NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: WILD v MIGHTY DUCKS

May 13, 2003

Jean-Sebastien Giguere

Paul Kariya

PAUL KARIYA: Well, it feels good. You know, we played the first game, Giggy played unbelievable, and I think as the game went on, I started to play better. Last game I thought we played really well and really controlled the game well. They're going to come out with their best game tomorrow. We're going to have to be even better.

J.S. GIGUERE: Well, obviously, we're happy where we're at right now, you know, but they're a team that's not going to give up. They work really hard. They believe in their system. They believe in what they can do. It's just going to get harder and harder to win. Next game should be very exciting. It's going to be a lot of fun to play.

PAUL KARIYA: Well, any team that comes back from 3-1 deficits twice in the playoffs has a lot of resolve and has a lot of talent on their team. They're going to play the best game of the series tomorrow and we're going to have to pick up our game even more.

PAUL KARIYA: Well, I think a lot of credit has to go to the coaching staff and how they prepare us to kill penalties. They've done a terrific job all year long preparing us before each and every day how the other team is going to play. They've done a terrific job in that respect and really allowed the players to go out there and perform the system that they put out. But guys like Keith Carney and Steve Rucchin are making huge plays for us defensively and they have been all year.

PAUL KARIYA: Mike's great. He's a very honest person and tells it like it is. If you're playing poorly, he'll tell you, and if you're playing well, he will give you the credit. You know when he talks to you you're getting the goods. I think that's the only way to be with players. I think most of the guys -- all the guys have a great relationship with him, and he is demanding, but I don't know of any other coach that's had success that isn't demanding on his players.

PAUL KARIYA: From the first exhibition game, Mike's said this is the biggest game of the year, and I know you guys had that line fed to you many times so, you know, that starts at the top, and that goes down through our team. Having said that, I think if you look at the players on our team, we do have a lot of experience, the players that have been there before, and know what it takes to succeed at this level, and they realize that that approach does work and that's the only way to go about the business that we're in. You know we have to take it one game at a time and not get too far ahead of yourselves.

PAUL KARIYA: And we have had success doing that all year long.

PAUL KARIYA: Well, I don't think Steve has ever skated faster in his life. He's flying out there. The last home game, game 6 against Dallas, I don't think he's ever skated better. He seemed to have gotten new legs somewhere along during this year. I think Steve has just been a fantastic hockey player and a great person in this league for 19 years now, and he deserves the success he's having with our team. You know, it's nice to see him have that after Jiri had it in Chicago.

J.S. GIGUERE: Personally, I think there is only one Patrick Roy and he's the best Goalie I ever played. Obviously, I've got a lot of respect for that guy. For me, my goal in life is try to be as good as I can be. I don't know where that's going to bring me. I don't know if that's ever going to bring me a championship or anything like that, but I want to get better. I want to work at getting better, and, you know, it is a battle every day, and, you know, at the end, when everything is done, we'll see. You know, I'm not worried about, you know, stuff like that.

J.S. GIGUERE: I think it's going to be a little bit of a sad day for hockey. Obviously, he's been around for a long time and a lot of young kids look up to this guy. I still look up to this guy whenever I play against him and all that. We're all human and sometimes the body doesn't follow the mind, and I'm sure he's going to think real well about it and make the best decision he can make.

J.S. GIGUERE: Well, this is part of playing in Anaheim. You don't have the media coverage you would get in Toronto or Montreal. This is fine by me. I'm sure everybody else likes it, too. In the dressing room, we don't look for that. We don't want it. It's fun to kind of be in the obscure side and do what you have to do and not worry about what people are going to think and all that. For me, it probably was a good thing for the last two years to kind of be able to develop without getting the media pressure and all that and feeling good about my game, and then now, you know, this is part of kind of a learning experience for me, and it's part of the playoffs, and you know, I've got to kind of learn from that. It's kind of a different experience.

J.S. GIGUERE: A little bit more complicated. Obviously, I've got to make sure that my time schedule is right. I have to make sure I do what I have to do. At the same time I've got to -- it's part of my job to talk to you guys if I need to. I've got to make sure my timetable is right, and, you know, make sure that I don't spend all day with you guys too.

PAUL KARIYA: Yeah, most of the time in the past I would be watching the playoffs right now, so, this is a fantastic that our team has turned the corner and we're having some success, and I think it's just terrific that guys like Giguere and Steve Rucchin and Rob Niedermayer and Keith Carney are starting to get the credit that they deserve for their play. They have been great players for a lot of years and because of where we play and not having a lot of team success, they haven't got a lot of credit for their play. I think it's tremendous for our team and the individual players that now people are realizing what kind of team we have here and what a job these guys have been doing.

PAUL KARIYA: Yes and no, I mean, like I know when -- you know, when I'm shooting against a hot goaltender, that you do tend to be a little bit finer with your shots, because you know that he's going to stop the easy shot or he's not going to be himself. I think you saw examples of that last night where they missed the net or released the puck a little bit too quick because they were trying to hit too fine a spot. But, you know, that's what he's done all year for us. This isn't just recently, and he makes you beat him with the perfect shot. He's not only going to stop the first shot but control the rebound. If you make a perfect shot, you have a chance, but the ugly ones aren't going to go in.

J.S. GIGUERE: Well, I think a mix of both. You need -- I always said that hockey is a team game. You need to score the big goals, but you need to play very well defensively too, and you need a good balance. You're not going to win a game 0-0. You need to score at least one goal if you want to win. I think that's what's been great about our team right now. We have been scoring big goals at the good times, and, we have been playing very well defensively. You know, when you can do that, you give yourself a chance to be successful.

PAUL KARIYA: Jean-Sebastian, you and some of our other players on the team, how many of you are sporting the playoff beard and how many of you were expected to be sporting the playoff beard this long.

J.S. GIGUERE: Well, there is probably five or six, maybe seven, that do not shave right now. Some of them it's just a goatee; some of us it's a full beard. Yeah, you know, it's just part of the playoff experience, and, you know, it's just kind of interesting. My girlfriend tells me I need to have a make-over before our wedding, so it's going to be interesting.