NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: AVALANCHE v RED WINGS

May 29, 2002

Bob Hartley

COACH HARTLEY: Adversity is a big part of our game, and in order to be successful in any part of a season, you have to face adversity in a way that you have to respond as a team. And right now, Bryan Willsie stepped up real well for us, Radim Vrbata stepped up real well for us also, and I think that those guys deserve the credit. They stepped up in a tough situation, but also in a very rewarding situation for them, especially with the way that they have played they feel very confident and we feel very good about them.

COACH HARTLEY: They are going to be game-time decisions.

COACH HARTLEY: Desperation is a big thing. But I believe that both teams want to be very desperate tonight, and we should see another great game. I think that the first five games were classic games, and tonight shouldn't be any different. I think we're going to see a Red Wing team that's very ready, and on our side, we also want to be ready. We recognize the importance of tonight's game, and that's why we play games of a series of seven games, and tonight we have a chance to put them away, and they have a chance to force a Game 7. So once again, there are so many great hockey players on both sides that those guys will make the final decision.

COACH HARTLEY: He's -- you know, he's a world-class athlete, and those players have a way to create room for themselves. They have a way to always make the real tough plays look so easy. He's fresh. He's in great shape. He wants to compete, and he feels great about himself, and I think that's the reason why he's been so dominate so far.

COACH HARTLEY: Human nature has a lot to do with this because obviously you can't be desperate if you don't have any character in your locker room. And on our side, we are very fortunate we have tons of character, great experience, great guys, lots of skills, lots of experience, and they are all factors that play your way when big games happen like especially tonight.

COACH HARTLEY: Well, Peter needed the time off, I think, for various issues, and we all understand like the parts of his ankles and so like he was not feeling ready to go through another 82-game schedule, plus he needed the time off. And I think that today, he's fresh, his mindset is on winning some hockey games and dominating some hockey games, and he's showing exactly this. I think that, you know, it's simply stunning what he has been able to do with us since the start of the playoffs. I don't think that no one has ever predicted this, because it was unpredictable. We had to wait and see what Peter Forsberg would bring to this team, and that's the best hockey I've ever seen Peter Forsberg play so far.

COACH HARTLEY: He was very consistent. He played a strong game, he was physical, he was on the puck. He was skating and that's the Martin Skoula that we need in order to be successful with our defensemen.