Thanks to "Penguins Hockey in the Burg blog" for this information!


Dan Bylsma:
On Kris Letang playing better in the playoffs:
"I’m going to expect more of it next year from him by the way that he has played through the first four games. We had a good understanding that they were going to come and try to establish a forecheck on us. We have heard from different sources throughout the year that teams thought that they could get to us on the forecheck. Not just Kris, but our guys have gone back and knew that they were coming and took hits and went back again and made plays. I think that it’s a lot of guys back there, but Kris Letang in particular. He has set the tone a little bit for us in the last few games with the hit in his first shift against (Anton) Volchenkov in Game 2 at the red line and the collision with (Mike) Fisher in Game 4. I think that was his first shift and the second shift of the game in the corner down there. He also takes hits and penalties and stands right there and makes plays without being phased by it. I think that has been a big factor for our team, and Kris has probably been the best in that regard. We’ll remember the standard that he is setting."

On if Letang performs better when he plays physical:
"I think that we talked about him being a good defender and being a tough guy to play against. We saw that a few times against pretty skilled players, and he is better. He’s more focused and charged on being in the game and playing defensively and taking those hits. We are seeing him at his best."