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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: PENGUINS v RED WINGS

June 2, 2009

Dan Bylsma

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA: Game Three

Pittsburgh Â– 4
Detroit - 2

Q. Can you say what that win means for confidence and, secondly, Marc-Andre Fleury's performance especially in that second period?
COACH BYLSMA: Well, you know, especially after the second period coming back in the third, playing a strong third, getting the power-play goal, obviously being down 2-0 in the series, we needed to get that win. But I think especially after the way we rebounded from the second and getting the win, you know, 2-1, now we have a chance to tie this thing up with Game 4.

Q. How much were you able to take advantage of the line changes tonight?
COACH BYLSMA: Well, you could see what Mike was trying to do with getting Zetterberg out there on the change every chance he could get. I think the one advantage we had tonight because they were trying to get Zetterberg out there so much, there were times when he got out there tired.
You know, after the power play where we didn't score on -- or after the power play they didn't score, they had to put Zetterberg and Lidstrom back out being very tired. So, you know, they did a good job. Their defense did a good job. Zetterberg did a good job.
But I think when they're going after the match-up that hard, it causes situations where they are going to be out there and be tired against our players.

Q. The third period you guys started out really quick, dominating with shots early on, and then Brooks had the big hit on Helm which led to the power-play goal. Can you just talk about from that hit on the kind of lift it gave you guys?
COACH BYLSMA: Well, we talked after the second. We didn't have a very good second period. They were very good in the second. We needed to calm down and get back to our game. And we've played it for 40-plus games here. We need to make sure we get back to it, and go out there and play the third that way. We did a good job of starting. And build momentum with that, the building was going, and we had some chances and got the power play.
The power play was an unbelievable job by a handful of guys out there, winning puck battles. Keeping that thing alive for a long period of time, and giving Gonch a chance to rip that one home.

Q. Following up, you had talked before the game about wanting more traffic, more pucks on the net, and more determination. But you got 1 out of 3 tonight, but I guess the determination was enough?
COACH BYLSMA: Well, I think there were several times where our guys did a great job of going to the net and staying there. Matt Cooke was there, Billy Guerin was there, Ruslan Fedotenko was there as well, going there in front of the net.
That is a presence you need to have at this time of the year to create traffic and goals and second chances. Again, they played a very good game. They played better -- they played a great period in the second. We got off our game a little bit. But to the credit of the guys in that room, we came out with a real strong third when we needed it.

Q. Just wondering, did you think that the power play is one area where you have an advantage over them?
COACH BYLSMA: Well, special teams is a key to every game you play. And I think Detroit has established they have a pretty good power play throughout the years. But, again, our power play has been a strength in the last couple of years.
While it wasn't great in the beginning of this year. In the playoffs we've had a chance to get on that track, and when you can get two power-play goals in a key game like this, you know, that's -- it was a great thing to have. A huge thing to have in addition to the way our goalie played tonight. We needed big performances from special teams and our goaltender and we certainly got them.

Q. Could you just elaborate on how much tougher it is for Fleury when those guys are constantly there maybe does that have an effect on what he does when they're not there because they're there so much?
COACH BYLSMA: As goaltender you want to be focused, see the puck, and every scout on every goaltender is getting pucks in traffic to the net. It can be distracting. It can lead to second chances. It can lead to people in and around the crease and make it difficult to stop pucks. And they do that well. They did it well again tonight. Our guy was big and made some key saves even though there was traffic, and we did a better job of getting traffic there.
That is the key to solving every goaltender, and that is something we'll continue to focus on.

Q. The wings don't have a lot of weaknesses, but they're 14th in the playoffs in the PK. Is that an area that you're hoping to exploit coming into this series, and you scored twice tonight on the power play?
COACH BYLSMA: I think one of the things the wings do well in their PK is they pressure initial pucks into the zone. Their shrink in first 8 seconds they do very well. We feel we have to break that. Get that possession time and establish that zone time to kind of break them down.
Our guys did a great job tonight. We broke the pressure when they did have loose pucks and did start to be aggressive again. We came up with good sticks and kept that thing alive. And I don't know what time it was on the clock when we scored that, but it was well past 1:20 into that PK. They were tired. Our guys were tired. But the determination with the sticks and guys in front of that we got the big goal.

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