NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: HURRICANES v RED WINGS

June 9, 2002

Sergei Fedorov

Nicklas Lidstrom

Darren McCarty

Brendan Shanahan

Steve Yzerman

NICKLAS LIDSTROM: We had one chance after the other. We were just telling ourselves we were going to get that chance. We were going to put the puck in the net and we finally did. We hit a few posts, crossbars, we hit everything. But we just believed that we were going to get more chances, and we decided to be patient and it would pay off.

NICKLAS LIDSTROM: We have to come out and play the same way. They are as tired as we are. We both have day to get our rest and get our focus back on the game and get ready to play tomorrow night. But we're tired today. The whole team is. We know they are as well.

NICKLAS LIDSTROM: Yeah, I played a lot last night. But it's the Finals and you just give your all. You just get out there and finish your shift; go to the bench, get your rest, and just get out on the next one. You just wait for that chance to put the puck in net and be patient out ther

NICKLAS LIDSTROM: It is grueling to play an overtime game like this, especially when it goes this deep into the third overtime. It's tough mentally. You are fatigued, but you are mentally tired as well out there. You have to focus and not make mistakes and just pick your spots when you get out there to make plays. It's a lot of adrenaline. You are still focused on what you have to do. You are tired, but you are still focused.

STEVE YZERMAN: When I first came into the League, we basically just had an old universal machine and a couple of bikes that really didn't work all that well. Guys just didn't use the stuff. Off-season training wasn't that big a deal. Mid-season training was basically the practice and that's it. Now, everybody is riding the bikes throughout the year and doing different programs that are tailored to their own needs. The only conditioning we used to do is skating at the end of practice. Now we rarely do any skating at the end of practice. Your conditioning is all off ice. I will use Igor Larionov as an example. He does his own thing, he practices when he feels he needs to. And when he's not, he's in the locker room doing a specific training. At 41 he's in tremendous shape. When he does the conditioning stuff at the end of the year, he is always among the top guys.

STEVE YZERMAN: Yeah, everybody has at least two pairs of gloves, and we just change them between periods. That's the biggest problem. Jerseys aren't too big of a problem. But it's important to try and keep your skates and gloves dry. In between periods you just, in a game like that, sit down and relax. You don't have too much time to do too many things, so you just sit down and relax. You may tape your stick, get your skates sharpened, but for the most part you just try and stay focused and relax.

STEVE YZERMAN: Not really. You know that you have to play tomorrow night. It's not over. So you really don't think a lot about it once it is over. You just start to get ready for tomorrow's game.

DARREN McCARTY: He reminds me of a soccer goalie. He makes a save and wants to push it up the ice quickly. Sometimes I'd rather see him hold on to it. He just gets excited. Sometimes I think he wanders just because he gets bored. He's like a street hockey goalie. He kicks the rebounds up to the slots, just so he can get another shot on the net.

DARREN McCARTY: Not really. He knows what he needs to do and he knows how to do it and he gets it done. He's in tremendous shape. He pays close attention to conditioning. He knows his game. He always preaches patience, and I think last night's goal is a classic example. I think most of us would have shot it, but not Igor. I think most people thought he was going to pass. Whoever was watching, I think, thought he would pass, but he was patient enough to wait out the defensemen, and he waited until the goaltender, until he went down, and he ho-hummed it to the top of the net.

SERGEI FEDOROV: They do far more than the younger players because that's the way it works. You have to work harder to be in the best shape.

SERGEI FEDOROV: I think he's just a classy guy overall. Very smart, intelligent. He likes to just be quiet, but at the same time, when anyone needs help, he's there to help you. And he's a tremendous guy.

SERGEI FEDOROV: Well, after last night, I don't think so. He's always had an excellent reputation as far as a hockey player goes. In Russia he played on the most famous line in Russian hockey history, he was one of the guys who created this line, one of the best five players in Russia. He's always connected defense to offense and he's always been amongst Russian elite and he always played -- always showed up when it counted like in the World Championships and the Olympics.

SERGEI FEDOROV: I don't think so because of the age gap. The last generation to see him play in practice and have the opportunity to play with him was my generation born in 1960, '70s, and after we left Russia, we were the last ones to truly be influenced by him and I think that's why Russian hockey is struggling now

BRENDAN SHANAHAN: We played our line, played the entire overtime together. On our team, when they take you off that line put you with Igor and Holmstrom, Igor is such a setup man I like playing with a guy like that. I also played a shift with Pavel Datsyuk, he's also a guy who I like to play with. I think for the most part when they are switching things up to get the tying goal and we got it.