NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: CAPITALS v RED WINGS

June 12, 1998

Chris Osgood

CHRIS OSGOOD: I think we were pretty relaxed. I think we were tired from last night's game. We used a lot of energy to come back and win the game. I think we, more or less, just relaxed and pretty much forgotten both the last two games. More or less try to focus on what we have to do here. It is really going to be a tough couple of games. We have to play as we did last game, if not a little better here, but we played good on the road all Playoffs. So if we come here with the mindset of winning both; not just one.

CHRIS OSGOOD: They have done that all the time, four, five games now. In the Playoffs it is really not -- I don't really think about it. They have done it a lot. This is something that -- it is nice. I really appreciate it. Yeah, definitely. He has worked his butt off for the first 19 games really. Years past in the Playoffs he has found the net quite easily. This year, I mean, he has been really been working hard and been getting goals from different guys. Seems Tomas Holmstrom and guys like that are scoring a lot. He has had some chances. For him to score a goal like that, it is a big goal. See him smiling on the plane today. He was so happy. It was a real nice goal for him to get, I thought. He was really deserving of that because he has worked so hard and finally he got rewarded for that goal.

CHRIS OSGOOD: Oh, Drapes? Yeah, he was excited. He scored some big goals for us in the Playoffs in the past -- he has made some great plays defensively, I can remember diving plays to poke the puck away and two-on-ones and killing penalties, shutting down and it is only deserving that he gets a goal like that for us.

CHRIS OSGOOD: Probably last time we played them in the regular season I think maybe two years ago at home, 1-1 going into the third ended up 5-4 in overtime and Sergei scored 5 goals. That was a real crazy game. Everything seemed to happen. Every two, three minutes something new was happening. It was an exciting game. I think everybody that played in it definitely enjoyed it. It was a real big win for us.

CHRIS OSGOOD: They will be excited, I am sure. Washington, they are real excited, the game they played against Buffalo at home here although they lost, I thought the fans here - watching it on TV - were real loud and real appreciative of their team. I think they will be real excited for their team. Although we are up 2-nothing there is lots of hockey to be played. Everybody realizes that. We have to play really well here.