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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: PENGUINS v RED WINGS

June 1, 2009

Mike Babcock

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA: Practice Day

Q. A lot of your players were saying after the game last night that they all feel that you can still play a much better game. I'm sure as a coach you probably agree with that. What are some of the things that you can do better?
COACH BABCOCK: Well, we haven't been very smooth. And I thought last night we didn't have a great amount of energy, and didn't come out of our zone like we'd like. And you've got to give them credit. They did a good job.
I thought both teams dictated play at times in the game. But both games when we've been ahead we haven't had on our foot on the gas. We've been cautious, and careful instead of just going after them. So we'll have to do a better job coming through the neutral zone and attacking in their zone.

Q. Can you give us an update on Datsyuk, please?
COACH BABCOCK: Yeah, not really. He had another, I don't know what they call it, but another look at him. Whether it be an MRI or whatever. And everything seems to be good. So now it's a matter of when he's ready.

Q. I know you've been asked about Osgood a lot, but I'm wondering if you had been told in February or January when he was going through some of his struggles that he'd be a leading candidate for the Conn Smythe trophy, would that have surprised you?
COACH BABCOCK: Not really. We were waiting for him to get going, obviously. Ty Conklin, I don't know how many wins Conk got us, but he got us a lot and did a real good job. We expected him to come in and basically share the duties, and then Ozzie to take over just because we knew what we had been through last year and that's kind of Ozzie's not 26, he's 36. So that was our plan anyway.
We just expected it to be more even as far as the way they were both going to be playing. That wasn't the case. Conks was better during the year. It took Ozzie a long time to get going. But I think anybody that's got the track record, and he has, and played as well as he did the previous two years you come to expect big things out of him. He's done a good job and he's delivered.

Q. Do you feel that Ozzie has gotten the kind of respect that he should among other peers, especially in the east, where Brodeur has been the name the East for such a long time. Do you think Ozzie has been overlooked by a lot of people?
COACH BABCOCK: Well, I don't know. We think we've got a good team and a good program and we try to bring in good players and we like him. So he's respected in our room and by our people.
One of the things that happens with our team the majority of the time, and it hasn't happened thus far in this series, is we normally, I would say, dominate territorially, and it doesn't give your goaltender the same opportunity to maybe be first starters on some teams.
So in this series and in probably every series at times, he's had to be really good for us, and he's found a way to do that. Lots of nights he doesn't get a lot of action for a long period of time, and we make a mistake and give up quality, quality chances and he's there for us.
He's been excellent in particular in the last three years. I think he's played real well for us and given us a chance.

Q. Have you enjoyed watching Justin Abdelkader in the last two games? And what do you think it's been like for him to score those two goals and then to hear the Michigan State fight song after the one last night?
COACH BABCOCK: Yeah, I didn't know they did that. You know, he's a great kid. He's a hard-working, honest guy. And he's going to be a Red Wing for a long time and a real complete player. It's great for him to have found the net.
I thought in particular in Game 1 his goal was a huge goal. They both were huge goals, but it was a good hockey goal. Last night's goal was more of things aren't going, and he just turns, spins, fired at the net, and seeing eye puck and goes in.
So they've been big goals for our team. But the other thing that's happened is he's given us very useful shifts. With back-to-backs and the amount of activity we had just prior to going into the series, we needed to use him and he's been effective that way for us.

Q. You continually talk about this being such a grind and you laying it on the line every night. Talk about the things that you're seeing in games. Substantial things. Darren Helm with seven hits. Hank diving into the goal crease to stop a puck. And I've seen Hossa several times diving to keep a puck in the zone. Can you touch on how it's a total team effort of guys laying it out physically to try to win this prize?
COACH BABCOCK: Right, obviously, but the same is going on for their team. They're battling.

Q. But your team specifically, it's made a difference and you have two wins.
COACH BABCOCK: Obviously, the wins are very important as we know. In saying that, there's not much room out there, and I think I've said this, both teams are dominating at times territorially. Both teams are working. There's not much room. So second effort is a key, and your will is so important.
You're playing for a lot. It's a great opportunity, an opportunity of a lifetime. We all know that. And guys are really willing to dig in. The more of them you have digging in, the better chance you have to be successful. So I've been very impressed with it.
You know for me I said this the other day. The Zetterberg and Crosby thing has been fantastic to watch just as a fan of sport with how hard they're competing against each other.
I think there are a lot of those battles going on in the game. It's great to see in Staal and Helm and what a battle that's been thus far. It's been a real good one as well.
Now I think Malkin and Filppula have played a lot against each other, and yet Malkin has been able to generate space for himself. He's a big man with big reach, creates some turnovers and he's been very dangerous.

Q. Late in last night's game there was a face-off in your zone off an icing, and the cameras saw you signaling to Lidstrom asking him, I think it was, if he wanted a timeout. How many players in your career as coach would you let them make the choice as opposed to you making the decision?
COACH BABCOCK: Well, I think the big thing is over a period of time here with the quality of players we have, you get this certain level of trust. I don't know if I'd do that during the regular season, but at this time of the year I didn't know if we needed it again in 20 seconds. I didn't want to give them a timeout to let their guys get fresh. And I just thought initially when I talked to Nick right away he needed one. But the time we had talked to the ref and done what you do to buy yourself some time, then that time he gave me the nod that he didn't need one. So we thought it was an advantage for us not to call that timeout.
So I can't tell you. I just know Nick's one of those guys and probably Z's one of those guys and you just try to get to a point that you have good trust between you. Lots of times during the game I will say to Nick what do you see? And he'll tell me. Or I'll say to Z, what do you see? To me you're all in it together. Especially this time of the year. You're just trying to find a way to win. Doesn't matter. In the end if you can win, you all get the credit.

Q. You talked before the series started about how you used Cleary on the road against Chicago and against Kane. Are you foreseeing doing the same type of things with him against the Penguins?
COACH BABCOCK: Yeah, I don't know what Dan wants to do. They'll decide off face-offs what the match-ups will be. And then we'll have to adjust accordingly to try to put ourselves in the best situation to win.
We're real confident with our back end. Our back end it doesn't really matter. We still have four guys that we like to match-up. And even E, we don't care if he ends you up against Malkin or Crosby, that's not an issue for us. Then up front there are some you like better than others. But Helm's done such a good job for us that we've got three units there that were not that shy of. And you can always time Abby into the ones you want. So that's what we'll try to do.

End of FastScripts

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