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Babcock Today
by Paul on 05/24/08 at 11:11 AM ET
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Q. Is there any update on Franzen?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: No.
Q. He went to the doctor, is he playing tonight or anything?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: He’s at the doctor’s or whatever. If we keep sending him to doctors, pretty soon we’ll find someone who will shut him down for his life, I’m pretty sure. (Laughter).
Q. What’s the day like when you wake up in the morning?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: The thing I like about today, it’s more like routine. Let’s get on doing with what we do. And I think you’re trying to look for normalcy in today’s game. As much as it’s exciting. You can just tell by the people that are here it’s great to be here and there’s two really good teams. Our part’s to focus on doing what we’re doing.
And so it’s the same day for me. Obviously, the stakes are different, but the day’s the same.
Q. A lot of focus on this series on probably line matching and how do you try to shut down Crosby and Malkin, do you go fire power to fire power. Do you throw in the checking line?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Our checking line is Zetterberg. So that’s how we go. We’ve got three lines. We’re going to get them on the ice. We’re not going to disrupt our rotation. Three lines that we match against them and then we have Helm’s line. So the bottom line is we’ll try to have good rhythm coming off our bench.
We always try to match to give ourselves the best opportunity, whether that be at home or on the road. Our plan going into tonight’s game is will be Zetterberg against Crosby and one of Draper or Filppula with Malkin or Staal or vice versa.
But when you’ve not played the other team - as much as you all have theories, and I have a theory - I don’t know yet. I’m going to watch and figure it out.
Q. Along those same lines, so much is made as your advantage is the experience. Is there a tangible advantage to that playoff experience that you have?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: We’re going to find out. But it’s a good question. I think when you’ve done something and you’ve done it before, you’ve been through it, you don’t think you know. You know you know. And there’s a whole different feeling. I’ve asked myself. I’ve been through it three days in a row. I’m trying to figure out a better way to answer this question.
When you’ve done something, you’re not overwhelmed by the situation, there’s going to be all these people or your whole family and people you don’t even know in your family want to come to your town and stay at your house. (Laughter).
You’ve just been through it. You understand it. So I think you’re more likely to be prepared for what you’re going to face. Does that guarantee success? No.
Q. A lot is made about the fact that you guys are both puck possession teams. Maybe lost is your ability to go get it when you don’t have it. Maybe can you talk about how good your team is at that particular point?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Well, I’ve coached the really talented players that don’t go get the puck. You have to pay someone else to do it. (Laughter) And then you get to play at this time of the year. The best players in the game that dominate offensively go get the puck. Otherwise you don’t have it.
It’s a simple, simple concept. The better you play defense and the faster you play defense, the more you have the puck.
Q. Chris Chelios was saying he’s okay with not playing just as long as you guys keep winning. What does that say about his character and do you see him cracking the lineup before the series is over?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: All we’re doing today is we won last game and we’re not changing. The bottom line with Chelios is we’ve got a lot of respect for his ability and what he brings to the team. But this isn’t about Chelios or about me, it’s about the Detroit Red Wings and winning and that’s it.
Q. When you watch film of the Penguins can you pick up tendencies in the faceoff, what guys want to do? You haven’t played them so your guys don’t know where they put the stick, what they want to do. Can you pick it up a little bit in film?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: That’s what we did this morning. We do it before every round. We go through every guy, break down the best we can and all you try to do - and I’m a big believer in this: Is we overload our team prior to a series so that we don’t have to think about it anymore. Gather the information on them so we can worry about us, because it’s going to be about us. If we have success, we’re going to do it the way we do it, not be running around worrying about them.
Q. Coach, you’re the first one I heard who used the term “puck management” when you were in Anaheim. Do you remember where you got that term, did you coin that phrase or did some other coach? Do you remember?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: To be honest, I’ve thought of very little. I stole most stuff. (Laughter) We talk about puck possession, in Anaheim we moved the puck unbelievable. People don’t talk about it, we were a checking team. But these teams, because you score, you’re a puck possession team. You’ve got more skill, so you have it more.
It’s interesting to me, I read quotes the other day from LA, who was extended in Vancouver, it was talking about them and Pittsburgh play the same way. You guys don’t think that. Those coaches are real good friends. So to me the puck possession part of that game has a lot to do with the skill level you have.
Q. You also coined the phrase “greasy hockey” in Anaheim during that final in 2003. Do you play less greasy in post lockout NHL and far less greasy with a talented team like you have now?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: I think the contrary. I think we really compete, I think totally different than what people talk about. I think sometimes on the outside looking we think competition is punching someone on the head after the whistle. That’s not for me. Competition to me is you draw a line in the sand and you decide who wants the ball more. It happens every day in my living room with my kids. It happens right here at the rink, it’s going to happen here tonight. To me that’s what competition is.
The competitive people, who are really, really talented, continue to play at this time of year.
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