NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: MIGHTY DUCKS v DEVILS

June 6, 2003

Joe Nieuwendyk

JOE NIEUWENDYK: I think he's extremely unique. I think all the coaches I've played for are different in their own right. But the thing that impresses me so much about Pat is that he treats guys with respect and he expects a lot out of the guys, but he treats everyone like men. He doesn't hold anything back in that regard. I look at a classic example, the guy who I played with for a long time in Dallas, Grant Marshall, who butted heads with Hitchcock a lot of the time I played with him. When Marshall came here to New Jersey, there was a mutual respect there right away and Grant Marshall's played the best hockey I've seen him play in the eight years I have been with him. That's what a player looks for sometimes. I understand the coach's side of things as well. In a guy like Grant's case, he feels comfortable and confident. I think that's the way the majority of the players feel playing for Pat.

JOE NIEUWENDYK: Again, I'm still day-to-day. I'm planning on taking warmup tonight and see how I feel and then I'll go from there.

JOE NIEUWENDYK: Well, I was on the ice the other day, but it's been two days now, and we're not skating in the morning, so that's the first opportunity I have to get back out there.

JOE NIEUWENDYK: It's very nerve-racking. There is no question about it. If you don't have nerves and butterflies this time of year, you're not feeling it. And I certainly feel it, and I'm not even playing. I can imagine how the guys are feeling. I think the focus is what has to come to the forefront. You can get lost in all the things that are going on. You know the Cup is going to be in the building. You know all the activities that are going on surrounding that. You have to maintain your focus because the fourth game is always the toughest to win.

JOE NIEUWENDYK: It's been difficult, but I tell you, if we do win, I certainly will be able to handle having not played. It would be much more difficult if it was the other way around. We still have some work to do, but it's frustrating, no question. I've done all I can do. We've done all the treatments, we've done everything we can do, and it hasn't responded the way I had hoped it would. I can't feel bad with that.

JOE NIEUWENDYK: Actually, I think most guys might say that it is, but I actually do feel a part of it. And I mean that sincerely, because I'm real close with my teammates, and I wasn't there for them in Games 3 and 4. It was good to be back in the dressing room the other night, and just to be around seeing them prepare for the game, and I felt a part of it.