NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: RANGERS v FLYERS

May 20, 1997

Wayne Gretzky

Q. Close game. What happened? It was a wild period.

WAYNE GRETZKY: Well, it was kind of a strange game in a lot of ways. They were tremendous the first 12 minutes of the hockey game, and second period, we really picked up our game and created some opportunities. And then the goal early in the third obviously got us on track, and we tied it up. And seemed like we were right back in the hockey game. And then, you know, they score another big goal and we tied it up again. And before we knew it, we were down 4-3. Then they got a breakaway, so it was definitely a tough way for us to lose, because we had been pretty strong as a defensive unit up until this point. But, as I say, we are playing against better offensive players. Give a guy an opening -- or give a guy an opening, they could take advantage of that. And it seems like that is what happened tonight.

WAYNE GRETZKY: I think one thing I can honestly say is that our team plays with a lot of heart. We were down two goals, we just kept battling back. Tied it up. We got down again, we tied it up again. We don't quit. We lost the game,. They deserved to win the game. They were up 2 to 1. But, bad news, you have got to win four games. So we lost. And they deserve to win the hockey game. And they deserve the credit. But, you know, we regroup on Friday.

WAYNE GRETZKY: Well, not really. I don't know. It was a battle along the boards. And the third goal, those things happen. The fourth goal, our "D" went to knock it down, jumped in the air, hit a skate and -- hit a skate and their guy made a nice break and took off. But, you know, those are the kinds of breaks we had been getting ourselves. They deserved the breaks they created because you create your own breaks. Good times and hard work and good players create their own situations and they deserve to win.

WAYNE GRETZKY: Well, I don't particularly think anything is going to change. Not going to be a lot of different things that go on. Pretty much you will see the same hockey in game 4.

WAYNE GRETZKY: I would say Playoff Hockey is Playoff Hockey. Every team in the Playoffs plays physical.

WAYNE GRETZKY: Well, that is part of the game. We hope it doesn't happen. But, if it does, we will work through it. We are not going to make excuses about injuries.

WAYNE GRETZKY: It is a tough loss. But they deserve to win. They played very well. And they created their own opportunities. They deserve to win. Yeah, we were disappointed and frustrated. But we have got to think it is over now, we lost, we are disappointed. It was disappointing in a lot of ways. We rallied back and rallied the fans behind us, and it was an exciting time, and we let it slip away. But we got to now focus on Friday.

WAYNE GRETZKY: You have to ask Eric that.

WAYNE GRETZKY: I can't get in his head.

WAYNE GRETZKY: Well, if you look at the goals he has let in, I mean, come on. Lindros has got a great shot and Brind'Amour is a breakaway and 2 on 1. I mean, we are not really -- it is not really like he is letting them back goals. Every goal has been a good goal.

WAYNE GRETZKY: Well, one day at a time and obviously it is going to be a tough day tomorrow, but we have all been here before. It is not going to be a new situation for us. Like I said, they played well. They deserve to beat us. We are not making excuses. We are, you know, as a team, we battled back and we didn't give up. We didn't quit. Kept coming back, but it wasn't enough. But, as I said, there is no excuses, we lost.

WAYNE GRETZKY: Oh, I don't know. Probably even too tired to get into that tonight.

WAYNE GRETZKY: That is their strength, obviously. They are one of the biggest teams ever assembled in hockey. Their strength and forte is to cycle down low, and you know, when they can take advantage of that, obviously they are one of the best teams in hockey in doing it. Especially the first 12 or 13 minutes of the hockey game, I thought they played really strong. And they really played well along -- well along the corner. But, as the game went on, we were able to neutralize that a little bit by playing more aggressive on the puck and more aggressive in their zone. But, if you give them that opportunity, they are as good as anybody that has ever been assembled by playing that.

WAYNE GRETZKY: I don't think so. I think this series is a little bit different than any series than we have had in the last two -- this team is a little bit more talented offensively than Florida and New Jersey - simple as that. And, whether we are down 2 or whether they are down 2, both teams have shown they can come back.