Narrator: The departure of Sergei Gonchar has left Kristopher Letang to be the new leader of the
penguins on the blue line. He is third among defenseman, and he was voted into the next All-Star
games. Earlier, Letang spoke with Pierre Houde and answer some questions…
Interviewer: Hello Kristopher.
Kris: Hello.
Interviewer: We’re going to talk about the team which has a remarkable season so far. That wasn’t
obvious at the beginning of the season. But there’s been 19 wins in the past 25 games. What started the
winning streak for the penguins?
Kris: I think that it was a rough time at the beginning of the season. We regrouped, our better players
really started to play like the normally would, Marc-Andre became the goalie that he’s been known to
be for many seasons, and I think everything became perfect when we reached that moment.
Interviewer: And you, on a personal level, I’ll ask you a tough question; are you happier with your 36
points or with your +23? *laughs* A bit of both!
Kris: A bit of both. I think that’s what really matters. It shows that both my defensive game and my
offensive game right now are good. But I think that the + is something I can still work on. I’ve always
been in the minus in past years, and I’d really like to improve on that.
Interviewer: The amount of goals is really surprising. We know that you guys always have a very good
attack in Pittsburgh in the past few years. You guys are in second place right now for the number of
goals.
Kris: I think that they’ve always been putting the focus on Sidney and Malkin. So to prove that we can
play well defensively is a key thing when we came into training camp this year. And we really proved it.
We had a lot of defensive changes as well
Interviewer: And for you Kristopher, the votes are pouring in for you now. Do think your career has
reached a new level of maturity now that you’ve been doing this well?
Kris: I think that having those first four years, I’ve learnt a lot of Sergei Gonchar and other defensemen
on my team. The coaches, like Dan, played a lot with me on the ice and trained me to be better
defensively. My defensive play is never something I’ve really worked to improve, its instincts, but it is
something I have to work on.
Interviewer: Can you speak quickly about your captain? I know he’s not playing tonight, but what an
extraordinary season. Is his leadership part of the team’s success? Does it come off on you guys?
Kris: His leadership was always present, but I’ve never seen him play like he has this season. He’s he best
player in the NHL, by far.
Interviewer: Thank you Kristopher. Good luck. It’s always fun for you to play in Montreal.
Kris: Always.
Interviewer: Thank you. Good luck.
