NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: MIGHTY DUCKS v DEVILS

June 8, 2003

Paul Kariya

PAUL KARIYA: No, I feel great.

PAUL KARIYA: No, I haven't thought too much about it. We needed a win yesterday, and Rucchin stepped up with two big goals for us. Jiggy played well, and our team played well in general and we got to win.

PAUL KARIYA: Well, I wasn't playing my best hockey in the Finals. It was nice to contribute offensively a little bit more and help your team that way. I knew it was going to come.

PAUL KARIYA: Well, we got off to a good start obviously, and going 3-0 into the second period was huge for us, but I guess they got a little bit of momentum, but I thought the whole game, we had the game under control.

PAUL KARIYA: Well, I think the biggest thing is keep doing the things you have been doing. It's about preparing yourself to succeed each and every night. We have done a great job all through the playoffs. Mike does a good job for preparing us for each and every game. It's not going to change tomorrow. We'll do the same things, and I think in big games it's just the team that stays the same and does what it's done in the past that has success there.

PAUL KARIYA: No, I don't talk much before the games or during for that matter. There are other guys that speak up in our room. I try to lead by example, and I do the things out there that our team needs to win.

PAUL KARIYA: I wasn't making a cut across the middle.

PAUL KARIYA: I was a bit surprised because the play was going forward, and I had good speed there. Most players would have took a little more careful route stepping back, but that's Scott's game, and he's very patient hitter, and that's in the past. I'll make the same plays whatever the play needs to be.

PAUL KARIYA: Well, the first two games in the

New Jersey were a bit of an aberration. We didn't have anywhere near the game we've played with throughout the playoffs. I don't think we had our legs and were playing the game at the same pace we have been playing at. They deserved those two wins. We also knew when we got back to Anaheim that we would get our legs back and we would play better, and basically both teams have held serve in their court, but we're going to have to change that tomorrow.

PAUL KARIYA: I don't think so. I mean, you have to go out there and play the game. Obviously the match-ups are -- they get the last change, but Mike can do whatever he wants during the course of the play and change on the fly. We played well on the road throughout the whole playoffs with the exception of the games here, so we've got to get back to the game that got us success early on.

PAUL KARIYA: It means a lot. As a kid growing up, I remember basically every year watching the Stanley Cup, and we're close now, but we're not going to keep -- get our focus off. Right now, we're preparing for the game, get a good meal tonight, good night's sleep and get ready to go tomorrow.

PAUL KARIYA: I never have a problem sleeping.

PAUL KARIYA: Well, like taking the first two games aside, the 5th game, the first two periods I thought we played well. They got some bounces. I don't think defensively we played as strongly. When you score three goals on the road, that should at least get you a tie, and I think we just have to tighten up a little bit defensively. The last game here, we did a good job offensively. We have to stay with that.

PAUL KARIYA: No.

PAUL KARIYA: I didn't have any reaction. I haven't been replaying it though.

PAUL KARIYA: Well, the hit I got with the stick was a different kind of hit. That was extremely hard. Probably not in open ice.

PAUL KARIYA: A little bit of both. I was fine right away. I felt good, and the doctor checked me out in the dressing room, and I was kind of jumping off the walls getting ready to get back in there. They finally said go ahead and go. I went back.

PAUL KARIYA: They didn't go through that exercise, just checked me out physically and make sure I'm sharp.

PAUL KARIYA: Not much. It was loud in the arena, but the guys were in the middle of the game. There wasn't too much going on.

PAUL KARIYA: Well, hate is a strong word. It's a big-time competition, and obviously when you go through a game like -- or series like this, and it goes this long, there is going to be a lot more animosity than there is in a short series, but that's what playoff hockey is all about.

PAUL KARIYA: Not really. It was a great feeling, because we came back from being down, and I remember Rucchin scoring, and actually I do remember the goal, because he's told me about that every day since that we talk. It was fond memories, but that's a long time ago.