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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: PENGUINS v RED WINGS

June 7, 2009

Bill Guerin

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA: Practice Day

Q. I know you weren't here last year, but do you have a sense of what it was like for the guys in that room to watch Detroit win the Cup here in Game 6 a year ago? And does that have any bearing on the mindset going into Tuesday night?
BILL GUERIN: You know what, I haven't heard one thing about it. Nobody's even mentioned anything remotely close to that. I guess now that I think about it it's kind of odd. But I think that's a good thing, though. Nobody's focused on last year. I think everybody feels differently.
I wasn't here, but from what I'm told it's a different feeling. It's a different confidence that the team has.

Q. Obviously, some of those younger guys do have that experience of losing last year, but they're back again already. As an older guy who knows you don't get this chance every year, do you feel any particular need to say anything about that?
BILL GUERIN: No, not really. I mean, it's great that they have the back-to-back opportunity. Like you said, it's nice. They're lucky. They're lucky that they're good.
I think this team's going to be sniffing around for championships for a long time because of the way they've drafted the last some-odd years. But, you know, you can't take opportunities for granted. You can't think they're going to come around every year because you can ask other older guys, they just don't.

Q. We talked about Marc-Andre Fleury, Dan was at the podium talking about how there's a great deal of confidence in him in that room on a game-to-game basis. Can you speak to that from a player's point of view, and how do you expect him to respond from getting pulled in Game 5?
BILL GUERIN: Oh, I think he's going to be just fine. This is a guy who comes in literally fresh every day. Every day's a new day. He's always got a smile on his face. He's ready to go. I think he'll be absolutely fine.
He's got a great type personality to let things just roll off his shoulders and refocus and have fun with it.

Q. What is your take on the young guys especially on the team? Is it an automatic that they just wipe the slate clean and start fresh tomorrow? Or can they carry some things from last night that maybe weren't all that good. I guess I'm talking about the stars, Evgeni, and Sid and how do you think they'll respond?
BILL GUERIN: I think they'll be fine. We talked a bit last night. And it was already starting to roll off the shoulders. Those guys are -- I definitely wasn't like that at 21, 22 years old. These guys are beyond their years. They know how to handle situations like this. They've proved that they can bounce back from a tough game. We didn't have a great go round in Games 1 and 2 in Detroit, as well. And you know, they bounced back great for games 3 and 4. So that's probably the least of our concerns right there.

Q. Detroit found a whole new level last night. If this was a movie, there would be two days of uplifting speeches in your dressing room by veterans and coaches and stuff. What really happens between then and Tuesday? Is it what those of us on the outside think is happening in there?
BILL GUERIN: I'll tell you Wednesday. I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen. You know, as a veteran you just try to keep guys together, make sure guys are okay and their heads are right. I know we do have a young team, but we have guys that are experienced and guys that are kind of made for this type thing.
Jordan Staal is 20 years old, but he seems like he's been in the league for ten years. You don't really have to worry about guys like that. These guys seem to know how to really handle themselves, and it's pretty amazing.
You know, for inspirational speeches and things like that, I don't know what's going to happen. But we're going to do our best as a team to be ready for Tuesday.

Q. You guys faced elimination one other time this postseason against Washington. How was preparing for a Game 6 elimination compare to playing in a Game 7 elimination?
BILL GUERIN: That's a good question. I don't think much. Coming back home for Game 6, you know, we just have to focus on the one game. We can't think about a Game 7. We can't think about what happened in Game 5. It has to be just Game 6. Getting back to playing the game that we're supposed to play. I think we really got away from that last night. I think we all know it.
And we've just got to take these couple of days and refocus and come back and play our game. Not play with the pressures of an elimination game. Just focus on playing the game, not an elimination game.

Q. In a game like that last night, and then you have two days to kind of dwell on it, is that harder than when you had a series where you'd be playing Monday instead of Tuesday? Does it kind of prolong the agony for some of your players? How do you deal with that?
BILL GUERIN: Well, you know what, you just don't get a choice. You have to deal with it. Would we like to be playing Monday? Probably. But that's not the case, so, you know, you just take today off. Rest a bit, and, you know, maybe get away from it for a couple hours and regroup, come in fresh tomorrow, and start focusing in.

Q. Is there something in particular that Detroit has done five-on-five to kind of take away some of the spread-out scoring that you guys have had. It's kind of centered among Evgeni and Sid and on the power play? And also, does that pressure build throughout the series as guys go along and they're not producing?
BILL GUERIN: Well, it shouldn't, because we're in the Finals and we don't have time to get frustrated or think about things like that. We just have to focus on winning the game. Doesn't matter who scores the goals, when they score them, just as long as we win the game it doesn't matter.
Detroit's an experienced team. They have a good system that they play to a T. They always have four or five guys back. They're going to be close games. Last night's the exception, but they're going to be close checking games.
You know, if you get frustrated with it because you're not scoring, then you're only hurting yourself. But I think we've done a pretty good job of, you know, not getting frustrated and just playing the game.
Every night there's been a different star for both teams, and we're looking to get back to a better game tomorrow with less frustration.

Q. You mentioned that despite being 20 years old that Jordan Staal's playing like a veteran. Can you elaborate on that a little bit? What does he do on and off the ice that makes you say that?
BILL GUERIN: Jordan's one of those guys that he just gets it. He handles himself like a veteran. He's 20 years old. He's been in the league for three years now. He's got good confidence, on and off the ice. It's just the way he handles himself. He's real professional. He comes to work hard every day. He fills a big role for us out on the ice that's not easy to do for a young kid.
I mean, to be a team's top defensive centerman is extremely difficult role, and to do it at such a young age, it says a lot about a guy.

Q. You're 38, you've been through a couple of teams. Is there a voice in the back of your head saying that there's every chance that this might be my last Cup shot?
BILL GUERIN: Yep (laughing). You never know what the future holds for opportunities and chances to win the Cup. But, yeah, you know, I know where I'm at in my career. I know they're going to have to kick me out of this league because I want to keep playing as long as I can. But the opportunity is now. You know, the opportunity is now for a 38-year-old, and it's now for a 22-year-old, and for a 28-year-old. The opportunity is now, and you have to take it when you've got the opportunity because, you know, it could be 14 years before you get your next one.

End of FastScripts

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