Mantha, Muse Media Availability (12.11.25) | Pittsburgh Penguins
just what’s uh the regrouping process like after a tough ending to the game the other night to just make sure that you’re ready to go and to bounce back here. We come in this morning, obviously day off yesterday, but we come in this morning, talk it over. Obviously, everyone in this locker knows it’s unacceptable. Uh those points are too big to just give away and um it’s a new day, it’s a new game, new opponent and refocus right away and try to show up and play a good game. And then just sliding in on this power play. What’s the mindset there? And how did it feel to sort of get one um get one there in the last one? Yeah, a little lucky. I mean, uh it is what it is, but if the goalie doesn’t put a stick on that puck, Rusty’s right there back door. So, it might be the same ending, but um kind of felt good for me personally uh for the power play. Obviously, we want ride hot and uh we had a couple good chances last game. uh refocus on that also and try to uh get a couple goals tonight. I know we’ve asked you about this before, but not on camera, your grandpa obviously a Canadian’s legend. Just what was it like sort of growing up with with that and getting to go to the Bell Center and just having, you know, those memories with, you know, his his sort of career there? Yeah. Um it was good. Obviously, uh we we would have access to like the old-timers lounge, so can’t really say, but I do have a Montreal jersey somewhere at my parents house. Uh with the front logo was the old-timers and then the back was the active players when I was going to the games. Um probably a good for a t-shirt right now with the size of that jersey, but uh it’s somewhere. Um it it was cool. good memories, good bonding with my grandpa and more than often I would either bring a friend or my dad and it was kind of a a cool experience obviously and um yeah I mean he he’s won four cups with Montreal so you can’t deny his time there. Want to ask you about Harrison Brunick just this opportunity to potentially play in the World Juniors. What would that do as you further uh his development process as well? A competitive environment there. Yeah. No, it’s it’s a great tournament. Um it’s really good hockey. It’s uh you know I think it’s something that every you know player that plays in it takes uh get can get a lot out of um and so you know going in he gets a chance to represent his country um you know playing that type of a setting uh yeah it’s a great opportunity and with that just some things that you guys were working on with him down in the AHL and some of the reports you got back from him. Yeah, the reports were really good. Um, you know, just continuing to build off of all those different things that, you know, we’d been working with them uh here and um, you know, there’s there was a lot behind it, you know, in terms of the work that he was doing, the on ice, the off ice, uh, the video, the things that you can look at and so I think it’s just for him it’s it’s not necessarily one particular thing. It’s just continuing to work on his overall game, both sides of the puck. Um, yeah, and the reports were very good for Ricard and Jack. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But good to obviously have those guys out there again today. What’s the overall feeling? You guys have led almost into the 59th minute of the last few games. You know, the last couple haven’t gone your way. What’s the overall feeling after a couple games like that today? I mean, the feel it’s a new day and so one of the things about this league which is nice is you have to you have to turn the page. Um you have to there’s a there’s a new opponent um you know whether it’s the next day or a couple of days away. Um, and you got to be ready for that. And so, um, you know, that’s been the message in the past. And that’s not to say that, you know, you just skip over those things that you you don’t like. You you address them. You work on them. You’re looking as you go through the course of the year just to continue to build, continue to find ways to to get a little bit better. Um, you know, obviously those, you know, the late game situations are things that, you know, we’re going to look at, address, and get better at. And um but you also have to be in a position too where uh we got a big game here tonight and we got to be ready and that was the focus this morning. Yeah. What jumps out to you about Montreal? I mean high flying offensive team. I think you’re going to see them three times in the next two weeks essentially. The speed, the skill. I mean this is a group they got some obviously uh you know you’ve seen it the last couple of years with them. Um you know they play a fast game really good in transition. Uh they can get moving in the offensive zone as well. you know, especially just, you know, with their blue line, they got some guys that can, you know, walk the zone. They’re going to be very involved. Uh, I think it’s a team you really, you know, you have to be, you have to have awareness, too, you know, away from the puck. Um, just because of that speed and, you know, they’re going to look to they’re going to look to get behind you. And so, um, yeah, I think it’s, you know, you saw some of that too with the Anaheim. You know, I mean, it’s it’s so it’s um, you know, I think there was there was some good things that we did in that game. Um, you know, away from the puck that we got to make sure that we’re doing again here tonight. Sounds like you might be facing a goalie making his NHL debut. Is there any challenges in something like that when there isn’t as much of a resume to look at? Yeah, I I haven’t heard if there’s anything um official coming from them. Um no, I think we you know, we do the prep work and just like we always do and you know, you do the things that you want to we need to do to just make sure we have the information um for the players. So, it’s um yeah, I wanted to ask you about Sid. Has he been about everything that you would have expected him to be when you first took this job both on the ice and off the ice? Oh, yeah. No, for sure. It’s uh it’s every day, you know, it’s just the the preparation. Um, you know, just that that you know, the competitiveness, it’s uh, you know, just that, you know, that constant desire to just, you know, to win and to get better and you see it every day. The consistency is incredible. Um, just the way he brings it all the time, everything he does. saw some shootout work happening there at the end of practice. Do you use those type of practice windows to evaluate which shooters you might send out in the future? Well, we’re going to work on it more. Like it’s it’s it’s something like we got to find the time, but it’s you know, right now we’re in this stretch where there’s not a lot of practice time. So, even after pregame skate, if we just, you know, chip away at it um a little bit and just put guys in situations where they can get reps and, you know, we can be working with them and trying to provide what we can there to to help with it. So, obviously, it’s an area we need to get better at. So, we’re going to find time to work on it. How much instruction might you give a player on the shootout? I mean, even if it’s something granular like maybe go backhand instead of forehand or swing wide instead of going down the middle, like how much do you ever go into or you just leave the players to kind of do what they’re familiar with or comfortable with? No, I think I think you got to be careful on how much you give. like it’s what you don’t want in those situations is somebody indecisive, you know, overthinking and some sometimes too much information or too much, you know, even pressure is going to lead to that. And so you you do want to avoid that. I think it’s it’s again you might have different things to look at and try. That’s where practice is good. Like to be able to take that time and if you want to try something new or maybe you know if somebody’s going to give an idea um you know that would be the time practice but when it comes to a game guys need to they got to go out there and they got to they got to play on their instincts. Some of your younger guys really don’t have a lot of shootout experience at all. I think Ruter’s never taken one in the minors. Uh Kindle maybe only three in Calgary. Can they show enough in practice to put them in the lineup for a shootout? Oh yeah. Yeah. I mean, it’s if if somebody’s doing it over and over again and they’re showing, it’s it’s you never know. I mean, there’s sometimes it’s, you know, guys, it’s uh there’s some some guys that, you know, you might not think are going to be that’s an area that they would, you know, be really good in and sometimes they are. And so, it happens. I think it’s uh right now, again, it’s just taking a look and yeah, go from there. Thanks.
Anthony Mantha and Dan Muse speak to the media following morning skate ahead of the game vs. the Ducks in Pittsburgh on Dec. 9th.
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