Bylsma Tidbits: Malkin, 3rd Line, Devils & Billy Guerin

Bylsma Presser Notes

Head coach Dan Bylsma confirmed that Evgeni Malkin will not play tonight. Malkin is bothered by a nagging knee bruise and Bylsma said today that Malkin needs a brief period of time off.

Malkin skated about 60 minutes before the morning skate and skated well. He was also around the facility working out.

*Bylsma again had high praise for his third line unit of Chris Conner, Mark Letestu and Tyler Kennedy. Bylsma said the line continues to bring the type of consistency he seeks but are also adding other assets such as speed and tenacity.

Bylsma made an interesting comment saying the line does the job of playing the body like a boxer does. This line will clearly continue to get an extended look.

*Bill Guerin of course was a hot topic this morning. In a joking manner, Bylsma said his quick reaction on Bill Guerin is a guy with a big gray beard and a guy his age.

One of Guerin’s memorable moments to Bylsma was his OT goal against Philadelphia in game 2 of the first round in the 2009 playoffs. That also coincides with what Guerin called his most memorable goal with Pittsburgh during his presser.

Bylsma talked at length about the influence Guerin had on his team, pointing to Guerin’s leadership role following Pittsburgh’s blowout loss to the Detroit Red Wings in game 5 of the Cup finals.

Bylsma said Guerin’s presence played a big role in the Penguins response. Bylsma joked that if Miroslav Satan stepped up and said what Guerin said, it would not have had the same impact.

I will have a full recap of Guerin’s presser in a bit.

The Penguins meet a Devils team that is drastically underachieving and lack an indentity. Bylsma said his team better come prepared as this is a much better team than their record indicates.

The HBO 24/7 filming crews have begun filming for the 24/7 show that will air on December 15th. It’s going to give fans a great behind the scenes look as I saw the crew filming meetings and such.