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Thursday, November 20, 2008
How to beat the Pens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Erik Christensen knows Pittsburgh. Here’s his analysis of tonight’s game between the Thrashers and his former team, the Penguins.
“Obviously their keys are Sidney [Crosby] and Evgeni Malkin. The key to success is to be on those guys and hit those guys all the time, finish your checks on Sid and Malkin and try to contain them as much as possible. They’re going to get their chances. They’re just too good.
“It’s always a little nerve-wracking, I think, [going against your old team]. I was nervous the third game after I was traded, we went into Pittsburgh and lost in a shootout. But after those first couple of shifts are out of the way, it’s just like any other game.
“Army [Colby Armstrong] and me, we just know their breakouts and everything that Michel Therrien did. We both played for him for three-plus, four-plus years, everything forwards and backwards that he likes to do. Anytime during a game, when we see something they’re doing, we can make an adjustment. We know where they’re going to be on the ice. We just have to figure out how to get around them.
“What John [Anderson] is doing with us is very different from what they do. We’ll see how the two systems are going to clash and who’s going to come out on top. If they play their system and we play ours and try to keep Sid and Malkin in check, I think we have a good chance. The way we’ve been playing of late other than in Philly, we’ve been playing pretty well. You’ve got to be feeling confident.”
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