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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: PENGUINS v RED WINGS

June 4, 2009

Dan Bylsma

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA: Game Four

Pittsburgh Â– 4
Detroit - 2

Q. Can you just talk about Jordan's shorty, is that the kind of goal that can change the complexion of the series?
COACH BYLSMA: Well, it certainly changed the complexion of the game. They had the two power plays. There would have been a chance to go up 3-1. And Jordan would speed up the ice. Make a strong move to the net like he can with his big body and scores a great goal for us, energizes our team. But also the building, and that kind of got us rolling from there in the second.

Q. Do you get the sense that Sidney Crosby might be wearing Henrik Zetterberg down a little bit? Is that your observation tonight?
COACH BYLSMA: Well, in order to put him out in the situations where Sidney's going to play in an offensive situation and also play them on the power play, you know, that's a lot of time for a guy to handle. We saw, I don't know how many minutes it was tonight, but 25 in last game. You know, it's a challenge chasing Sidney Crosby around the ice.
He's a talented player, for sure. And we're aware of him when he's on the ice as well, and when he's on the power play. But it's a challenge to do both of those tasks. You know, that's one we're going to keep trying to make him do.

Q. Is it a challenge to give Jordan Staal the minutes and the opportunities that maybe his talent suggests when you have Crosby and Malkin, and you have the three of them rolling? Is it hard to get him where he might -- another team might get more opportunity?
COACH BYLSMA: Well, he's a big body. And I don't know how many minutes he can take playing the right way and playing physical and battling down on both ends of the rink. But the game does change a little bit when there's not a ton of power plays and penalty kills.
He gets out on the last little bit of our power play. And if there's not four minutes of penalty kill for him, then you are searching to get him on the ice in more situations so he can get to the offensive zone and defend the situation.
But I think one of the strengths of our team is to have those three guys down the middle of the ice. And if that means he's getting 18 minutes, those are pretty hard 18 minutes for him, and he plays the right way. So he battles hard, and he's physical, and he's good in the offensive zone with the puck. He can take maybe a few more, but I think that would take away from the style and the physicality of his game.

Q. You had said a couple of times this week that the confidence in the room never wavered in Fleury. Can you talk about his contribution tonight and what that meant to the team?
COACH BYLSMA: Well, again, there's lots of questions, and from a distance I've always saw the questions from the media. But his record and the times when he stood up for this team both at the end of the season and the playoffs is pretty significant. And, again, our room is confident in him. He talked about saves in the first round, second and third round. All the key times for us against key players. And tonight and last night or sorry, Game 3, he was that again. You know, that's part of the strength of our team. He's one of the main guys on our squad.

Q. Some of your players talked about that Crosby had played well in the first three games. But hadn't broken through. What is the importance even for somebody that's had the success that he's had, when you do breakthrough? Have you seen that carry over in terms of confidence with him and feel around the net and things of that nature?
COACH BYLSMA: Well, I often, when the goal went in tonight, I think my first thought was now you guys won't ask the question. We know how well he's played. We know he's gotten scoring chances. We know he's been in and around the net like he often is and has been throughout these playoffs.
And to get the assist in Game 3, to get on the board again tonight, those are things that he can continue to do. You need confidence and you need result. And if people keep questioning you, it wears on you.
Tonight is just an answer for him to say, hey, I've been playing well. Tonight he got the result. And it was a big result for us. He got the game-winning goal.

Q. The fact that you guys have been playing Detroit so well without Sidney scoring, how dangerous a team are you when he is putting goals there, having great assists like he had on Kennedy's goal?
COACH BYLSMA: I think one of the things we've talked about in the start of this playoff run was that the strength of our team would not be that we need just 87 and 71 to win hockey games. And that's not the approach we take to the game. Everyone doesn't stay even while we hope they get a few goals. We think we can win it 5 on 5. We think we can play the right way to get to the offensive zone. So on any given night it could be anybody.
We have the luxury of having two very, very good players that can, on any given night, get two points and add to the win. So, I think we think if we play the right way, we give ourselves a pretty good chance to win. You know, we've played four hard games. They're hard fought, and it's not going to get any easier. They're a very good team. Battle lines will be drawn on Game 5, and it's going to be a tough one.

Q. The other night in the second period you guys pretty much said it was your worst period of the whole playoffs. Tonight it didn't start great in that first minute of the tying goal. Was there any let down at that point? And what turned it around to make it the second period this time than in the last game?
COACH BYLSMA: I'm never a guy who denies the thoughts that go through your head. They got that goal, I looked up and there was 19:17 on the clock, the goal in the first minute of the second period. I'm sure there were more people than myself thinking oh, goodness, and give credit to our guys.
We continually talked about staying in the game plan, and I think the penalty kill was a huge, huge part of that second period. Our guys went out, battled hard. We blocked shots. Craig Adams had the big block there at the end of the second penalty kill. We get the shorthanded goal and come back with Geno and Crosby, and we get the go-ahead goal. And I think the fans took over from there. The fans drove us the rest of the way in the second period. And that was a big momentum period for us and it set us up for the third.

Q. Letang scored that goal. Did you gasp a little bit when you saw that?
COACH BYLSMA: I just saw the replay when I came up here. I didn't realize he had buried Sid on his back. But Kris Letang is a physical player, and he showed it again there.

End of FastScripts

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