NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: STARS v DEVILS

June 4, 2000

Larry Robinson

COACH ROBINSON: We got to be prepared like we were for Game 1. I mean, again, we can't worry about what they are going to do. We have to be ready for and expect their best game. We realize that it is a big game for both teams, and so we have to be prepared for it.

COACH ROBINSON: No, I didn't -- didn't tongue-lash anybody. I just spoke to a couple players involved and -- but that -- I mean, it is routine. I am sure Hitchy has talked to a lot of his players as well. That is your job. Your job as coach is to get your players to play the best that they can. So I am not doing anything different than anybody else.

COACH ROBINSON: Yeah, sure beats the treadmill.

COACH ROBINSON: Nobody is in control. This is -- it's been a tough series. This is a very exciting time of the year. Every game, every shift, every time you are on the ice, you have to think of it as a do-or-die situation. Every mistake becomes more and more important. And that is the way that you have to look at it. You have to play each shift like it is your last shift.

COACH ROBINSON: Well, I think I am not going to say that I expect more from Claude. I think Claude right now is at times trying to do too much, a little over-aggressive at times, and so he finds himself sometimes out of position because he is just trying to maybe do too much. But you never belittle a player for trying too hard. That is basically what he is trying to do right now is -- at times trying to do, maybe a little too much. But every time he is on the ice he is very effective.

COACH ROBINSON: I don't know. What is their best game? I mean, again, I am not -- the best is not to try to expect anything, just go out there and play as hard as you can and try to limit the opponent from getting any good scoring chances. We know that they have got some great hockey players over there. There is a lot of veteran hockey players that have been in this situation before, so this is something that we are not really trying to dwell on too much. We are just trying to concentrate and focus on what we have to do and what we can do better.

COACH ROBINSON: Well, I think that is where the advantage lies in teams that -- you look at both our teams, both of our teams have -- believe in using most of their personnel. And when you get to this point of the season, I think it becomes very important not just because of the heat and humidity, just the long grind of the season. Guys get tired. When guys get tired, they get injured. And so I also believe that there are times where you have to cut your bench down. But any time that you can use most of your personnel, it just -- it bodes well for times when, God forbid, you get into overtimes and travelling and everything else. Then the more guys you use, the fresher everybody is.

COACH ROBINSON: Well, Dano and Nieder have been together for a number of years, have played together for a long time. I think they know each other pretty well. They read off of each other. You see them talking constantly. But I don't like to take anything away from all of our defense. I think our defense has played extremely well and have had to. You can't afford not to have everybody going even more so when you get to this juncture of the season. These games are important. You have got the best teams going, and there is no more tomorrows, so you have to do what you can now. But to answer your question, I think that Dano has been a tower of strength out there, reacting very well in his own zone. And Niedermayer has been carrying the puck out of danger. He made a game-saving play last night on Modano when, I guess the last 20 or 30 seconds. So they both played terrific.

COACH ROBINSON: You look at him as -- I mean, they said the same thing about him in the Colorado series, next thing you know he has got an overtime goal and he is a terrific faceoff man, he has been skating well. He has been getting some chances. You don't completely eliminate a player of his talent, but you try to limit him as much as you can; know that he is capable of scoring goals at any moment. You always have to be aware. He is along the lines after Modano or a Hull, they don't need a lot of chances to score so we have to be aware of him.

COACH ROBINSON: Well, I don't look back on my career as it is too damn long ago, so to really answer your question, I don't really see where it has any bearing on what is happening now. I try to keep my focus on here and now, but as far as the Philly series, this was a gutsy performance by our players and they deserve the credit for it. All I was doing was my job. My job, as I told Stan before, as a coach is try to prepare your players. If you feel that they aren't playing up to their potential, then you have got to get the point across to them to get them playing better. Too much is being made of it and not enough credit is being given to the players for their execution of play on the ice.

COACH ROBINSON: You wouldn't be human if you weren't looking ahead. But I think that we have tried to address all those things and realize that there is nothing we can do about the game after. The only thing that we can worry about and have control over is our next game and this is what we are trying to focus on right now, our next game, our first shift and carry that throughout the next game.

COACH ROBINSON: He has arrived at Playoffs time where it is a factor, but it is not a major factor, but he has been a real physical presence out there and I think as these Playoffs have worn along, we have kind of forgotten that he is still a rookie that just came up. He has been playing with a lot of poise and both him and Malakhov have teamed up and made a pretty good pairing, so I am very pleased with his play.

COACH ROBINSON: Well, I haven't been here as long as Lou has, but certainly since my experience with this club, it has been my experience anyway that I was involved in the Minor Leagues during the lockout and I saw the young kids that they have got down there, Lou and his staff have really built a strong, strong foundation. All of the kids that they have drafted are in the organization are not only good athletes and good players, but good human beings as well. And I think that bodes well for the job that he has done. We have been able to fill in with young kids through injuries, through some of the people that Lou and his staff have drafted and so I think a lot of why we are here now has a lot to do with the organization, how they have built their organization and depth.

COACH ROBINSON: I don't know, it seems to me that winning is always in date. That winning doesn't get out of date and I think that is what this -- that is what this is all really all about. Yes, we are in the entertainment business, but we are also in a business and the business here is trying to win hockey games however you can. So what Lou has been able to do is provide the best players available or best talent that is available so that he can have a talented team year in, year out. I have heard a lot of stories about working for Lou and the organization, everything else, all I can say is probably the finest gentlemen that I have worked for and that I have ever had the pleasure ever being around.

COACH ROBINSON: You always have that on every club. You have the guys that score the goals and get the accolades, but Sergei Brylin unfortunately was hurt for a couple of games, but game-in/game-out he has been a real warrior; played some terrific hockey for us. Madden and Pandolfo have been terrific penalty killers and Pando in a few of the series gone up against other teams top lines so they have certainly done a great job. But it is one of those things where you could go right on down the line and everybody has made a contribution. I think that you can look -- do the same with Dallas, you can look at the Dallas team and say, well, everybody talks about Modano and Hull and so on and so forth. But the job that Carbonneau and Keane and Sloan and Sim and all these other guys that skate and bang, and do their job, I mean, that is part of having a great team is that you have to get a contribution from everybody.

COACH ROBINSON: I don't know another gear. Yeah, I think that our team can play better. But at the same time, a lot of times we, as coaches, we look at our team and say, oh, gee, we should have another gear, but we don't look at what the other team is doing to prevent that. So if they feel that they have another gear, then we have to be prepared for that. But they definitely do have an advantage the fact that they have had some veterans here that know what it takes to win and they realize that this series is a long way from being over. We are well aware of everything that they have to say and what they have done before. Again, the only thing that we can and should be in control of is what we have to do and we know that we have got to bring our best game and if they bring their best and we bring our best game, then should make up for pretty exciting hockey.