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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: FLYERS v BLACKHAWKS

June 6, 2010

Chris Pronger

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Game Five

Blackhawks Â– 7
Flyers - 4

Q. What happened that first period?
CHRIS PRONGER: They came out hard and we didn't answer their intensity or their physicality.

Q. Leino said he thought you guys were so hyped you were nervous. Do you feel that way?
CHRIS PRONGER: I don't know. I don't really -- I don't know what the reason was. They came out hard like we knew they were going to, and we didn't answer that.

Q. Chris, you guys have been pretty good at limiting their breakout opportunities. Tonight it seemed like they were able to get through the neutral zone and with a lot of speed. What do you guys do to adjust to that?
CHRIS PRONGER: Yeah, we didn't do a very good job in the neutral zone. The first period we didn't get much of a forecheck. Subsequently, we were in our own end. It was just a matter of time. Staving off, staving off, eventually they're going to get to you. And they did.

Q. Is this the first night it seemed like they came after you but targeted you at least a little bit physically more than they have the first part of this series?
CHRIS PRONGER: No, I think it was just a by-product of them having the puck a lot of the game. They did a good job of getting to the neutral zone and getting pucks in deep. It is what it is.

Q. Your thoughts on, I guess, your game, and for six of seven?
CHRIS PRONGER: Thanks. Thanks for the green jacket. It's real nice of you. Always a positive. Thank you. Appreciate that.

Q. Just your thoughts on your game.
CHRIS PRONGER: Well, I think you just stated it. So I guess there's not much really to say.

Q. Your observations with their line change. Were they able to generate more speed and kind of equally throughout their lines by making these changes?
CHRIS PRONGER: I don't know if the changes really mattered all that much. We didn't do a very good job in the neutral zone. Unless we get pressure and force them to make plays, anybody can make a play when you have all day to make one. And we just need to get a better forecheck, better through the neutral zone and forcing them to make tougher decisions with the puck.

Q. You guys have found yourselves in some desperate situations this year. What's the confidence level going back for Game 6?
CHRIS PRONGER: Good. You know what, we play very well at home. Obviously, our crowd will be behind us much like theirs was tonight. We seem to like to make things difficult on ourselves. So this is no different.

Q. Do you -- did you do anything differently for them to have --
CHRIS PRONGER: They had a lot of good bounces to go their way for sure. The first one deflected off my shin pad. I can't remember the second one. You guys know. It's all on video.

Q. Michael Leighton, what do you see from him and what do you know about him that tells you how he might respond to this?
CHRIS PRONGER: Well, much like the first game. You saw the way he rallied and came up with the big game for us here in Game 2. We didn't score many goals for him. I got all the confidence in him. I'm sure everybody else does as well. He's been a guy that's been able to slough off tough ones much like I will.

Q. You will (Indiscernible)?
CHRIS PRONGER: Sure.

Q. Is it hard to do?
CHRIS PRONGER: No, not really.

Q. This is the Finals. It's a big loss.
CHRIS PRONGER: We have a couple of days to rally the troops. We have had a lot of tough losses in the playoffs thus far. We'll be all right.

Q. Do you like that extra day? Do you need it?
CHRIS PRONGER: Wow, Johnny.

Q. Why?
CHRIS PRONGER: I don't know, I guess it's good after that game to get the extra day to kind of rally the troops and maybe look at some video, see what we can do better and kind of fine tune and tighten some things. Sure. It's good having that extra day, John.

Q. Can you give us a comment if possible on Byfuglien. I know you've talked a lot about him. This is the first day that he's had a lot of impact --
CHRIS PRONGER: I guess he's well rested.

Q. You mean he hasn't done much?
CHRIS PRONGER: I guess he's well rested.

Q. Chris --
CHRIS PRONGER: Anything else?

Q. Is there anything -- as a guy who has played in a lot of these type of games in the Stanley Cup Finals -- is there anything you're going to tell the guys about Game 6, high-pressure situation?
CHRIS PRONGER: I don't know if being down 3-0 in a series is pressure enough. It's the Finals. We've gone home. We understand what's at stake, obviously. Peter has been there before as well. He's done a pretty good job thus far of keeping everybody's focus and pointing out what we need to do to fix tough games like we had today.

Q. So a look at past games.
CHRIS PRONGER: That's what I thought.

Q. How come home ice is so important in this series?
CHRIS PRONGER: We're looking past Game 6? I don't do that. Next question.

Q. Game 6 --
CHRIS PRONGER: Even better. I don't know. It's the Finals. Crowd is behind you. Your last line change, you're pumped up. You have your matchups. Playing in front of your home crowd. You feed off that energy in the building. I don't know, it's funny about the Finals, but it seems to go that way all the time. You look at the first three rounds, teams are getting knocked off at home left and right. You get to the Finals, and teams seem to hold surf. Hope we could do that in Game 6.

Q. Have you seen that happen before?
CHRIS PRONGER: We saw that last year, didn't we?

Q. The thinking was if they split up their big 3, you couldn't really cover all three of them and that they would cause a lot more havoc and a lot more trouble for you in particular and the team. Did you find that was the case?
CHRIS PRONGER: No, I just don't think we played very well, to be honest with you. I don't think it really would have mattered who we were matched up against. They got an awful lot of bounces to go their way.
But they earned them. They played a lot better than we did in the first period. We had a decent second, but still not good enough. The third period was what it was.

End of FastScripts

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