NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: STARS v DEVILS

June 10, 2000

Larry Robinson

COACH ROBINSON: Thank you.

COACH ROBINSON: You are always that excited, but this one -- this one is special. No. 1, it was nice to win this one for my new grandson. But most of all, I am very, very, very happy for our Dr. McMullen who is leaving on a high note, and very deservedly so. He is just a great owner, and I couldn't work for a better man than Lou Lamoriello who basically had the confidence in me that I could come here and do the job, and that says a lot for a man of his stature who has been around as long as he has. So I am very, very happy for him, but I am also happy for that group of guys, that I think as the Playoffs and even a little bit before the Playoffs, even though we weren't successful and we didn't -- we weren't really setting the world on fire those last few weeks before the Playoffs started, I felt that we started to come together more as a group, and we started to believe more in what we were doing on the ice. And as the Playoffs wore on, we just became a closer and closer knit group. We strayed a little bit from it, as I am sure you guys have been trying to tell me for through the whole Playoffs about that so-called meeting, but I think the guys really believed in themselves, but they just, you know, sometimes you don't know what it takes to win. And sometimes you start to doubt yourself. The easiest thing is to go back to old habits. We kind of went back to them a little bit, but we were able to regain ourselves. And that Philadelphia series was a huge stepping stone for us. And I think that is why we were a little more prepared when we came against Dallas. But I mean, I take my hat off to Dallas and the job that Hitchy did. I know how hard it is to win the Cup, and I know how hard it is to repeat. And they have got nothing to hang their heads about. They gave us everything and a little bit more, and we were just fortunate -- sometimes the bounces go your way; sometimes they go the other way. But I think hockey can be really, really proud of the last two games that were played here. The other night in Jersey and tonight, I -- I don't think you are ever going to see two buildings that are more tense with people sitting on the edge of their seats than those last two games.

COACH ROBINSON: No, I said: "Hit the net." We were shooting, but we were shooting wide, and the problem was when we were shooting wide, we were always shooting on the far side, so the puck would end up ringing around the boards and going out, and we would catch two guys in deep. But the thing -- the thing that I wanted them to do more than anything else was to go to the net a little bit more. I tried to make mention of how Modano scored the other night, all he was doing was cruising in in front of the net. Next thing you know, there is the puck in front, and he tips it in. So that is all that I was really looking for.

COACH ROBINSON: A little bit. But I think everybody was too nervous to really worry about anybody but themselves. I don't think I have seen our guys the last two games as tight as they are, missing passes, and getting great chances, and not putting them in. And I think that the thing that helped us a little bit tonight was we got a little bit tired. We didn't have to think about being nervous. But definitely it was in everybody's minds.

COACH ROBINSON: No, I mean, the one that had it was Patrik Elias. Him and Sykie I think are attached at the hip. They follow each other around. They are a very close knit group. In fact, Arnott, those whole three guys, you know, they go out together, they eat together, and they are very tight group. I saw that Patrik had it, and I said: Here, you already got yours. Show your name, and I will take it and put his on. That is the only maybe dark cloud in this whole thing is not having Sykie here, but -- he is here in spirit for sure.

COACH ROBINSON: What more can you say. It is not just this series. This whole Playoffs, I mean, if -- mostly the cons submit I think goes for the Final series, but in this one you could say he was the most valuable player -- him an Marty did a great job through the whole series, as did a number of people. Scotty Niedermayer just played phenomenal. But nobody is more deserving. When I took this job, there was always questions before: Oh, our club doesn't have leadership. That was the first thing that we straightened out when I came in was that. I said: Listen, you have got probably the greatest leader, one of the best leaders in the League right here. Because he doesn't stand up and shout and holler and you don't hear him talking all the time doesn't mean he isn't a great leader. Bob Gainey was a man of very few words, but he's probably one of the best captains that I played for. And Scotty reminded me a lot of Bob Gainey, because nobody works harder in practice; nobody comes to play every night more than Scotty Stevens. Nobody plays with more heart than Scotty Stevens. So I think it is truly fitting that he won, and I am very, very happy for him and his family.

COACH ROBINSON: You know what happens, I was telling everybody the other night, as soon as you say: Well, great Playoff duel. Back in '72, '73, they had this great Playoff duel between Tony Esposito and Kenny Dryden. Final in that one was 8 to 7. So I think this was an unbelievable duel between these two guys, not only because of the score and because everything went into overtime, but you are talking, probably over almost 200 shots in two games, and these guys only let in a couple of goals. I mean, and they were great chances. Both of them stood on their heads.

COACH ROBINSON: Dream on. Mostly because I didn't know if I really wanted to do it again. I don't know if I was going to get another opportunity. Some of the best-laid plans are never laid. So I have, first of all, Jacques (inaudible) to thank for talking me into coming back here, and secondly, I have Lou Lamoriello to thank for having the confidence in me to allow me to take this job.

COACH ROBINSON: He is not a kid anymore. He still plays physically, and as much as he does, he's still be able to maintain that level. You know why I don't marvel at him, because he is probably the best-conditioned athlete or one of the best-conditioned athletes on our team. And he prides himself in looking after himself and being in top shape. And when you do, I think that -- that is a great example. And one of the other reasons why he is a great captain is I think all the other kids see this guy working hard and coming to play every day and comes to practice and works his tail off, I think this is setting a great example for all these young kids that are coming in to start to play.

COACH ROBINSON: I wish I could describe it, but it is an unbelievable feeling. I mean, I have had these feelings as a player, and I have had them as an assistant, but what we have gone through, since I took over has just been a fairy tale for me. I think the kids have made great strides, and our team has made great strides to be a family. And I am very, very proud of each and every one of them. I think I mentioned even on one of the -- I think it was ABC that, you know, through all of this, the ones that are lost in it are Brad Bombardir and Kenny Sutton and Steve Kelly and Brule. But you look back through the Playoffs and Kenny I think was only one that maybe didn't get a chance to get in there, but everybody else contributed. And so when we talk about the New Jersey Devils, Stanley Cup Champions, they have to be mentioned as well.

COACH ROBINSON: It is called both sides of the coin. You know, I mean, it is easy for us to say. You got to keep your calm and everything else, but this is -- I mean you can cut the tension out there with a chain saw. It was so thick. So it wasn't a good penalty, but I think he made up for it.

COACH ROBINSON: No, I think in cases like that you are better off not reminding him of the past. I think you can learn lessons from the past, but if you start dwelling on what happened, then you are not -- I don't think you are focusing on what you have to do. And all we have -- we had to do here was just focus on the -- first of all, in the Florida series we just had to focus on getting through that series. Everybody was telling -- well, remember last year -- we didn't we said forget last year. This year we got a new group, new bunch of guys that come in. Vlady Malakhov, who they tried to run out of Montreal because they said he wasn't any good, and I think performed unbelievably in here. Mogilny came over. They said he couldn't check, but he played great two-way hockey for us. So we had a lot of great people and different people that came in here. Just said: Forget about that. Let's just start a new page.