NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: CAPITALS v RED WINGS

June 10, 1998

Chris Osgood

CHRIS OSGOOD: Not really. I mean, same type of series, really. I mean, only difference is I haven't seen them as much. Teams I played previously were all division rivals. Teams I knew. Teams I was used to. I wasn't really used to playing against them. I didn't know their players' tendencies or what they like to do with the puck. I think I learned a lot from the last game of what they like to do. They did a lot of different things. Sometimes they would forecheck. Sometimes they would sit back and wait for turnovers, really don't have a set thing. Where Dallas would come real hard on us and take away the boards, but they seemed to do a couple of different things throughout different times of the game.

CHRIS OSGOOD: Not by choice we have had those. I mean, players have some positions that we have had to defend that four, five times now. Really last night the puck was bouncing all over the place. We had two shots, Bondra missed the net and Tikkanen put it over the top of the net. It is really -- they are just trying to hit the net, drive the net; hope it hits somebody or hope I don't see it. We were lucky that they missed the net twice and we were able to get it out.

CHRIS OSGOOD: Just try and find the puck. That is all. Can't worry about the guys in front of you. Try to see where it is. It is tough because they have got situations like that, they put sometimes three guys in front of me. You just try to find it.

CHRIS OSGOOD: No, I never look up at the clock. I just wait to hear the buzzer. Just try and stay focused on the puck, wait for the buzzer or the whistle. Everything is happening so fast, I mean, it is just -- the puck is going side to side; there is guys in front of me. It actually happens real fast, to be honest.

CHRIS OSGOOD: Those two guys are two of their better shots in the League. (referring to Bondra and Zednik) They shoot from a lot of different areas. Just watched them on TV, they tell me they shoot from a lot of different areas. Bondra has a real hard shot. Real accurate. Zednik has a real hard shot. Goalies are just starting to figure that out now. He has an accurate shot too. They have got a lot of guys that can really shoot the puck and are good offensively. I think we did a pretty good job last night to really hold those guys away from the slot as much as we can. They are a team that -- I mean, they hang around and they stay in every single game; gives them a safe chance to win. When they have players like that, it is a tough team to play against.