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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: PENGUINS v RED WINGSJune 5, 2009Hal GillKris LetangDETROIT, MICHIGAN: Practice Day THE MODERATOR: Questions for Hal and Kris. Q. I think in the beginning of this series, if you looked and people would have looked at the two defensive cores and said the Wings would have had an advantage, Lidstrom, Rafalski, et cetera, et cetera. Four games in, ten goals each. You guys have played them to a stand still. How do you feel about defensively where you guys have played through the first four games? Both of you? HAL GILL: I think both teams have played really well defensively. I don't think this time of year you can look at a defensive corps and individuals on defense. You have to look at the whole team, goaltending included. There is a lot at stake, and a lot of people that are playing hard on the defensive side, blocking shots. There's a lot more involved than just "D" corps. That being said, they have some talented guys and I think we do as well. KRIS LETANG: I agree (smiling). Q. Kris, can you talk about Jordan Staal and sort of his evolution as a penalty killer? Obviously, he was huge in that role in the last series, and just what you've seen from his first round and being now a decent penalty killer? KRIS LETANG: I mean, he's been great through like all his three years in the league. He's got the speed, he's got the reach. He can read the player really well. I think everything helps him to be a great player on the PK. And he's not just thinking offense when he goes out there, he's playing defense first. When he's got opportunity, he's got the talent to create some chances. Q. Just wondering, you know, it's tempting after seeing you guys win two games in a row to say you have momentum in this series. Do you put much stock in that, that the momentum does carry into the next game? HAL GILL: Yeah. Momentum is a funny thing, I think. During a game it changes a lot. Right now I think we do have the momentum. We went home and now we're coming back here and we're going to have to pick it up again. It's not something that you just keep. You have to work for it. Especially in a series like this against a good team. You have to work every shift to try to keep that momentum. And it can change pretty quick if you're not on top of it. Q. Did you feel that you as a team stepped up the physical game in those two games at Mellon Arena? Or was that maybe a bit overblown? Is it evident of the effect of wearing them down? Do you buy into that whole theory at all? HAL GILL: That's the idea is to be on them as much as we can. I don't think we stepped it up. Obviously, we got the wins, we got the results. But I think we played pretty physical in the first few games, and I think we carried that at home. You know, we tried to jump on them and not just being physical, but being responsible, you know, being in the right spot and a lot of times when you're playing against a good team. You have to be in the position, you can't make up ground. You have to be there already. I think we've done that well in being in position, and being in position to get hits and to make turnovers and turn things around on their end. Q. Can you each talk a little bit about the difference in Evgeni Malkin from last year to this? Not only just statistically, but just in terms of how assertive he's been. He really dominated the last couple of games? KRIS LETANG: Obviously, we all know that Evgeni is a great player. But I think this series he's healthy, he's ready to go. He's got a lot of energy. Right now you see every game he's ready. I think it's just the desire and urgency in his game. You want to accomplish something. HAL GILL: I'll just add to that. I think the what you see now is a guy who has been there and has been through this before. And I know last year was different for me. You don't really know what to expect coming to the Finals, doing things like this. I think that's a lot to ask for him, because he gets it every day, and it can be exhausting. I think once you know what you're dealing with. It's a little easier to handle. Q. A lot of times in your career you've been given an assignment on certain players, Jagr and some others in your career. Were you given one prior to the start of this series? And if you were, how do you feel that's working out, or is it pretty much what Danny's going with at the flow of the moment? HAL GILL: I think it's tough in this series. They have a lot of talent. So it's tough to pick out one line and say we have to shut down. We have to shut down their whole team. And their whole team plays really well as a unit. So it's tough to give one assignment. Also, we're looking at offensive possibilities and trying to match certain lines against other lines. You know, it's a lot more involved than just trying to shut down one line. I think there's a whole game, and it's a tough job for the coaches to get the match-ups that they want. But because there's so much involved in this series, not just defensive, with you offensive and who you want your scorers out there against, who you want your "D" guys against, and your checkers. There's a lot going on. Q. Who has been the toughest player for you guys to play against so far in this series as defensemen? KRIS LETANG: I mean, Zetterberg is, Hossa, Filppula, Hudler, they're all like great players, honestly. But I would say Zetterberg is pretty consistent. He's really dangerous everywhere on the ice because he's really smart. HAL GILL: It's hard to say. But they're a good team and they work well as a team. And I think that's a lot harder to play against than any individual. They have a lot of team speed, they move the puck quick through the neutral zone, and that's really what's difficult to play against is when they're working well and they're on the same page. It's a little easier to play one-on-one against someone, but when they're working well as a team, it's tough. Q. Back to the team with Hal and Jordan, you played with a lot of young players. When he plays the game with confidence, and he has that confidence, how much does that affect sort of the way he's able to play the game and what he's able to do out there when he has that? HAL GILL: I think it makes a huge difference. He's a guy, obviously a lot of size and skill. But he's a smart player. And like you said, he's killing penalties and doing all the little thankless jobs that he does really well. When he has confidence, he obviously can show that skill that driving the net. That goal he had last night was a great example of a guy that when he wants to do something he's pretty effective. He's a guy that puts everything together and it can be pretty effective player when we need him. End of FastScripts |
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