Coachspeak with Dan Bylsma…
On the Chicago Blackhawks:
We don’t get to see them very often and when we do it’s mostly the highlights of them. They’re very good lately, 9-1 in their last 10, 5-0 in their last five. (Ray) Emery is playing extremely well for them in net. You can talk about (Patrick) Sharp with his goal scoring as of late, Patrick Kane and Toews and the whole staff. Their power play on the road is right around 26 percent so it’s dangerous in that regard. It’s not a pleasant thing to watch on video. It’s pretty dangerous, their power play, and they’ve been pretty good at that. We expect a very skilled team that will come at you with a lot of skill, but a lot of speed as well. Their defense will be joining. (Duncan) Keith is a factor everywhere on the ice, especially up ice and in the offensive zone. He’s a guy you have to be aware of, especially with the way that he can be found with the skill players. Kane and Hossa is a get-up-ice player to make plays. We’re expecting a real nice match tonight against the Blackhawks.
On the decision to make the morning skate optional:
It’s the fourth one this year. On Sunday we didn’t practice. We had a good skate yesterday and we’d already started to focus on some of the things in tonight’s match yesterday in practice so we had our staff this morning to made it a “get what you need skate†for the players.
On improving play in the neutral zone:
We think the neutral zone is a big key for our team and the way we play on both sides of the puck. Defensively and offensively it’s one of the factors for us being able to get to our game and allow us to play with speed. When we’re talking about improving there it’s a focus for our team. That is a real big factor for our team. Good play in the neutral zone, taking care of the puck, executing the right way with speed and also on the other side of the puck with our gap. It’s a real big factor for us and getting to our game. We talk about what we can to better and it focuses around the neutral zone.
On winning the Jack Adams award because of his team’s success with injuries:
If the reason (I won the Jack Adams award) was because of the injuries then I wish it would go away. There are a couple strengths in our team and our room. It allows the guys going on the ice to have success. I think the way we play everyone understands that and knows what it is in our organization from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to Pittsburgh. Guys in that room give them a chance to have success on the ice. The guys in that room are a big, big part of that. You’re talking about it being different at different times, maybe different than last year. Jordan Staal has been an absolute leader for our team this year. He’s been dealing with a bit of an injury the last week or so, but really stepped up on the ice, where he’s been very good, and off the ice in the dressing room. Guys like Craig Adams have played big roles. Craig is an important penalty killer for us. He doesn’t get a lot of minutes, but he’s very much a leader in that room. He’s stepped up. That was held last year by a lot of guys, Brooks Orpik, Zbynek Michalek. That’s the strength in that room. When guys come up from Wilkes-Barre they have a chance for success because they expect the standard in that room of what the guys demand. They also know what to do and how to do it. That gives them a chance to step in and add to what we’re trying to do. You can see that in Wilkes-Barre as well.
On players watching video:
(Video) is a little more intensified with a younger player or new player in the organization, but not dramatically. I think since our last game, five of the six defensemen have watched their entire game with the coach. That happens pretty regularly. We try to get to every player with their shifts, clips once every three games, in addition to what we do with the team. It’s a big part of every player’s foundation. With Simon (Despres) in particular it’s probably going to happen every game. It happens every game with him in Wilkes-Barre. There are details in how we play and improving his game, some of the details of his defending and what he’s bringing to the game. When the players are with the coach, 80 percent of them watch their shifts on their own. You can bring it home and watch it, and we have four computers just for the players to watch on their own.