NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: DEVILS v SENATORS

May 20, 2003

Jacques Martin

JACQUES MARTIN: Well, I think from time to time Roger, that's part of our preparation. You know, I think, you know, we share the responsibility that way.

JACQUES MARTIN: Sometimes, you know, yeah.

JACQUES MARTIN: Well, you know, I think our players are well-aware of what, you know, he's going through, you know, where we're at. I think that that's all part of preparation. You know, a certain part of the preparation is strategy. A certain part is realization of where you're at, making sure your athletes are prepared to battle and go to war. You know, I think that was yesterday, and now we're faced with today, and tomorrow is another battle. We have to be prepared for that battle.

JACQUES MARTIN: Can you repeat that, sorry?

JACQUES MARTIN: Well, you never know game to game from a standpoint of, you know, who's going, who's not going. You know, I think that looking at last night's game, we've been playing -- both teams actually play four lines. I think he's been a player that's been used on the power player, you know, all year. I mean, that's one of his assets, depending on how things are going. I can't remember what his total ice time was last night, but I thought he had a good game, a good performance. You know, I think he helped us win the hockey game. You know, I'm sure that tomorrow we're going to count on him and count on everybody else to help us win the game.

JACQUES MARTIN: Yeah. It's something that we talked about, you know, at the beginning. And from time to time in the playoffs, every player wants to be playing, you know, wants to be dressed and participate. But when you're part of a team, you understand your role, and your role changes from day to day. In Chris' situation, I think that, you know, he's a good team player, he's a character individual, he's a player that is committed to this organization. It's something that he has no control over. It's the decision of the coach, who he calls upon. He just has to stay ready to be called upon. When you look at teams that win cups, you know, you usually use 25 to 30 players in the playoffs. Sometimes there's different ways of contributing. Chris has brought a tremendous contribution. I mean, you just got to stay focused and stay prepared.

JACQUES MARTIN: Well, I think the key is to be better, to realize and to accept what they give you, to be patient, try to exploit those areas.

JACQUES MARTIN: Well, I think it's obvious that he can't do as much as he used to, but he's still very helpful, just, you know, communicating, talking, being an individual that's been around the game for so long. Whenever he can, I think he helps out. I think we appreciate what he brings, the kind of person he is. Hopefully, you know -- you know, his battle is twofold. Hopefully I think he can just continue with the battle.

JACQUES MARTIN: Well, you know, every game is different. I think when you look back, we probably had a stronger start in Game 4 really. When you look at our performance in the first two periods of Game 4, our first period in Game 4 was better than last night. I said it after Game 4, I like what we brought to the table. I think the players were really ready to play. Sometimes you don't control all the elements. We were a victim of certain things that are beyond our control. But I liked the way that we played in those first two periods in Game 4. I thought we had great chances, we established tempo, did a lot of right things. Sometimes you get a say where you have things go your way, it makes a difference in a hockey game. But I think we need to continue that. I thought that we continued that last night and I think the fact that, you know, playing at home, I think our fans were definitely a factor. I think the energy from the crowd, the enthusiasm I think helped our players.