NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: SABRES v STARS

June 12, 1999

Mike Modano

MIKE MODANO: Well, so far so good. I think I am just going to leave it at that and wait until tonight to make a decision whether or not I am going to go. I will go for a warmup see how it feels, but it felt a lot better than I thought it would out there this morning.

MIKE MODANO: Sure, I will have to. It will be a little bit of a bullseye on it, but that is kind of the way it is. Injuries in hockey are kind of kept secretive this time of year but I think everybody kind of knows where it is at.

MIKE MODANO: I think whether or not if it was injured or not I think I'd still be a bit of a target out there anyway. I am just going to approach it like -- hopefully it doesn't give me any problems in faceoffs and shooting the puck and just the vibration of everything. But we will talk to the doctor tonight and get their opinion and see where I should go from there.

MIKE MODANO: No, shoulders are fine.

MIKE MODANO: I will just wait 'til our doctor gets in town and see where he is at and see where I am at and see -- I got the rest of the rest of the life to heal up so that is kind of my thought process right now. It is a crucial game; it is a critical turning point maybe of the series, it will be really disappointing or very frustrating if I couldn't be a part of it.

MIKE MODANO: My gut is, yeah.

MIKE MODANO: Well, it is a bad bruise. I jammed it pretty good. It is pretty stiff and sore, but I will have a lot of protection, a little bit of a playing cast on it and keep it protected.

MIKE MODANO: Pretty much comes down to my decision. I think this time of the year I think really doctors' opinions and trainers' are kind of thrown out the door. I think it is the players, the way they feel in their heart. This is the best time of our lives right now and you don't want to miss out any games or any part of this. It is a great experience and it will take a lot right now to keep me out.

MIKE MODANO: Well, you know, that feeling is between me and my teammates, I think; whether the fans like it or not, I don't really care. It is my decision and the players will understand that 100%. If I am able to go and contribute and play the way I can, as long as I am skating well and my legs are fine, then I think everything else will kind of fall in place and the chances may come, but, you know, what the consequences are of not playing doesn't really bother me.

MIKE MODANO: Well, actually just -- I stretched a lot of ligaments in my wrist and my fingers at the same time while hurting my wrist so there is a lot of discomfort in the whole area. But like I said, I could do a lot more than I thought I could do this morning, but we will see tonight with the doctor and see what the magic of the needles can do.