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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: PENGUINS v RED WINGS

June 12, 2009

Mike Babcock

DETROIT, MICHIGAN: Game Seven

DETROIT Â– 1
PITTSBURGH - 2

Q. Based on the last few minutes did you feel you just kind of ran out of time in this game?
COACH BABCOCK: I don't know about that. I thought we looked out of gas pretty much all series. I thought we competed, and I thought we tried. But I never thought we got to the level we'd have liked to. We started good tonight, took a penalty. Then they took over, I thought, the rest of the first period.
Then we had two crucial turnovers in the second period, and they scored. It's always in this type of game, it's always tough to recover and use the minutes like you should when you get behind like we did. And it took us a while to get going. I thought we played all right in the third period. But they competed hard. You've got to give them credit.

Q. The end of this game remind you at all of the end of the last game last year but just at the other end in terms of you being so close and them being so close at the end?
COACH BABCOCK: Oh, I think so. That's what happens when you're in a real good series. Not only did their good players play good, but I thought their team played good and played hard.
I thought Fleury had his best two games in Games 6 and 7, and you've got to give him credit.

Q. You talked earlier today about how much you liked this team, and what did you say to them after the game tonight?
COACH BABCOCK: I just thanked them. We'll talk to them on Monday. But they're not interested in hearing what I have to say right now anyway, really. But this group, we've basically been taped together all playoffs. Our guys did a good job to battle through and do the best they could. We weren't in some situations as good as we normally are. But I think when guys are giving you everything they've got, that's all you can ask from them.
We've found a way to give ourselves a chance. Any time you win three games in a Final, you have a chance. We just didn't have enough to get it done. Like I said, they played well.

Q. In the final analysis, could you pinpoint one thing that turned this series?
COACH BABCOCK: Well, we could just look to Samuelsson had a breakaway and hit the goal post in what game was that?

Q. 6?
COACH BABCOCK: No, was that in Game 5, I don't know. He had a breakaway, and hit the goal post. It might have been 3. In Game 3. Right there, in itself, they could have been done. Yet, in saying that, to me, this was a series that every game with the exception of the two games could have gone either way.
So they found a way to win. It's a battle of will. I thought their team played hard.

Q. You talk about Chris Osgood's play tonight?
COACH BABCOCK: Well, I think just in the playoffs in general he was excellent for us. Gave us a chance. You know, along the way in the playoffs this year much different than last year is, we never were always firing on all cylinders. We always had people missing. And Ozzie was one of our strengths, to say the least, all playoff long. I think he deserves a lot of credit. His numbers speaks for himself, he's done a great job.

Q. Your team played a lot of games in a relatively short span. Was fatigue a factor?
COACH BABCOCK: But I think they played lots of games, too. I thought just with the injuries and with the -- and everyone has injuries. But I thought with the injuries and then never really getting to the level we'd like to see our team at, I didn't think we did that in the Final at all.
Now give them credit, they played good. So part of the equation is them. But I just didn't feel that -- you know what your individuals can do because you've coached them for so long. The guys that were injured on our team this year never got their game back to the level it could be. And they were significant players for us.

Q. A follow-up on that, a bit about Pittsburgh. Can you talk about what you see? I know this is a team, your team, has a great future as well. Do you think we're seeing maybe another power house like the Red Wings emerging? Do they have the tools?
COACH BABCOCK: Yeah, but they also have what's called money. What happens is there's only so much pie to go around. For example, if I'm not mistaken, doesn't Malkin go from 3.5 to 8.7? There just goes two more players. It's called math. So depth is really important as much as star power is. But what they've got going for them right now are good players and good players attract good players.
Sometimes when it's a good situation, a good building coming, a good owner, good general manager, maybe you can get guys to come for less.

End of FastScripts

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