NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: STARS v DEVILS

May 30, 2000

Larry Robinson

COACH ROBINSON: No, I spoke to Lou yesterday. He was supposed to finalize them today.

COACH ROBINSON: Well, I think the biggest thing that you can tell them is that it is no different than obviously any other game except for all of this that is here. You are going to get a lot more media attention and there is going to be a lot more demands put on your time around practices and everything else, so it is very important for them to try to keep focused and try to concentrate and not worry about the distractions that are going on during the Finals.

COACH ROBINSON: Well, not really because I felt that Scotty has always been at the top of his game. Nobody plays harder; nobody practices harder and is more dedicated than Scott Stevens, so I am not surprised at how he has played. I am surprised at how he has been able to keep it up because he has just been a tower of strength and at times he has played a lot of minutes of hockey and the fact that he is a physical player, he is almost like that Everready (sic) Bunny, he just keeps going and he has been a tower of strength for us.

COACH ROBINSON: Not really. I think unfortunately the way the drafts go every year you can only keep so many players, so inevitably somebody is going to get away and even though that you draft well and you have some good players, you can't protect everybody and so it is a lot harder for clubs to win and to continue winning even though you draft; at some point you are going to lose some good young players if they haven't fit into your club already.

COACH ROBINSON: I think home ice is always crucial. But I don't know so much -- won't take anything away from their or put any importance on their record, especially this year, mostly because they have been often injured and a lot of key people have been out most of the year. So right now, with maybe the exception of a couple of players, they are healthy. I think they have proven they can win anywhere but you definitely have an advantage if you want to put certain people against their key people and vice versa, it is always easier for the home team.

COACH ROBINSON: Well, I mean, we have been successful so far in the Playoffs, but again you are starting a new series and I think if you look at the personnel that they have for their powerplay you have pretty well the top players at each one of the positions. You are not going to get a better, purer shooter than Hull; as far as passing and setting up plays and speed Modano is probably at the top of his game. And then you have got one of the best quarterbacks in the League in Zubov, so our penalty killing will be tested.

COACH ROBINSON: I think I like the fact that we are more business-like. That is the way that this whole Playoff series has been. I think we have gotten away from it from time to time and our play has suffered. But this is still a business for us. I mean, winning the other series means nothing. We set out at the start to get to the ultimate and the ultimate is winning the Cup. Dallas is probably a little bit looser because most of those guys have been there before. They are the defending champions, so they prepare the way that they have to prepare but our guys know how we have to prepare and it is nice to know everybody is focused.

COACH ROBINSON: Well, any time you get against somebody that is confident, feeling good about their play, best way is to go right at them and to challenge them right off the bat. But it is not like he hasn't been challenged before. I think one of the games they won, they were outshot 40 to 15 or 39 to 15, so we just have to find a way to get the puck by him.

COACH ROBINSON: That is a pretty good comparison. Both physical players; both play a lot of minutes and both play against the other teams big lines, so I think it is a natural comparison.

COACH ROBINSON: I think for momentum-wise it is always nice to get -- especially early in the series always nice to get the first goal. I think it is bound to give any team a lift. Certainly means the other team has to score two in order to beat you, so it is always nice to get out quick, yes.

COACH ROBINSON: No. Not yet. (laughs) Ask me that at five to. In any Playoff series I think that for me the most important thing is to get a feeling in the first game. You can look at films and you can do all the things that you want, but really that first game is where all your work starts. I am not really looking any farther ahead than the first shift and then we are going to see what happens after that.