 The following are post-game commentary from Red Wings coach Mike Babcock, Conn Smythe trophy winner Henrick Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Osgood, Penguins coach Michel Therrien, Sidney Crosby, Mario Lemieux, Ryan Whitney, and Evgeni Malkin following the decisive Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
COACH MIKE BABCOCKQ. What was harder, the last 30 seconds or the long wait before the game began?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: You know, even in the last game, the last minute and stuff like that wasn't long or harder, it was just doing what you do.
The interesting thing is when you're playing in the Stanley Cup Final like this and it's a closeout game, the emotion on your bench is so much more than you've had to deal with. Getting guys on and off the ice is more difficult, and yet we have a real committed group.
Nicklas Lidstrom, in my opinion, is a phenomenal leader and captain. And with his poise and his skill. And then the support group in Chelios and Draper. And Datsyuk and Zetterberg, for their leadership. You know, we have a very special team, and we're thrilled to be in this situation, obviously.
Q. All season long you were so focused on the process. Now that you got to the end and your name is going to be on that Cup, what are your emotions?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Well, you know, I probably haven't come to grips with that. But to be able to share this journey with the guys and to be able to share it with the city of Detroit, and obviously my family, that's very emotional. And I'm sure I'm going to have some emotional moments in the next week just thinking about it.
But to have your name on the Stanley Cup, pretty special.
Q. How important was it to get that first power play goal tonight?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: I think always scoring first is very important, if you possibly can. And it's not like they weren't given some opportunities on the power play tonight.
We had to do a good job on the penalty kill and we just found a way to win the game.
Q. Can you just talk about the effort that the Penguins gave you throughout this series?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Well, the news since the cap world, everybody's good. We played four tough series. I can't remember who we played last it seemed so long ago, but they're all good. The battle we got from Nashville, from Colorado, and Dallas to play a talented, talented group like this, I was very impressed with Michel Therrien's ability to run the bench.
He has a good feel to know who is playing the best, and he makes adjustments accordingly. I thought he made it hard for us as a team. And to me he's done a fantastic job with his team. They just keep getting better and better.
Mario and his ownership group here got a good thing going here. Obviously the city of Pittsburgh.
Q. Chris Osgood is usually a guy who flies under the radar. He probably had the best two games after losses; can you talk about his ability to play in those games?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: I think Ozzie is a fantastic story. You talk about us, but when you pull your goalie in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, that usually means you're going fishing in about three days, and not 14 more wins or whatever we needed to get it done. You gotta give him a lot of credit. He sat in my office at my house three years ago or two years ago, I guess, after the season and talked about reinventing himself and finding a way, and he did.
He learned how to butterfly, and he's improved his game. And he's now back as one of the top goalies in the League because of his mental toughness and his stick‑to‑itiveness. And I think he showed that in bouncing back and winning tonight.
Q. In the past you've come within a game of winning the Cup. So from one coach to another, what would you say to Michel Therrien who is not feeling too good right now?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Well, I can tell him that he's won at the Junior level and Minor Pro level and now he's a winner at this level. He's going to get his opportunity. And coaches don't get here by accident. And you need good players, and he knows what he's doing. He's done a good job. In the time he's been here, he's made a huge difference. You don't get here without being a big believer in yourself, and he's obviously that. He did a heck of a job, and he should be proud of himself and his team.
Q. Can you talk about Zetterberg's performance in winning the Conn Smythe Trophy, the attention on both ends of the ice was something to see.
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: You know, I mean, someone said to me here earlier, you turned your best offensive players into checkers. I never did that. They're just very good both ways, and deliver offensively. And that's the philosophy I have, anyway. I believe if the people that are playing against the best people can score, they have to worry about them.
If you've got guys who don't score playing against those people, they can just let it go on offense all the time. Zetterberg and Pavel are two of the best players in the world. And when you put Rafalski and Nick on the ice with them, I mean, that's a pretty special group.
And Crosby and Hossa gave us all we could handle, and yet it was great to see us, obviously, get this done.
Q. Ken Holland said just a little while ago that you guys had to lose the Anaheim series to get back here. So when something like that happens and you go through a long road, how do you reset yourself for another long, not‑so‑guaranteed struggle to get back?
COACH MIKE BABCOCK: Well, it's difficult, obviously. But if you go through the last three years in the NHL and the amount of games we've won, I mean, we won 58, we won 50, and we won 54.
So do the math there. And then we flamed out. We went 2‑4 against the Oilers. And last year we got to the Final Four, won a lot of games. And this year it's been a process. It didn't happen overnight. We've been a good team, and I think elite, elite team for the last three years. And we were finally able to get it done.
HENRIK ZETTERBERGQ. What were your thoughts on killing the two‑minute penalty early, the two man advantage. How key was that to this game?
HENRIK ZETTERBERG: Well, of course it was huge. It's not the first time they had a two‑man advantage. Of course, it was a great opportunity for them to score. But we battled through it.
And we kept the puck outside the net.
Q. What are your emotions winning that award next to you there?
HENRIK ZETTERBERG: (Smiling) it feels pretty good. It's been a long way. And it's been a long season. Especially in the last few nights ago in Joe Louis Arena was devastating. And found a way to battle back. And it's just a great feeling right now.
Q. Can you talk about the play of the Penguins. A lot of people didn't think they had a chance in the series. They made it an interesting one. What are your thoughts on how they played?
HENRIK ZETTERBERG: Well, they battled really hard. They were down 3‑1 and came to our building, and I think their first period in our arena was unbelievable. They just came at us.
We really didn't have anything to answer it. But overall, I think they played really good. They had some really skilled players. It's a young team, and they're going to be a good team for many years to come.
Q. Your fellow Swede, Nicklas Lidstrom, became the first European captain to win a Cup. What does that mean to you for him to have that place in hockey history?
HENRIK ZETTERBERG: It's a great feeling. There's been a lot of talk about that throughout the years. It's great to see him lifting the Cup and with the C on his chest. It means so much for the team and the organization. He's bringing it every night. He's probably our best player every night.
And I'm really happy for him. And as I say, it was a great feeling seeing him lift that Cup.
Q. What was it about your team that made you guys be able to bounce back from that last loss, as you did in previous series, disappointing losses to come back and closeout series?
HENRIK ZETTERBERG: We've been there before. We knew that even if we lost Game 5, we play good on the road. And we just had a mind‑set, we're going to play a good game. And we had a great start, and we just kept going. Kind of what we did in Dallas. It's great to have that behind us, and we know we could pull it off. And we did.
Q. Historic night obviously with Lidstrom becoming the first European captain to win the Cup, but it's also the second time that a European has won the trophy sitting beside you there. Nicklas is the only other one who has won this. Can you talk about sharing your name with his on that trophy, I think with other 40 other Canadian players?
HENRIK ZETTERBERG: Well, it's some great names on there. I didn't know Nicklas was the only European. Of course, it's special to be on there. And especially to be among such great players, and especially with Nick. It's great to have that with him.
Q. Can you talk a little bit about, I know you were brought in 2002 during the Cup run, during the Colorado series. Can you talk a little bit about seeing that group, and obviously this is your first time since then, and what that put in your mind at an early age?
HENRIK ZETTERBERG: Well, it was a great experience. It was me and Niklas Kronwall. They brought us over here. We saw two games against the Avalanche, and it was real high, high speed in the game. And both me and Nick didn't realize that we were able to play there next year. We were really -- it was a little bit too fast for our game, but it was a great experience. We met all the guys.
And I remember I went down and met Steve and Nick and Draper and Holmer and a few others. So it was a great experience. It was good for me to have when I came for training camp.
Q. There in the last minute and a half when Hossa scored, and then they had that real frantic ending there where they almost scored there at the last second, was there any time you guys were thinking: My God, here we go again. This is just like Game 5?
HENRIK ZETTERBERG: Yeah, you know, we were happy we had the two‑goal lead. But when they scored the second one, we knew it was going to be tight all the way to the end.
And when they had a chance, I don't know how many seconds was left, but when I saw the puck behind the net, and I looked up and it was 00:00 on the game clock, I was a pretty happy man.
NICKLAS LIDSTROMQ. Nick, how much thought did you give to who would get the Cup, when did you start thinking about it, and why Dallas Drake?
NICKLAS LIDSTROM: I started thinking about it actually in the first round. I didn't tell anyone about it. But I started thinking about if we were to go the whole way, who should be the guy I gave it to first.
And looking at all the players on our team, Dallas is one of the first ones I played with. He came in the year after I did. He's been in the League for 16 years.
He had a long, good career. And he had never been to the Final before. So it felt natural to me to give it to him for all the effort and hours and everything he's put into the game, and not having a chance to hoist a Cup yet.
Q. What does this mean to you? Is it any different being the captain of the team that wins? Is there any different significance to this, how that felt being the first guy to get the Cup?
NICKLAS LIDSTROM: It felt great being the first guy to touch the Cup on our team. Otherwise it felt the same as winning the previous ones, where you're so happy with the end result. You start training camp with a goal, and that is to win the Stanley Cup.
You talk about it throughout the season and the way you have to play to be able to be successful in the playoffs. And we had a good regular season, and we were able to carry that into the playoffs, too, and so that's something I'm more proud the way the team played in the playoffs, too.
It was a tough loss last year against Anaheim in the conference finals, but most of the guys were on that team last year. And this time around, I thought the team really responded well to some of the adversity we faced throughout the run.
Q. I know you didn't want to talk about it too much until you got it, but now that you are the first European born captain to lift this trophy, what does that mean to you?
NICKLAS LIDSTROM: It's something I'm very proud of. I've been over here for a long time. And I watched Steve Yzerman hoist it for three times in the past, and I'm very proud of being the first European. I'm very proud of being a captain of the Red Wings. So much history with the team and great tradition and we see some of the older players coming through, so I'm very proud to be the captain. And I'm very proud to finally be able to win the Stanley Cup, too.
Q. Can you just talk about the effort the Penguins gave you guys tonight and throughout the series?
NICKLAS LIDSTROM: They earned the spot to be in the Stanley Cup Final. We watched them throughout the playoffs. They've been playing real well. And one of the things we said going into facing them, that we have to shut down their offense. Try to eliminate their scoring chances, and cut down on their scoring chances, especially the top two lines that they had.
They've been so good offensively, that if we can play tight defensively, we have to get our chances on the offense end. Tonight I thought was a great example of playing real strong defensively, but we took the play to them, too. We tried to be on the offense more than sitting back and playing defense. And tonight I thought it worked well for us.
Q. What does it say that this team in the last 11 seasons under two completely different economic systems has won four Stanley Cups?
NICKLAS LIDSTROM: We've proven that under the new system where it's more of an even playing field, that the team has really responded well. We've had the same core group of guys, four, five, six guys for a lot of years. And I think that's been very helpful to keep that core group and add a few players every year.
But it shows that we're still able to play well with the new system. And people probably thought we were going to drop off a little bit going into that first season after the lockout, and the team didn't lose a beat. I thought we played well in the first year after that. And I think we've just been getting better and better under Mike Babcock.
Our system has been working real well for us. But I think as a team we've really beared down and are playing in the system well.
Q. What was it about this team that enabled you to bounce back after losing such a crushing game in Game 5? You had done it in the previous series as well, what was the quality of this team that allowed you to do that?
NICKLAS LIDSTROM: I think experience has a lot to do with that. We have some young players, but when you have some players that have been through it before, they know what to expect.
And I think that gives the whole team some calmness, too, that we're not going to panic. We're going to go out there and try to play our system and play, stick to our game plan. But the main thing is that we didn't get rattled. I thought we looked a little tentative in Game 5, in that first period in Game 5. You talk about not thinking ahead and kind of put all the distractions away, but it's in the back of your mind, they're still there a little bit.
I think that showed in Game 5, in the first period. Once we got going, we played a lot better in that game. But losing that in triple overtime, I thought the team did a good job of putting that behind us. Coming here yesterday on the plane everybody was relaxed. We felt confident as a group. And I felt like that showed in that first period, too, the way we played in the first period tonight.
CHRIS OSGOODQ. Can you take us through those final seconds, things looked a little anxious there.
CHRIS OSGOOD: Yeah, I mean first of all, it's never easy. They came at us. I mean, of course we had to make it. We were a two‑goal lead with a 1:50 left and we take a penalty.
It was chaotic the last 40 seconds. We had it out of the zone with 10 seconds left, and they made a great play. They have a really good team. Crosby was flying. I knew it was a good backhander. I tried to get as far out as I could, and it ended up hitting my arm. I think time had ran out before it started rolling over the side of the net. I was happy to see the ref yell time was up when I looked up.
Q. You've said you were one of those guys that flies under the radar, and you've been through a lot in the last few years, what does this moment mean to you right now?
CHRIS OSGOOD: It's special, because coming back here, I always wanted to play in Detroit. And just kept fighting, never gave up.
Worked on my game and did the right things I needed to do to get to this moment. I never ever doubted myself. I just needed the opportunity.
Q. You pretty much shut down one of the most explosive teams in hockey. Can you talk about the effort the Penguins gave you this series and especially tonight?
CHRIS OSGOOD: It was tough. I mean everybody says we dominated the first two games. We shoot a lot.
We shoot from the outside for rebounds. We score goals like tonight. But the first game was 2‑0 with four minutes left, the same with the second game. The other four were all one‑goal games played to the last second. They had a very good young team.
It was tough. They're a quick fast team that's big, and we had to battle every single game to get out of the series.
Q. I know there were a couple of late goals in the last two games, but beyond that I think that the stats were pretty one‑sided in your favor in the third period. Seemed like a lot of teams sit back in the third, you pressed, and that seemed to be your best period in the series?
CHRIS OSGOOD: I think that's from being here before. I know the last two games, last minute, we weren't very good. We were just hanging on. But we always say we want to take the initiative and go after teams.
We've done that before. We've sat back and ended up losing games. We believe we've just got to keep playing and forechecking and doing our thing, and we'll be successful more times than not.
Select Read More to see comments from the Penguins, including coach Michel Therrien, Sidney Crosby, Mario Lemieux, Ryan Whitney, and Evgeni Malkin
COACH MICHEL THERRIENQ. Coach, first of all, congratulations on a great season. Your assessment of the game, and what did you tell your players after the game?
COACH MICHEL THERRIEN: I'm almost speechless. It's tough. We were that close. It is really tough, because this is a group that gave what they got. They deserve a lot of respect. We got beat by a quality team. They showed it all through the regular season and through the playoffs. They played really well. They were tough to play against, and the hockey god was not on our side tonight.
But they deserved to win the Stanley Cup.
Q. What did you say, if anything, to them when the game was over?
COACH MICHEL THERRIEN: There's not much to say after a game, you know? It hurts. So you could feel the pain from everyone. We're going to take the time to sit down with each player this week. I'm very proud about that group. I'm really proud about that group, what they accomplished this year. So they grew up really quickly in the last two years.
Q. Two years ago, this was the 29th ranked team among 30, and you just played a terrific Stanley Cup. Can you reflect a little bit on the progress the organization has made in just two years?
COACH MICHEL THERRIEN: We made big strides, there's no doubt about that, over the last two years. We're going in the right direction with those young kids. They were surrounded by good veterans. And the future is bright with those young kids.
And definitely this is a team that it's really fun to coach, because they have a lot of passion. They want to learn. And they paid the price to try to get better.
So I'm really proud of my players.
Q. Can you talk about the Conn Smythe winner, Zetterberg, his two‑way play. How rare is it to have a guy excel at both ends like that?
COACH MICHEL THERRIEN: He's there in his career. He's right there. He certainly deserves it. He's got experience, and there's no doubt he was an important player for that group.
Q. After the first two games, the series was extremely close. Could you point a finger at what you thought the difference between the two teams was?
COACH MICHEL THERRIEN: Obviously, we were really nervous in our first game. And they were comfortable. And with good reason; it's a lot to demand of those young kids to play in a Stanley Cup Final. And I thought we learned quick, because after Game 3 we started to play our game. They were tight games, could go both ways. Tonight, this game could have gone both ways as well.
You learn a lot in those situations. And that's going to make us stronger in the future. SIDNEY CROSBY
Q. How about you, what did you see there in the last few seconds. Take us through it.
SIDNEY CROSBY: Had a chance there on the side of the net. I don't know if it was Hoss or who it was. But it slipped in the crease.
Q. Was that one of your desperation efforts at the end; you certainly left it all on the ice?
SIDNEY CROSBY: You have to give credit to the guys and try to leave it all out there and obviously we came up short.
Q. Sid, reaction to the fans?
SIDNEY CROSBY: They've been great all year. We appreciate their support. And it doesn't make it any easier for sure. But they stuck through with us all season, and a long time before that, and so we appreciate it.
Q. In the heat of the loss can you put in perspective what has been accomplished this year?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Not right now. I mean it's pretty tough. It's not a fun time. But we will remember this feeling, that's for sure.
Q. Do you think a quicker start would have made a difference?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Maybe. We just got a power play there and capitalized on it. But even after that, we had a couple of power plays. And that one hurt going into the third. But we still had our chances.
So that's the way it goes sometimes and somebody's gotta lose.
Q. Can you talk about Zetterberg's play in the series?
SIDNEY CROSBY: He played well. And obviously this series he was a big player.
Q. You guys were that close in these games.
SIDNEY CROSBY: I don't know. I haven't experienced Stanley Cup Final. I can't tell you, but it's not a feeling.
Q. Can you put it in perspective how far this team has come in such a short time?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, we've come a long way, that's for sure. But it doesn't make it any easier, that's for sure.
Q. Marc-Andre was not happy with the second and third goals. What did you say to him when you came in?
SIDNEY CROSBY: I don't think really anything needs to be said. Without him we wouldn't be in this position. So it's without him we wouldn't be here.
Q. Right at the end of the game you had a shot of it going in; you were this close.
SIDNEY CROSBY: We kept battling, so I thought the chance might have been there. But just unfortunately it didn't go in.
Q. You go down fighting, taking it literally to the last second of the game.
SIDNEY CROSBY: That's the way we played all season. And the guys have been through a lot and battled through it and it doesn't surprise me that the guys never gave up.
Q. Can you talk about the future of the core of this team and some guys have to be signed?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Like you said, we've got a great group. And hopefully we can keep it together. But it's a tough thing.
Q. Can you talk about the two games in Detroit, you rallied?
SIDNEY CROSBY: We probably didn't play as well as we wanted to there. We could step up our game a bit. Coming back here we were pretty confident that we put ourselves back in the series, and winning that one in Detroit, the last game definitely gave us that momentum coming back here and just couldn't get that back.
Q. They say it only takes an inch.
SIDNEY CROSBY: The last play is an example.
Q. (Question off Microphone)
SIDNEY CROSBY: I don't think anybody likes to lose. Obviously we've come a long way. But we came here to win. So it's still tough.
Q. (Question off Microphone)
SIDNEY CROSBY: I think it was tough. I don't think anybody left anything out there ‑ we left everything out there. It wasn't one of those things where we didn't leave everything out there and didn't give it our all.
Q. Even broken bones, broken noses, is that what this takes, what the championship takes?
SIDNEY CROSBY: That's the character of our team. Like I said, everyone did what they could.
Q. Is your ankle bothering you, anything else?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Just bumps and bruises. Nothing is broken.
Q. Did you think that last shot was going in?
SIDNEY CROSBY: As fast as I can cycle across the goal crease, I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure how much time was left or anything like that either. But it didn't go.
Q. It took a while for you guys to get comfortable in the series and the final circumstances, do you feel like you were playing better at the end than you were at the beginning?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, I think as the series went on we got better. But I think in Game 1, if you look at Ottawa last year, in Game 1 of this series I thought we were guilty of maybe trying too hard of running around, maybe working too hard. Not working smart, especially in Game 1. We found that if we played our positions we had a better chance if we did that. We're obviously learning from that. But after Game 1 I think we got our feet under us pretty well. MARIO LEMIEUX
MARIO LEMIEUX: They've gained some experience. I'm sure next time they'll be better.
Q. You know what the experience is like. These guys wore T‑shirts that said, sacrifice all playoffs. I know there were bumps and bruises and broken bones and broken noses; do you think they learned what it takes physically and mentally to get to this point for the future?
MARIO LEMIEUX: I think so. I think throughout the year they really have come together, and especially to get to the Finals. It's not easy. Last time we did it was a long time ago. And it's for good reasons.
It takes a lot of character, a lot of sacrifices from the whole team to get to the Final. And it shows you how difficult it is to win it. This is the toughest trophy to win in all of sports. And just make the strides that we have made over the last three years is pretty incredible.
We've come a long way. And I'm sure next time Sid gets there and Malkin and all these guys, they'll know what to do, hopefully.
Q. Do you think yourself that you would want to be out there with your team tonight?
MARIO LEMIEUX: No, I can't do it anymore. So it didn't cross my mind. But it's exciting for all of us, the players and the fans and Pittsburgh, the ownership. And like I said, we've come a long way in a short period of time. I was disappointed not to win once you see the Cup this close. But we've played a great team, a great organization, very classy organization. And they deserve to win.
But hopefully this will teach our young kids how to win. Hopefully next time we'll do much better.
Q. When they came back in the last game, did you think: Hey, we have a chance to win this?
MARIO LEMIEUX: Absolutely. The way we came back and showed character in Game 5, and winning in three overtimes, I thought we had a chance to win tonight and take it to Game 7.
Q. What about Fleury's play in the series?
MARIO LEMIEUX: Not just the series, but the whole playoffs. He's been our best player and gave us a chance to win.
Q. (Question off Microphone)?
MARIO LEMIEUX: It's going to be a challenge for Ray this year to keep our team together. With the salary cap here now, you have to make choices and make sure that you build your team according to the salary cap and make some tough decisions, which I assume we're going to face in the future with the young talented players we have in Pittsburgh. It's going to be difficult to make it all work. But there's been great lessons there. We really built this team to give us a chance to win this. I'm sure we'll make the right decisions at the right time.
But now it's time to reflect on a great year, and I'm sure in a couple of weeks, a few weeks it's going to be pretty busy.
Q. What's been wrong with Malkin through the series?
MARIO LEMIEUX: I thought he had a great playoff. It's tough to get to the end. It's two months of grind. And I've been there before, and it's always difficult to get to the end. You need a lot of support. The way he's been playing. When you play in Russia, playing 40-50 games a year, going through two months of grind, and it's his second year of doing it, playing in the playoffs. RYAN WHITNEY
Q. Can you talk about how hard that was?
RYAN WHITNEY: We've come a long way in two years. It's a really tough, empty feeling. It's something we're really going to have to think about in the summer. This is what makes you a better player. You don't want to feel this again.
Q. Ryan, can you appreciate just how far this team has come in such a short time?
RYAN WHITNEY: Yeah, it's something we've said before the game. We were the worst team in the League and two years later we planned go to Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final. So it's no consolation now, but looking back, it's pretty good.
Q. Marc-Andre Fleury is pretty upset about the second and third goals, but what has he done for this team?
RYAN WHITNEY: Everything. We said when we came in, you know, we told him if there's one thing, to hold your head, because we wouldn't be here without him.
And he's our MVP in the playoffs.
Q. What about the final minute or so, you got it to a one‑goal game and almost tied it.
RYAN WHITNEY: It was pretty exciting on the bench. We all said, one more; we made it 3‑2. We came in to tie it up. And obviously it doesn't mean anything now, but it was a pretty great effort to try to tie it up there.
Q. Can you talk about how far you guys have come this year?
RYAN WHITNEY: Maybe in a couple of weeks. Right now it doesn't matter where we came from. It's really tough to deal with. But in a couple of weeks we'll look back and realize we made a big step.
Q. On the salary cap here, it will never be the same. Does that hurt a little bit too that you'll never be with these guys again, some of them?
RYAN WHITNEY: It's tough. It's the last game you play with all your friends. And this team will never be together again completely. But we have a lot of building blocks here.
Q. What does it mean to battle back two down?
RYAN WHITNEY: It's tough going down. It makes a pretty big difference. Trying to get two is a steep thing to do. Really, we wouldn't quit. We never have. And obviously a team like that, with 10 minutes left, it's tough to beat.
Q. How proud are you of this team?
RYAN WHITNEY: Real proud. We made it far. We had a great effort all year. It hurts right now. EVGENI MALKIN (via Translator)
EVGENI MALKIN: At the beginning of the series I didn't play my best games, and I was pretty nervous with what to expect. And more at the end of the series, I feel big help from my coaches, from my teammates, who just helped me out and I'm kind of... I feel like I've come down and I start feeling a bit better.
Q. Can you talk about being a young group, what have you guys shown yourself this year, and can you talk about the future a little bit?
EVGENI MALKIN: Yeah, I think we have a great team. We learned a lot. We learned, first of all, we can compete with anybody. And the most important is we can play against anybody and hopefully we're going to have a good summer and we'll be ready for next season. And I think we have a good future.
Q. I'm told that you were quite sick at the start of the series, you had the flu and it was quite violent. Is that true?
EVGENI MALKIN: Yeah, at the beginning of the Detroit series I was a little sick. But I didn't think it was major effect on my game.
Q. Can you talk about how you battled in this series and then talk about the future?
EVGENI MALKIN: Yeah, actually, we came out with a big future for us, and we just realize we can compete. We can play no matter what team, that we played against a great team. But most important I think we have a great future for next year. We found out we just have to fight to the last second, last minute. The previous game, last game, that's what shows us we can play until the last second and score the goal.
And the same thing today, just a few seconds, we were ready to tie the game.
Q. That series was so close. Wonder if you can pinpoint any reason why they got the edge so close after those first two games, why they got the edge there.
EVGENI MALKIN: We played a good team. We didn't play against them all season. Source: National Hockey League
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