Position: Right wing
Age: 27
Hometown: Kalamazoo, Mich.
Season: Sixth
Notable: Hall scored six points (two goals) in 46 regular-season games -- missing 31 games with a groin injury and sports hernia surgery -- and didn't appear in a playoff game until Gary Roberts was injured in the first-round series against Ottawa. Hall produced the winning goal of the 3-2 victory in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final. A second-round selection (No. 52 overall) of the Nashville Predators out of Michigan State in 1999, he scored a career-high 16 goals in 2002-03 and produced a career-high 29 points in '05-06. Hall also split a season between the New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild before signing with the Penguins as a free agent this past October.
Quoting Hall:
Q: As a member of the Penguins' penalty-kill units, are you concerned about the number of power plays the Red Wings have had, and is there anything you can do to reduce that?
A: "The more special teams you have, the better chance your team is going to have to win. But I think it's a matter of staying disciplined. Obviously, it's in our building here, and throughout the entire series it's a lot of emotion. And it's one of those things that it's not always easy to keep in check. You're playing for the Stanley Cup. And I think there's so much at stake that guys are putting everything on the line. It's not always easy to kind of make sure that you're in complete control there, because a lot of times you're just playing on pure adrenaline. But it's one of those things that we have to be aware of and try and control as much as we can."
Q: What has it been like this season, after missing time both healthy and injured, then going on to score a game-winning goal in a Cup final?
A: "It's always tough when you get injured, especially for a long period like that, having surgery and rehabbing and coming back. It was a tough process at the time, trying to get it diagnosed and then trying to make the right call. What kind of surgery⢠What exactly do we need to do⢠Then looking at the time frame, where the recovery time was going to be right towards the end of the season. Am I going to be back before the end of the season⢠And it's just a credit to everybody, the trainers and the doctors and strength coach we have, and to get me back in time and give me a chance to work my way back into the lineup."
Q: You grow up thinking you're going to score a Stanley Cup goal one day, and it's going to be this great shot off the wing or something, and the time finally comes, you're banking it in off the goalie's rear end. Can you take us back to how long you dreamed of that goal and what finally turned into or was that how you dreamed of it?
A: "You know, I think every little kid that grows up playing hockey dreams of scoring a goal in the playoffs or to win the Stanley Cup. There's no one way you can dream about scoring it. You just kind of dream about the celebration, your teammates rush in. It was one of those situations where you never get to pick and choose what situation you end up in. You just do everything you can out there and just a great feeling."
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