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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: PENGUINS v RED WINGS

June 6, 2009

Mike Babcock

DETROIT, MICHIGAN: Game Five

DAVID KEON: Questions for Coach Babcock.

Q. I'm under the impression you may be unveiling once again the lucky McGill tie tonight? I'm wondering if that's accurate? And I understand you even have some former teammates and alumni in town, talk about that?
COACH BABCOCK: Well, I'm getting a lot of pressure to do that, I can tell you. I got so many emails, there's like 34 of them. I've already talked to security. I said to the security I don't want them to do anything that could be embarrassing. I like them to have as much fun as they want, but keep them confined to a reasonable amount of consumption and carrying on (smiling).
So I haven't decided on the McGill tie. I actually bought a tie to wear today, and it wasn't the McGill tie, but I am getting some pressure. But we'll decide, I've got a little bit of time.

Q. Game time decision.
COACH BABCOCK: There's a lot of that going on (laughing).

Q. With Datsyuk, it's hard to imagine after seeing him in the warm-up the other night that magically he's 100% again. Are you in a situation where 50% of him is better than nothing of him in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup?
COACH BABCOCK: We wouldn't go with him at 50%. But, two things, in the morning skate or in the practice, you never know what adrenaline's going to do. He seems to be that he's tolerating it now. I watched him in the skate, I mean, he doesn't look like Pavel. And yet in saying that, when the puck's dropped, tonight I've seen a lot of that over the years.
So we're excited that he's excited. We thought he was going. I've said this to a number of people, I thought he was going last game even after the trainer at 3:00 told me he probably wasn't. Then when we saw the warm-up, we still thought he was going, so he's going.

Q. Might you have him play on the wing instead of at center to ease the load for him?
COACH BABCOCK: We're going to start him that way, and we're going to see how he does. If he looks like himself, he'll be in the middle. We need that checking center back, I think somebody called him that the other day.

Q. I think it was shut down center. What are you going to be looking for during the game, what indications from him that you'll feel comfortable playing him in different roles?
COACH BABCOCK: Just, I mean, like all players, you put them out there. Draper came back from time off. The first thing you're looking for from Draper is you're looking for him to win the first three face-offs, that didn't happen. So now you play him accordingly. The same thing with all players. If they're playing good, and I think that happens for all coaches every night. The guys that are playing the best get out there the most.
I think players really appreciate the fact that you just don't play the guys that played good a week ago. Who's ever playing good right now, if I'm having a good night, I want to be out there.
I learned a lot from Coach Yzerman in his last year, he always used to say if I'm going, get me out there. If I'm not going, don't get me out there. And I always used to say how am I going to figure that out fast enough? But that's part of the process of going through it.

Q. Have you figured out who is out of your lineup yet, and Cleary didn't skate this morning, is that a concern at all?
COACH BABCOCK: Cleary and Raf didn't skate, both are supposed to play. Abby had a bit of the flu, so I think those guys are all available here for tonight. And we'll make decisions at game time.

Q. The NHL's the only sport in the finals where they don't go with a two-three-two format. What is your thoughts comparing that to the two-two-one-one-one. Would your opinion change if you had the two in the middle or the three on each end?
COACH BABCOCK: No, I like what we do in the National League. My times in the finals I think it has been real good. I didn't like the schedule this year because I don't think you should go back-to-back. We do it during the year. We'll play three games and four fight night. But during the year's game, and the Stanley Cup Finals are two totally different things.
So for me, I don't like to see that part, but I like the way the schedule's set up. I think when you're like Pittsburgh and us and you're so close, it's been really easy that way travel-wise. You know, even on an off day they're going to be at their place, we're going to be here. You kind of travel. I think it's been excellent that way.

Q. Draper mentioned about the team having to be more desperate on the penalty kill. But how much more difficult has that been against the Penguins and what they're able to throw at you?
COACH BABCOCK: Well, I think they're good players. But I thought for the first chunk of our penalty kill the other night, that everything's fine. It was kind of a broken play, if you remember the goal, and it goes in your net. You know, it wasn't -- even though Malkin scored it, it wasn't out there. Staal was out there. It was a different situation.
But the way I look at it, desperate is a good word. But to me, it's just do what you do but do it hard and be aggressive when you get the pucks.
That's been the biggest thing is Pittsburgh's power play, and I said this yesterday, when they shoot it, they're getting it back. And we're one and done on ours. You can't be one and done.
In the end, the power play and the skill and all that is a great thing, but the determination to get the puck back, to me, is a bigger thing. Two of their goals in this series on the power play is when they basically had us out there for a chunk of time, and just ground it and ground it, and found a way to bang it in the back of the net.

Q. Your veteran players are professing to be jittery and nervous about this situation. You seem relaxed this morning. Yet others will say you're facing an opponent right now that is a bit different from those that you've struggled with in the playoffs in recent years. Do you sense any type of nervousness right now from your players going into this, or have they been through it all?
COACH BABCOCK: No, I think they've been through it. But before the game tonight like any athlete, there's always a little bit of nerves. I don't think that's a bad thing, I think that's a great thing. If you didn't have that, number one, it wouldn't be as much fun to play. And number two, you wouldn't be as good as you're capable of being. I think those things all help you a little bit.
But we're playing in our building here tonight. I feel great about our opportunity. You know, for us we're in a situation last year where you're in the Finals. We're in the Finals this year. To me, it's all about opportunities, that's the way I look at it.
The other thing is the reason you play these games and the reason I think you cover sport is to be involved in the big events. Well, here's a big event right here today. You want to be good, be good.

End of FastScripts

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