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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HURRICANES v PENGUINSMay 26, 2009Dan BylsmaRALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: Game Four SCHUYLER BAEHMAN: Questions for Coach Bylsma. Q. Just talk about having a couple of tough series early on, did it seem easy? I know it did, but, again, four games and out, did it feel the same, I guess? COACH BYLSMA: To be real honest, I didn't think it felt easy at all. You know, I look back at the games, you know, we were down in Game 2, 3-2 after one. It was 4-4 my way through the third in Game 2. It ends up 7-4. Of but it certainly didn't feel like that in the game. And, it was a 1-goal game, they make it a 1-goal game in Game 3. The place gets pretty rambunctious, and we had to, we had to battle it out to get the win. It ended up being a big number, but it didn't feel that way. And tonight again, they got the early lead. And I thought this was a game where they probably, it was the hardest for us to get to the offensive zone and play there. So from that standpoint, this was their best game, I think in terms of limiting our time with the puck. It was a battle right through. The third goal was a huge goal for us. Right out of the penalty kill. Guy coming out of the box fresh, he gets a break and drives the net and obviously it was a great pass. But it was a huge goal. Gave us some breathing room against a team that from our vantage point was coming at us pretty hard in a tough place to play. So they battled at us in every game, came at us in every game, and they never quit. Q. Much less technical question. I know you said you're not real superstitious, how did you feel about Sidney Crosby grabbing that trophy and picking it up like that? COACH BYLSMA: Well, I've been -- I've won a conference final and not touched it. And lost, the team that we played touched it and won. So that's a lot of talk. Teams that play in the finals will decide the finals, not whether someone touched the trophy or not. In past history in Pittsburgh, Mario touched it the two years they won the Conference Final, so. Q. Will it be superstitious now to talk about a rematch for the cup? COACH BYLSMA: Right now there's three teams left. So we'll take a breather, enjoy winning three rounds and getting to the finals, and we'll get focused here in the next couple of days. We'll take whoever we get. Q. Where in the season do you think this team really came together to play the way it is now? COACH BYLSMA: I think we had a five-game road trip, and we won all five games on that road trip, we won in a shootout for that fifth game. But it was the fourth game in Florida. I don't recall the total number of shots we put up, but I think it was 45 or in that range. We only won the Game 2-1, but we were reluctant in the offensive zone. We were persistent with our game plan in getting to the offensive zone. We won game in Chicago, and won in Dallas. But it was that game in Florida that the success started to breed a bigger idea that this is the way we need to play. And getting the win in Washington against a team that beat us pretty soundly in the third game that I was coaching, that was a big win after the Florida game to accent the fact that now we're having success. This is the way we need to play. And it's about doing that for 60 minutes every night. Q. Just from a coaching standpoint, things happen in the defensive standpoint where teams lose track of players. But when you're this deep in the playoffs and you spend so much time preparing, how can they lose track of Crosby or lose track of Fedotenko? You know, let them get to the net almost unimpeded sometimes? COACH BYLSMA: I think probably of any sport, hockey is the one sport where the scenario is hard to repeat over and over again. You can talk about scenarios you you can talk about assignments. But bouncing pucks on the ice, the conditions, the boards, there are so many things that make each play different in the offensive zone that it's tough to have standard set rules that this is where you stand, this is where you go. And, you know, there are areas that you can use to exploit the defense and the offensive zone, and there are scenarios of the defense you're trying to create so that you don't get taken advantage of. The back of the net is a tough place to defend. The seam, cutting between the defense and the forwards is a place where if you cut you can draw attention to you and away from other people. Those areas that good teams continuously try to exploit. And good defensive teams continually try to deny you. That is the challenge every time in the offensive zone. And they were good at times exploiting us. They had some goals around our net and from the back of our net. That is something we did to them as well. That is the challenge every time you go in there. That's why it's a team we want to play there as much as possible, and play in the offensive zone. End of FastScripts |
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