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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: PENGUINS v RED WINGSJune 11, 2009Dan BylsmaDETROIT, MICHIGAN: Practice Day THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Bylsma. Q. At this point, the two teams know each other inside out, so what do you put in the game plan to try to get an edge tomorrow? COACH BYLSMA: Well, I don't think there will be a ton of surprises. You know, if the preparation, I don't think there were surprises in Game 1. So this is about execution and getting to your game and being able to dictate where the game's played. You know, both teams in this series have been able to do that at different times in different games, and the team that usually can get to their game the quickest and the longest in the beginning of the game gets to have the upper hand and get more opportunities. And that's what the challenge is going to be right from the drop of the puck. Q. Do you have a sense of what you'll say to these guys tomorrow night? Will you say anything? Will you tell us what you will say? That would be better (laughing). COACH BYLSMA: I don't know what I'm going to say. That's something I usually do in the afternoon of a game. I certainly have thought about it, and I've been forced to think about it when I have questions like that. But I think the Herb Brooks speech happens many years later after the game is over, and after a team has won. You know, the meeting before the game will be about reminders about what we need to do. Reminders -- I always talk about what to expect from their team, maybe some of the adjustments they've made in their game plan or their set breakout or whatever they may have changed, we need to be aware of, reminders that guys are focused on the details given situations. But that meeting all happens in about six minutes, five minutes. So it's not like in a movie. I think it happens over a course of 15 minutes. It's a lot more talking in the movies than there's going to be in that game. It's about what happens on the ice. Q. How loose is your team getting into this? I mean, do you see any tightness creeping in or anything like that? COACH BYLSMA: You know, our team has never been a real tight team. I think at different times before games we've gotten into a focus that was good to see. Didn't know what it meant when it was happening, but after you have a good game and you see that player play particularly well, you think okay, that's what focus looks like. But our team, I think we recognize the situation. But at the same time, if you can't come to the rink today with a jump in your step and some energy and some focus on having and enjoying the moment, then I would be worried. And we were enjoying the moment. We had a jump in our step. And loose is not a term I would like to use, but we were enjoying it out there in practice. We weren't on pins and needles. We weren't tense. We weren't gripping our sticks tight. You know, tomorrow hopefully we'll see that focus come into plain view and our team is ready to put their best skate on the ice. Q. Is Petr Sykora injured, or is he available? COACH BYLSMA: He's injured and evaluating. This is the time of year where if this was Game 40, he wouldn't be -- we wouldn't be looking to see how good he can get by tomorrow morning, but we're still waiting to see on that. Q. Do you remember what Mike Babcock said to your team in 2003 before Game 7? COACH BYLSMA: Not in a movie sort of way, no. Again, we lost the game, so (laughing). I do remember, though, him speaking. You know, it would have been much like Game 6 and Game 5 and the previous round was for Mike. There wasn't anything dramatic, or he didn't change it up in '03. So I do remember that. It was -- it could have been Game 6 or Game 5. It wasn't any different than Game 7. Q. Billy Clement was really banged up one year in one of the Final series with the Flyers. Bobby Clarke went over to him, whispered something in his ear, and he said, I'll play. Do you go in that room tomorrow and whisper in somebody's ear I need you to do this or I need you to do that tonight? COACH BYLSMA: On terms of anyone having an injury, that's not the way I would approach that. The players -- I think it's the best policy for the player to make that decision, especially in a situation where it's one you might not play with in the regular season. The player needs to know he needs to do his job. He needs to believe he can do his job. He needs to look at everyone in the eye around the room and say I'm going to go out there and do my job, and get the best results, when a player says that. I don't think I'm going to say something to one person, and that's going to be the difference in their game. I'll certainly talk to different players and talk to them in the morning, but it's not necessarily going to be we need you to win this game for us, or we need you to score a goal. I'm not sure a player needs that. I have a gut feeling there are players in that room that are thinking that. And I like to make sure they're focused on playing the right way in our game. Not that they need to be the guy that scores the goal and then we're going to win. Q. Related somewhat to that, everybody plays in the playoffs banged up. When you get to this point nobody's healthy. That's what everybody says. Sergei Gonchar was just in here. Has he taken that to almost a different level with what he's had to go through this year between the shoulder and the knee and whatever else he's picked up along the way now? COACH BYLSMA: Well, I think, again, playoffs are a different animal and different beast all together. If you are around long enough in the playoffs you tend to see things that go beyond what the doctor says. You know, would Sergei have played in the second round if that was Game 52? I'm not -- I'm not a gambling guy, but I would bet no. He's gotten much better since then, so he's in a much better position now. I'm safely saying that there are players in their room that have done the same thing. Those are stories that you remember and make this time of the year special. Guys that are willing to do that. Guys that want to do that. Guys want to get back out there and make a difference in a Game 6 or Game 7, whatever the situation may be, and they're willing to do things like play with injuries that are severe. Q. This deep into the series, your talking points mostly of a positive nature, like pointing out this is what we need to do really well, and we need to do a lot of this had to win the game. As opposed to saying we're deficient here and we have to improve this, this and this? COACH BYLSMA: I think as a team we talk about things we didn't do well or things we need to do better. But you know, you only have to criticize a person once for them to feel it. You have to tell them about five times or six times, seven times positively before it really -- it does a lot more damage to say something negative than to say something positive. I'm more of a person that points out this is what we need to do. This is what makes us a good team. When we are playing well, this is how we play, versus we didn't do this and that's why we didn't have success. We'll talk about it. Our team knows what they are. But I will then immediately turn to this is what we need to do. This is what we're putting into our game plan. This is what we do and we play well. Q. If I'm not mistaken, I believe Sidney Crosby played roughly 17 minutes in Game 6. I'm wondering if you plan on maybe relying on him a little more. Putting him out there more in Game 7? COACH BYLSMA: 17:52 is what he played. Situations of the game dictate that. We only had two power plays, and a lot of times he'll pick up extra minutes there. He also had 24 shifts, which I think was the most on our team for forwards. I think the shift length was, you know, a very good 45 seconds or 46 seconds, it might have been 44. The shift length, I noticed the shifts because it was more than some other guys that had played a lot of minutes. To me, that meant he was working hard, doing his job and getting off the ice because he knew he was going to get right back out there. There were a couple of times when he was out for draws and got off because we wanted to make sure he was fresh for the next draw if we needed him there. So you may take that as an indication that he could play a bigger factor in the game, but I did not. Q. Just curious about the team's decision not to skate here today given sort of the boards and all the stuff that went into it early in this series. Your decision on not taking advantage of more time on Joe Louis ice? COACH BYLSMA: Yeah, specifically we talked about it. Having played here three times, three morning skates, I didn't think a seventh time or be an eighth time, because we'll get tomorrow morning, was going to show us one thing about the boards that we didn't already know or about the bench or about the dressing room. There were factors in why I thought staying home would give us a better chance to be more focused and more prepared or in our routine. So we did think about it, but I didn't think the 8th time was going to make a difference, or the seventh time even though we did talk about those situations, that you're talking about the boards and the rink. Q. You've seen two different Red Wings teams in this series. Just what kind of challenges do you think that you're going to see tomorrow? What is the best thing that you've got to do to beat this team? COACH BYLSMA: Well, I think the one thing that we talked about before the series, even before the playoffs, long before we got to the Red Wings, was about how the Red Wings were composed and unflappable and played their game, and really dictated the games when they're playing their best. We've talked about being a team that gets to your game, dictates where the game's played, how it's played and forcing teams to play your brand of hockey or dealing with your brand of hockey. The other part of that is how composed they are whistle to whistle. And, you know, our players saying last year when things weren't going well, we were trying to change momentum, you know, get them off their game and they wouldn't have anything to do with it. At times they've been that way this -- they've been unflappable. And at home they've been unflappable a lot of the games and been able to get to their game and play their game. It's been a challenge to try to play our game. So that's, for us, being focused on taking care of our game, and doing some of the things we've been able to do at home. We have to do those things here as well. A lot of that is about us being able to execute and playing within our system and the way we play. So that we can dictate the pace and where this thing is played tomorrow and get things tilted in our advantage. Q. A whole lot's happened to you in a short period of time. And I was privy to see you with the Prince of Wales Trophy, your reaction to it and really almost like a little kid. What would it mean to you to win the Stanley Cup? And secondly, would you rather be playing in it or coaching in it? COACH BYLSMA: (Laughing), tough question about the playing and coaching. I don't know. I think if I had won the trophy as a player, I might change my answer. But that loss in '03, it's tough for me to watch any team get their trophy at the end, whether it be baseball, football, doesn't matter. When they hand out the trophy, I'd just as soon not watch because it brings back some pretty haunting memories about getting close in Game 7. So I don't know if I had won that, maybe I would say coaching now, because I'd done it as a player, it's something I would have liked to have done as a player and didn't. But what would it mean? I love to compete. I love getting better, and I love the challenge. I love the challenge of being a part of a team and the ultimate is winning the trophy. I've never done it in hockey. This is the fourth trip to the Finals. I've done it at different levels. I've won a lot in my backyard, and it never gets old. Being the best and having the trophy and sharing what that was and the sacrifices you've got to get there is a special thing. It's just a game, but it's a darn fun game to throw everything into and get better at and be a part of. Sixty minutes, we've got a chance. End of FastScripts |
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