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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: PENGUINS v RED WINGSMay 29, 2009Sidney CrosbyMarc Andre FleuryDETROIT, MICHIGAN: Practice Day Q. I have a multi-part question. The first is how much of the experience you guys gained last year helped to close the gap in the vast experience they have compared to you? And the second part is what has Bill Guerin meant to you both on the ice and off as another cap you can bounce things off of? SIDNEY CROSBY: Well, I think there's no surprises this year. We know what to expect. Even a simple thing like today coming in we know what to expect. There shouldn't be a lot of surprises. You know, this year, we know our opponent, you know. We've seen them last year, we've seen them a couple of times this year. Last year that wasn't the case. There shouldn't be any anticipation, really. We know what to do. We've got to go out there and do it. For Billy, he's brought a lot certainly on the ice. He's played great. He's got a great shot. He's a big body out there. He can make, you know, smart, simple plays. So, he's done a great job there. Off the ice he's provided a lot of leadership and provided that experience for us, for me, personally, he's been a guy I can lean on. Like you said, bounce things off of. And he keeps things pretty loose. He's a guy that's fun to be around, so he's really helped. Q. Wanted to ask you a little bit. Marian Hossa was up there a short while ago and he spoke about his reasons for departing and he also mentioned that he emailed you, I believe, with a story about it. And also you guys have had dinner. Can you discuss maybe initially if you at all felt or the approximate Penguin felt slighted? And if you did whether that changed after you had a chance to speak to him about it? SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, I mean, at the time it was disappointing. It wasn't harsh feelings towards him, it was just the fact that he wasn't going to be with us. You know, that was it. You know, if you would have asked me right after the season I probably would have said 100% sure he's coming back. I thought he really enjoyed it in Pittsburgh. But at the same time that was a decision that he was free to make. You know, he chose what was best for him. As a player when you look at free agents and things like that, they have that opportunity and there's no hard feelings or anything like that. You know, it was what it was. And we all moved on. And we have since then. There's obviously a story line there, but that's not something we're really too focused on. Q. You said there were no surprises for you guys this year, do you think opponents have been surprised at how well you guys have been able to play with this particular roster since the deadline moves? And do you expect Detroit to sort of be taken a little bit aback by how fast you guys have been able to play with the skill that you have? SIDNEY CROSBY: I don't know, really how they're going to approach us. I mean, I don't think they're going to try to change the way they play. I mean, when you get to this point you on obviously believe in your game, so you try to focus on yourself a lot more. You know, I think that's what we try to do. I'm sure that's the same for them. But we've definitely tried to play more aggressive and with a lot of speed. I think that's to our advantage. I don't think that's something we did maybe as well last year. So hopefully that's a big difference. Q. A quick two part question. The first part is last year for you, does that play a huge part in this year, you know, the fact that you, like Sidney was saying you know what to expect now? And the second part is Ray was just saying a couple minutes ago that he can't believe you've already played in nine playoff series at the young age that you are. Are you shocked by that number, too? MARC-ANDRE FLEURY: Yeah, yeah, I didn't know about it, you know. Yeah, I know. It's pretty cool though, you know, just at a young age to have the chance to be battling to win the Cup, you know, especially two years in a row. No, but learning from the other guys that chance doesn't come often. I'm going to try to make the best out of it right now. You know, that's when we have the shot at it. As far as experience, you know, I think it's been helping me to have lived it last year, you know, just to not be overwhelmed by the finals. You know, just how to deal with it. Q. Do you know where the red carpet is now near the visiting bench? MARC-ANDRE FLEURY: (Laughing), yeah, I also know the size of the door, you know. They're a little smaller here so I've got to watch for that (laughing). Q. Did the guys give you a hard time in the dressing room about that one, still? MARC-ANDRE FLEURY: Not as much, but I heard a lot about it. I got made fun of that. Q. Can you talk a little about one of your teammates was talking about how much of an emotional experience losing the Cup was for you. Can you talk a little about what you took from that experience last year? And then also the match-up with Zetterberg again. I know you guys have spent a lot of time one-on-one together. SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, it was tough. It's difficult for everyone. You dream your whole life about being in that position and you work so hard, and right at that moment you never know if you're going to get another chance. Talk to a guy like Billy Guerin he won 14 years ago and this is his first time back. So we feel pretty fortunate to get a second chance here the following year. I don't think anyone took it well. But like I said, we've got this chance. Playing against Zetterberg, he's obviously a guy who is well rounded as a player. He plays well on both ends. Usually when you're playing a match-up, for me, personally, you see sometimes more defensive guy who is not as dangerous offensively. But he's proven that he's strong at both ends. But for me that's not going to change anything. I've tried to play responsible in my end for the whole playoffs and even before that. This is when all your habits try to pay off when you're faced with these challenges. So I don't want to change anything. And it will be a good challenge. Q. There's been a lot of talk in the hockey world about how you've become a more complete player and there's more aspects to your game other than just your talent. Do you sense that at all? Do you feel like a different player? That there are specific things you've worked on to improve in the last year? SIDNEY CROSBY: I've probably worked a little bit are harder on face-offs. You know, I think as an offensive player year after year you really have to focus on your defensive game. It's something that just takes time. You need to learn, you need to experience things. But I feel more confident in that area. I can still improve a whole lot more there, but I feel a lot more confident in that. You know, these are all details of the game. As players you're always working to improve those I feel like on face-offs in my own end, those are areas that I've tried to work on a little bit more. You know, especially this time of the year, these are things that are so important. Q. What you guys went through in the second round with Washington, it was like a finals before a finals with the hype at least from the media perspective. Do you think that might help this group being ready for this as well? You know, especially with you and Alex? Every night seemed like a Cup game there. SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, I think it definitely does. You know, we can go back to that series as close as it was. We can go back on last year's playoffs. We can go through a lot of things that a number of guys on on our team have been a part of. Those experiences are all things that, you know, you learn from and you learn to deal with. But I would say that's pretty accurate to go through something like that especially seven games. That's, you know, not just a test physically, but mentally having to deal with all of that stuff. So I think we feel like we've gone through some tough battles that we've found a way to come out of on top. And this is another challenge here that we feel like we're ready for. End of FastScripts |
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