NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: DEVILS v AVALANCHE

May 31, 2001

Larry Robinson

COACH ROBINSON: Well, I think you guys are reminding them enough of it unless they don't read the articles and of course, I am sure they worry about it. But I just don't think that it's right to say, "well, you have got to score tonight or we are not going to win." Certainly everybody's contributions is very, very important, but I think that worrying about things that you have control over is more important. More importantly, is you can control how you play and how you approach the game and how you have to do all the little things. Then, if you have the gift of scoring and you have the talent of scoring then all the rest will take care of the itself. If that's all you are worrying about then there are going to be other things that are going to affect your game and it is more important to just play well and the goals will come.

COACH ROBINSON: Well, I think everybody has to be aware of their assignments. It is not just in the matchups. You have to know who is on the ice because even if you do get the line matchups that you want, there are going to be times when you may have tired guys and I would much prefer to have fresh guys out there as opposed to tired guys and not get my matchups. So, I think we all have to be aware of who their most talented players are and who the guys that are that are hurting us, but as far as line matchups we will kind of look and see how it is going because you have got the first game where everything seemed to go their way and in the second game, I think, even with the matchups it was a pretty even game right to the end. So, I don't think there is an advantage or a disadvantage as to who is on the ice at what time.

COACH ROBINSON: Yes, emotion is good when it is controlled. I think that's the key, not necessarily are we here to put on a show, or anything else, I think basically we have to be in control of our emotions and let the crowd and let our emotions help us rather than hinder us. I think the most important thing is that you can't be overaggressive and be running all over the place. They are too good a team that thrive on the other team's mistakes and they are such a tight team defensively that you are not going to get a lot of chances. So, we have to be smart about our chances. We have to be smart about our emotions and certainly killing off of penalties is not letting your emotions be in control.

COACH ROBINSON: Sometimes shots are deceiving. I think a lot of teams will try to get shots from everywhere, whether they are firing at bad angles or from the corner and you don't get a real true perspective of what it is like, you know, we have a chart that shows where the shots are coming from and usually that's a really good barometer as opposed to a number. You are seeing where most of the shots are coming from. That's what I look for more than a number.

COACH ROBINSON: They should be coming from the side. Also you don't want to see a lot of rebound shots or shots that are coming in and around the net. It means you are not controlling the most important areas of the ice.

COACH ROBINSON: No, because if I knew then I wouldn't feel the same way that I feel myself of that's the way it is. That's what makes it so difficult watching is that in a way you are very helpless about your feelings because you have no way of releaving the stress and pressures and everything else. That's just unfortunate. That is just part of the game.

COACH ROBINSON: I think so much is being made, you know, that New Jersey is not followed as closely as other teams. I disagree with that. We have fan loyalty here that is second to none. We see them everywhere we go. A lot of people travel to watch us play and everybody you meet on the road, they always tell you "I am from New Jersey and we cheer for you." And I think we have terrific fans here. To me, what I enjoy most about being in this organization is that it reminds me a lot of my days in Montreal, of how it is run and the type of people that we have in the organization and the type of players that are here. So for me it is like going home.

COACH ROBINSON: No, No. 1, we don't have the same battle between papers that they had in Montreal. Everyday there was seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, whatever it was, papers to fill everyday. We have our group that follows us all year and you know, they get along well together and work well and I am very fortunate that I have such a great group to work with. They are not overbearing. They don't try to get into your personal lives. They follow the game and, you know, they write about the things that people like to read about. They have been nothing but fair with us.

COACH ROBINSON: Well, I am at that point right now where we have to do something. Certainly, if it starts early there will be guys that won't go back out if it continues because it is a part of the game that is going to hurt us.

COACH ROBINSON: None. Absolutely none. I am not -- I mean, statistics are fine. I am not a huge stats-man myself because everyday that you get up doesn't mean that the sun is going to be there everyday. It changes. Same as the game changes everyday. When you get to a Playoff series, you as a player, you get up one morning you find different bruises and different aches and different pains, so really I don't -- the same as I am not looking back on the last game that we played in Colorado, good, bad or indifferent, today is a new day and I know that they are going to be coming in here stronger than ever. And we have to be stronger than ever as well. So really those kind of things, you know, they make for good reading but unfortunately in the coaching ranks they don't really hold much water.