NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: RANGERS v FLYERS

May 20, 1997

Colin Campbell

Q. How long can this team absorb the kind of manpower problems that you have right now?

COACH COLIN CAMPBELL: Well, we could have used the two days off before this game and after, but it was tough losing a player during the game. But that is hockey. And they are hitting hard. We came back and we could have very easily won that game. We opened up to soon at the wrong time. And I think, you know, when we came back for the 2-2 and the 3-3, we got a little sloppy and made people leaving late. You can't do that with the Flyers. They are too offensive and they've got guys, particularly with their "D", we haven't been able to with the shortage of manpower. One thing we haven't been able to do is get to their "D" and hit them like we want to with full manpower. But we battled hard and we just opened up a little bit too late when we made it 3-3. I should say opened up too early.

COACH COLIN CAMPBELL: Well, you see Brian Leetch play for a long time. That is not Brian Leetch tonight. Unfortunately, with Karpovtsev we were forced to use Brian more than we wanted to,. But he improved a lot since Sunday. We expect a lot more improvement by Friday. So the two days off will be very beneficial to Brian's wrist.

COACH COLIN CAMPBELL: We could have used some big saves, but there were breakaways and they didn't come. But, you know, we -- it is easy to jump on the Mike Richter bandwagon. He played very well for us. If he is going to let those in, it should happen all in one game. But I have confidence in Mike. A few breakdowns in '94, but over the 18 or so or 20 games, whatever we played, 23 games, he is very consistent. I think Mike will bounce back strong.

COACH COLIN CAMPBELL: I think with the situation as it is, I think it is very unlikely he will be back.

COACH COLIN CAMPBELL: Well, I guess when you try to keep pairs together up front, and we have been unable to do that at all, and you have -- got to let the wing go in the neutral zone, you have got to give them that ability to go, and we call it cheating hockey. But with Wayne, it is normally score and/or set him up. And, you know, we had Christian Dube and Esa Tikkanen now with him. So normally he is with Sundstrom or Berg or Flatley, so it can work both ways. They got the breaks and they scored. And, I think after the first period we played a pretty confident game. We had some pretty good penalty kills. Had some tough breaks. So did they. But their player in the first call shot their stick away. That is interference. But the calls went for both teams, against both teams tonight, and we just -- as I said, I don't think we had the confidence in our team tonight that we should have defensively. When we made it 3-3, we thought we will go for it and keep on that roll. And we should have sat back and waited at that point in time, because we had the momentum going after tying it up. And we just got a little loose. That is not our style, and hasn't been our style in the Playoffs.

COACH COLIN CAMPBELL: No. If I said that, I was misleading you. (LAUGHS). We don't want to open it up. And I think against a team like the Flyers, you don't want to open it up; particularly the way their "D" are playing. They are very mobile, and they are getting a lot of offense out of their "D". And we have got to get to their "D". But it will be a long series. It is 3 games now and, you know, they are glad they got out of this one with a win, I am sure.

COACH COLIN CAMPBELL: You haven't seen the Twins, have you?

COACH COLIN CAMPBELL: I probably had more of a beef on shooting the stick away. It cost a goal. The hit, I haven't seen it. So our people say it was an elbow. The referee says he didn't leave his feet. You know, Klatt hits hard, and he finishes hard and, you know -- I don't know, I think, you know, a player like Klatt, the way he is playing, he is one of the more valuable players to the Flyers right now. He is doing damage. And he may have charged. He may have used an elbow. But it is a hard hit, and those things are valuable at this time of year. I can't really disagree with that. It was just a hard hit, tough.

COACH COLIN CAMPBELL: I think that is where experience and leadership kicks in. These players had seen it before and say it challenges them. As I said before, not only Wayne Gretzky, but a lot of our room gets motivated by the challenge. And I think that is why the great players here, we have 6 or 7 that have won more than one Cup before. It was tough tonight. And -- but, you know, as I said, the two days rest and we can regroup and get our "D" back on its feet and come back with some forwards and get a good practice under our belt, I think we will be back here strong on Friday night. Thanks a lot.