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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: PENGUINS v RED WINGSMay 31, 2009Dan ClearyBrian RafalskiDETROIT, MICHIGAN: Game Two ability to capitalize on their mistakes, the lost face-offs, the bad penalties more than they have? BRIAN RAFALSKI: Well, we've actually gotten the breaks so far, and we've found ways to get them in the back of the net, and you need to do that. You know, they've had a lot of good chances, too and Ozzie's played very well. Obviously, we haven't played our best, but we want to improve, for sure. Q. Can you talk in play of the kids, you have Helm, Abdelkader, Ericsson, they're all stepping up. BRIAN RAFALSKI: Yeah, it's crucial this time of the year or even to get here, to have a lot of young players that are enthusiastic, a lot of energy, to go out there and make things happen. They played great. They've been playing real solid defensively, and offensively. When they can contribute like that, it's a big bonus and a big lift for the whole team. Q. Brian, there was a lot made of you guys possibly being tired. How tired are you guys and how far are you from playing an ideal game? BRIAN RAFALSKI: I don't know how tired we are. You're always tired after a game. But we made it through these back-to-backs, and now we have a day of rest. So we'll have to take advantage of it as best we can, and get ready to play Tuesday. It's going to be tough there. Absolutely. They're going to have the last change. So we'll be playing different match-ups and we'll have to be sharp. Q. In each game now you guys have gotten a goal right after an icing off a face-off. Do you feel in those situations especially the last time they called the timeout, this time they didn't. Do you feel in those situations you have a distinct advantage? BRIAN RAFALSKI: Yeah, you know they're tired. Especially if we've been grinding them like we were. I was kind of surprised they didn't take a timeout there. I guess that's coach's choice. Pretty sure Chicago took advantage of a goal like that against us last round. And you can. You get a better line out there. You can get your match-up. You can take advantage of those guys especially if you can pin them down. You can take a little more risk offensively knowing if they get the puck they're not going to go all the way to the other end. They're just going to get the red line and get it in so they can change. Obviously, E made a great shot, and Helmer did a great job screening in front. DAN CLEARY: You know, that was obviously they called the timeout last game, and it kind of backfired on them and they didn't do it this time. It was a good job taking advantage of an icing. Guys were tired. It was a good shot by E. Guys have stepped up in different situations for us, and our depth was pretty good again tonight. Q. Do you feel like you've taken advantage of all those things in these first two games and that's why you're up 2-0 just basically stepping on them every time they make a mistake? DAN CLEARY: Yeah, we certainly got some good bounces. Guys are determined, and tonight we showed a lot of determination. You know, they came out and played well in the last half of the first, and up 1-0, but we found a way to come back. A nice face-off win by Helm, goal, great job by Helmer in front on Phil's goal, and Abdelkader again. Our young players have been playing great for us. Q. Can you talk a little bit about Abdelkader? He's had two great games, put in the lineup. Goal in each game. But even before that, he had Malkin early in the game, and set a physical message. Can you just talk about the game he's had? DAN CLEARY: He's obviously been very good for us, you know. The minutes that he's played have been very valuable, physical, skating, been responsible defensively. And offensively he came in with some timely goals for us. Gave us some insurance. He's a young player, he's going to be a great NHL player. He's a good pro already. He's played great for us in Grand Rapids and he's come up here and showed a lot of focus and confidence. You know, he's being rewarded right now. Q. Do you feel like you're seeing a frustrated hockey team on the other side, and if so what are the things you can do to especially get a lead in Game 3 to really ratchet up their pressure? BRIAN RAFALSKI: I think it would be crucial for us to get an early goal in Game 3. You always want to have the lead. You know, it's not the type of situation you want to be in trailing on the road. It forces you to press more, and you really don't want to do that. You want to stick within your game and limit your mistakes. Obviously, getting a lead early could take the crowd out of it. Obviously, the crowd will be revved up and going, so those are some of the key points to that. DAN CLEARY: I think -- I thought Pittsburgh played very well in the first two games. Just that Ozzie's been great. We've got a few good bounces. Lidstrom and Raffi, our "D" has been very good. Trying to limit their opportunities. But they're playing hard. It's a good team we're playing. They've got confidence, and obviously their goal was to come in and split, but we found a way to get the hold set at home. We were in our building. But the crowd is pretty good, and it should be pretty fun. Q. First and second period seemed to be almost two different games. First of all, do you share that opinion? And was there anything that stoked a fire beyond the fact you were simply down a goal? DAN CLEARY: I thought we had a good start to the game. The first ten minutes we were skating, you know, got some good opportunities. Then I thought Pittsburgh took over in the last ten. In the second we had good focus, good determination. We talked about it in between periods what we needed to do. We came out and played our game. We dictated how it was going to be played. Took advantage of a long shift on an icing and stayed with it. On that second goal it was a good play by Phil to keep it in at the line, got it to Hossa, and get it to the net. And Tommy, again, in front. So we've been able to capitalize on some opportunities that have been given to us. Ozzie's been amazing. And we've been able to be, you know, be above Crosby and Malkin and try to limit them. Because they've been playing very well, they're great players. BRIAN RAFALSKI: In every game there's these swings of momentum. It's how you react to them and how you weather them. Obviously we started off very well and they turned around and got the lead. Then the same thing in the second. We maybe didn't play as well coming out, but we were able to battle through that and get the goal to tie it up and swing the momentum in our favor. And you have to be able to do that. You just can't keep letting them come at you. End of FastScripts |
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