NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: MIGHTY DUCKS v DEVILS

May 29, 2003

Jean-Sebastien Giguere

J.S. GIGUERE: They out-worked us. There is no excuse. I'm frustrated with myself. I've got to be better. I've got to work better, allow myself to compete harder, and there is no excuse right now. We've got to lay it all on the line.

J.S. GIGUERE: Well, this is not -- I can do nothing about that. My job is to make some saves, try to help my team win, and try to put our team in the position that we're going to be able to win at the end. Whatever else happens, I can't control. Obviously, we would like to have more shots and do what they do. Nothing was very complicated on their goal. They shot the puck from the point. They got traffic at the net. The puck went to their stick and they scored. Nothing is very complicated but it works.

J.S. GIGUERE: We're not competing as hard as they are competing. We're all about competing. We're not a team that is overly skilled. Our game is all about working hard, try to out-work the other team.

J.S. GIGUERE: Not better than us, but out-working us. The harder you're going to work, the better you are going to be.

J.S. GIGUERE: No, this is nothing I'm not used to. I faced those kinds of challenges before in the past with a lot of traffic in front, and this is part of my job. I've got the tools to face that. They're making a lot of traffic in front and I have to compete harder, trying to make some saves.

J.S. GIGUERE: They're a good team. Obviously they work hard. It's just disappointing that we're not working as hard as we could. This is all over with right now. What's important is the next game. We can't look at it like it's 2-0. We have to go out there the next game and play and do what we have to do and try to give us a chance to win.

J.S. GIGUERE: Beats me. I don't know. That's why I'm mad at myself. There is no way I can get out-worked by those guys. I have to out-work those guys.

J.S. GIGUERE: Well, we're confident that we can do the job. We all know that we're a good team. We deserve to be there. We all know that we've just got to work harder. Everybody has got to bring their A game, bring their hat to work or whatever and come to work and do what we do.

J.S. GIGUERE: Obviously they have a good team. They've got three good lines. They've got experience, great goaltender, and we're not going to have a chance to win if we don't work. Right now, they have been out working us. We have to do what we have to do.

J.S. GIGUERE: Obviously first period is going to be a key. We need to start establishing a game and we should all be excited about the next game. There is no excuses. We're not tired. We have lots of rest, so we've got to play and do what we have to do.

J.S. GIGUERE: I don't hear that, no.

J.S. GIGUERE: I was just mad at myself. I've got to be better -- I've got to allow myself to be better and compete harder. If I compete harder I'm going to be better.

J.S. GIGUERE: The Dallas Stars are very similar to those guys, and Minnesota are the same kind of team, they play very well defensively, good goaltender. They've got lines that can score. What they throw at us is nothing unusual. We've faced that in the past. We know what we have to do. The only thing we have to do is play our game and do it as good as we can and then we will have a chance.

J.S. GIGUERE: The first two goals, they did good. They got the puck at the point, shoot the puck, traffic at the net. There is not much more I can do. I've just got to be on top of my crease to make that first save. When the puck is bouncing, it's just a good play by them. They do what they have to do.

J.S. GIGUERE: Yeah, basically in the third period we're down 2-0, the next goal is very important. If we score, it's 2-1. If they score, it's 3-0. It changed the whole game. I've got to make sure I keep competing and pushing myself and stick with my game plan, and I was just frustrated that I wasn't involved on that play a little bit better.

J.S. GIGUERE: It's the key to get to any goalie. The more you put traffic in the net, the harder it is for the goalie. It's been like this for 75 years. I mean, if we want to have any kind of success against Marty, knowing how good he is, we need to put traffic in front of him. Nothing fancy, exactly what they did, and we might have a chance to score.

J.S. GIGUERE: No, it hit the defenseman in front of the net, then went right to their guys' sticks.

J.S. GIGUERE: Yes and no. It's not what he did. It's what I did that mattered on that play.

J.S. GIGUERE: Might be. We have no reason to be. It's not any different than the last round, and it's a hockey game. What matters is how you play on the ice. The rest has absolutely nothing to do with the game. I don't think anybody is distracted by anything.

J.S. GIGUERE: I'm not frustrated. I'm frustrated with myself. I wish that I would compete a little bit harder. I'm not frustrated. I know we're capable of winning. I know we're capable of playing better. We're ail looking forward to the next game. It's going to be exciting.