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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: PENGUINS v RED WINGSJune 8, 2009Pavel DatsyukKris DraperPITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA: Practice Day Q. How do you feel that you've had a couple of days? PAVEL DATSYUK: No, it's good. We have a couple of days, a little more treatment, little more stuff. And I skate today, I feel good. Q. A lot of teams will tell you the toughest thing to do is try to repeat. You know, you've done it obviously once before. As you get the chance to do it here, what was the toughest part of the journey this season to getting to this point? KRIS DRAPER: I guess getting started, you know, early on. The games at the start of the season you come off and you remember your last game how exciting it was. Everything that you want as a hockey player you accomplish that night. Then before you know it, you're back to the grind. Training, training camp, and getting going and getting playing. So just mentally some of those games they were tough. But the one thing we were able to do is find ways to win those hockey games. We just know every year how close it is to get into the playoffs. It's such a tight race in the west that the one thing we were trying to do is get as many points in the bank as we could down the stretch to put ourselves in a good situation. You know, I think we won more games than we thought we were going to, but the fact is we put ourselves in that situation. Then once you get into the playoffs that excitement level is right there. You can't wait to get going. That is the one thing that everyone was really looking forward to was just getting through the regular season. Putting ourself in a pretty good position, and going from there, and we were able to do that. Q. Mike, when he was just in here a couple minutes ago, said you came to Pittsburgh a week ago with an opportunity to win a hockey game. He said that's what this is. But isn't this just a little bit different with the potential to end their season and win a fifth Stanley Cup? Can you just kind of talk about the emotion of it being a potential clinching game? KRIS DRAPER: Well, we just have to keep it in check, you know. And to be honest, it's not easy. There's a lot of distractions going on, yesterday and today with trying to get stuff accomplished. But for us I think we've been real businesslike. There's a lot of character, a lot of leadership in our dressing room. Nobody has really gotten ahead of themselves. Our focus is really on that's what it is, really kind of making it even a little bit smaller and going out and having a really good start to Game 6 is really what we want to do, if we can do. That, then just go from there. That is really what our focus is going to be on. Just get started on time, have a good start, and just try to get better as the game goes on. Q. You've been here a few times before, does it get any easier to prepare for a hostile clincher? Or is it the same kind of nerves as it was back in '96? KRIS DRAPER: You still kind of get those butterflies floating around just sitting here and talking about it. The one thing I've always said is getting this far, getting to this point, I will never, ever take for granted. It's that special. It means so much to myself, my teammates and everyone associated with it. It's a lot of hard work, and we're proud of where we are right now. But with that said, we've yet to accomplish anything. We know that in any series, the fourth one is always the toughest one to win. We know that's exactly what it's going to be tomorrow night. The atmosphere and environment's going to be unbelievable. It was in Games 3 and 4. And it's something that you just love. That's a great part of being a professional athlete. Q. It's a different scenario coming into this Game 6, considering what happened last year in Game 5 with the triple overtime loss. Considering what you did the other night in Game 5, does that make this one a little bit easier as far as momentum going into Game 6 or is it not? KRIS DRAPER: I was trying to get Pav going here. PAVEL DATSYUK: I'm good. I'm just trying to translate your last questions. Keep going (laughing). KRIS DRAPER: I think that's why Pav likes coming to the podium with me. I talk too much. PAVEL DATSYUK: Yeah, I like it. KRIS DRAPER: It is certainly different last year. Everyone was talking about how were we going to respond, the older Detroit Red Wings, to a triple overtime game. But the fact is we're not getting -- we won a game. We won Game 5. It's over and done with. There's not going to be any carryover factor. The Pittsburgh Penguins are absolutely going to be ready for this game, and that's something we're all well aware of. So we're just -- we've put ourselves in a good situation by going out and winning a Game 5. But the fact it's on over and done with. We know they're going to be ready to play. We're probably, we have to be ready to see their best game, too. Q. Knowing that you've gone through one game coming back from your injury, is your mind any clearer now knowing that you've come through, played well, and you're going out for another game tomorrow and your foot's going to be okay? PAVEL DATSYUK: I hope for sure like the foot will be okay. But it's the little bit tough to jump in the Final. But I want to thank my partner and teammates, he helped me a lot on the locker room on ice. Now it's tomorrow for me it's the same. I'm just hungry and I want more exciting. I want to play. Q. You talked about the toughness of getting to this point. You guys had a seven-game series against Anaheim that was tied until 3:00 left. What made the difference for your team in that series and is it something that you can draw on in this series? Or you have drawn on in this series? KRIS DRAPER: I mean, that Anaheim series was tough. I was not a part of that until the Game 7. But just watching how hard the guys had to compete night in night out against obviously a very physical Anaheim team was impressive. Just at that point in Game 7 finding a way to win a hockey game is something that you can't say enough of. When Cleary scored that goal and we were able to hold on to make us go through into the Conference Finals, it's something that, you know, those are the moments that you just realize that you have to do at this point of the year if you're going to move on. You have to find ways to win hockey games. In Game 7, anything can happen. And that's exactly what we were able to do. So you can use the word resilient, finding ways to win hockey games, whatever it is. We've been able to do that. And that's something that our whole team is very proud of. It's something that you just kind of draw from. It's a learning curve. It's an experience. You know, in Game 7 when you can find a way to win those games it's something that you should be very proud of. End of FastScripts |
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