day, and then helps you drive and focus on the day that you have.

Q. You mentioned blocked shots yesterday. Is that a lot of that, or some of you?
COACH MAURICE: Both. Just blocked and missed is 41, I think. That's way too high a number to be in the shooting range to not get something through. Just some quickness.
Then not trying to beat the goaltender from places you're probably not. You look at the goal, our second goal. And I think Eric probably did 14 different things before he decided he wanted to shoot that puck, and it was on the rebound there.

Q. Seemed like that last minute of the first period (Indiscernible)?
COACH MAURICE: Little bit of everything there. The two on two. And I've said this before, so now it's a concern positionally. It's not a mistake, except we're just not hard enough on the plays. Pushing the puck to the outside, and clearly picking Crosby up and going to the far post.
The next one's a puck that comes off the lines man into a spot that we can't have it come back on to the ice on. But we have two guys that are doing it. They're trying, but they end up blocking each other out.

Q. Where were your forwards?
COACH MAURICE: One of them was hitting one of our defensemen at the time. But that's a chip puck there. It's a chip puck that goes by two guys. Comes up the wall, and they throw it back in for a rim that's to go behind the net. Comes off the lines man but back into the slot. But on the boards where probably it shouldn't have been.

Q. Is Cam healthy?
COACH MAURICE: Yeah, he's 100% today.

Q. (No microphone)?
COACH MAURICE: Everybody's got something. But when he's gotten to the net, he's been able to perform.

Q. You guys have been all three of these games. But in the third period you've had the situation where you've had chances. In the past two series those were situations where you guys really thrived. Have you guys reached a point where there's only so much emotion you can expend in a two month period of time?
COACH MAURICE: I hope not. But you're right. We've been in the fight, as they say, and in a place that was really comfortable for us a couple of weeks ago.
I do think we're seeing a little different offensive machine here. I'm sure you go back to all those games and you think of the overtime game against New Jersey where they came out and had three or four grate chances and down we went and scored to win that game with the shooters they have, that game may be over. And that's the way we're dealing with some plays that are far more dangerous because of the shooter.

Q. Where do you think Cam Wards at right now?
COACH MAURICE: I think he's right where -- yeah, I wasn't going to go with that. But right where the rest of our team is. If you look at that game, he made some great saves in that game. We had some real good plays over-the-air course of the game. There's probably one or two he'd like to have back. And you ask yourself, is it the shooter? You know. The guy going to the net on the third goal does that pretty well. He just gets them to move enough to open them up just a little bit. He didn't leave them a lot. Didn't make a bad play as a goaltender. We wanted to make sure he doesn't go post to post on that like in the second goal. It's a pretty good play.

Q. (No Microphone)?
COACH MAURICE: Yeah, I talked to all the players. We made sure we get around to our guys a little bit more when you're in this situation or in a difficult situation: But I'm certainly not going to tell him how to stop the puck.

Q. Your top four defensemen have been so good down the stretch in this series, where are they right now mentally?
COACH MAURICE: They need a little help. . They need a little help from our guys up front. Both in moving the puck. They're going to do some things in the offensive zone that we can't contain one of them. When that happens, we need not a mad rush to help, but we just need a little better help.

Q. Are there any changes to the system that you make? Or is it what it is?
COACH MAURICE: Adjustments is in doing things better, more consistently. But, no, I mean, this is not the time of year for major systems changes, style. The systems stay, the style of your game.
We turn the puck over on the inside of the offensive line, and we just can't do a couple of times and it's back to a real problem for us. Where you might have been able to shut that down against jersey or Boston. We're seeing a different transition game. A much quicker transition game.

Q. (No microphone) can you look at Eric Staal and say he hasn't scored or he hasn't had the chance? How concerned do you have to be about ray Whitney who just seems to be off the map right now?
COACH MAURICE: They've done a good job. And it's not the checking line. There in lies the problem. I don't think the crux of our game has been a lack of offense or is it that that we should go out and score 7 a night if everybody's playing well. That's not it. I think we're getting enough offense in our games. We're just not defending well enough to look at our offensive players.
That being said, our offensive players have to defend as well.

Q. Is their fourth line a more difficult match-up than with this group?
COACH MAURICE: Regardless of the match-up, Malkin's found a way to score against every line. So he's spread his offense around. We haven't been able to stop him. It's more difficult, but it's not far off than when you go back to really what Detroit did so well when they were winning. When you have Brett Hall on the fourth line or Robitaille on the fourth line, it's no longer a fourth line.
So Staal's line clearly has a more defensive bend to their game. He's a fine player as well. So it's not the standard mix whether there was another skilled player or not. The minutes get spread around, it's a good way to get your high end guys more minutes of ice time without running an entire line, without burning an entire line out. You spread that between the two guys. It's just a different rotation for us.
I think our fourth line the other night with Bayda and Eaves and Dwyer, they scored. The fourth line's been all right.

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