NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: BLUES v AVALANCHE

May 17, 2001

Scott Mellanby

Joel Quenneville

Bryce Salvador

Roman Turek

Pierre Turgeon

Scott Young

PIERRE TURGEON: Well, I thought we -- you know, they played well. They're there at home. We didn't -- played well at the same time in Colorado. I mean, coming back here, we played well yesterday. A solid game from everyone. The situation is we're down a game now 2-1. But at lease it' positive. We saw a lot of good things happen last night. But we've got to carry that for the next game.

BRYCE SALVADOR: I think the first two games are kind of disappointing in the outcome. We wanted a better outcome. So coming back here, we definitely wanted to continue playing the way we did in Game 2, with getting the shots and getting to Roy and picking up our intensity. We got 60 shots last night. Roy's been dog a great job for them. What we've been trying to do is just continue not to get shots on him, because he's stopping the majority of them. That's our goal.

BRYCE SALVADOR: It's hard to say how they're going to view it. From our perspective, I feel that that's a great momentum building for us. We needed a win. We needed to do whatever it was going to take to get the win. I feel like coming back against Colorado especially in the third period, they don't really lose too many games in the third period. Just coming back and winning the game, just showing -- us showing ourselves and the fan that is we weren't going to give up, no matter how long it was going to take. It think it was a momentum builder for our team.

PIERRE TURGEON: Well, obviously this is something we talk about a lot before the game. You know, we want to make sure that the puck goes on the board, you've got to battle harden on the board. Holding player, when they come in their own zone as far as zone checking. But this is something we talk about. And I thought last game we did -- in that area we did well. But we still have to bring the, you know, the same kind of thing for next game, too.

PIERRE TURGEON: Who's that question for?

PIERRE TURGEON: We yes. I thought Roman, even after that goal, played unbelievable. He made some great save, kept us in the game. He's the reason we won the game. You could say in overtime, when Yelle tried to put puck in the net, it's unbelievable. And that's bouncing back from -- and he's the reason why we're winning hockey games.

SCOTT YOUNG: Well, that's something you never want to hear. Roman is gutting us at this point in the playoffs with solid play. But that's something we just wanted to make sure we won the game. And then we knew that the crowd would get back with him. With the big save, just hike Turgeon was talking about, kept us in the game.

BRYCE SALVADOR: I feel the same way. When Roman kind of had the rough start there, the fans were kind of on him a bit. But it showed his character that he has and his determination to prove that he wants to do the best he can by coming back and just becoming a brick wall there. He made some great saves and the thing about hockey, everyone's going to make mistakes. And that's the way it goes. It's how you respond and how you carry yourself after you make a mistake. I think Roman showed us what' he's made of.

SCOTT YOUNG: Well, I think that we were determined to work throughout the whole game. And determine the result by how hard we worked and the pressure we put on them. The few times that it kind of flashed before my eyes was when we were down 2-1 and they had a two on one. And you know if they go up a couple of goals, then it's a tough hill to climb and come back. But, you know, one goal -- a one-goal lead, Colorado having a one-goal lead is not something that we're going to get overly down about. There was a lot of hockey left after that point.

SCOTT YOUNG: Well, I don't think you need any extra motivation at this point. It doesn't matter if we're playing Colorado or any other team. When I got traded from Colorado, the writing was on the wall for a bunch of us, really. After we won the Cup that year, they decided to keep the team together and try to win it again. And we lost out to Detroit in the conference final, and guys like myself, Mike Ricci, Chris Simon, Mike Keane were all gone within the next year and a half. So we knew that that was going to happen. They just couldn't keep everybody. They had to keep the big stars on that team. There was some big salaries to be payed to guys like Joe Sakic, and Peter Forsberg and Patrick Roy. There was kind of a dismantling of the team there.

SCOTT YOUNG: Well, I think they're going try to correct the fact that we played in their end so much and we did get so many shots. But for us, we have to look at it the positive way, we're getting a lot of shots, we're getting a lot of chances. We have to stay on them. We controlled a lot of the game. The scary part of it is that they still could have won the game after we dominated so much. But I think you just have to like the fact that we had a lot of pressure on Roy and good quality chances and they're bound to go in the net.

SCOTT YOUNG: I think each game we've gotten better. I think we're getting much more traffic in front of him. I think guys are battling better in front of Patrick. We're battling their defensemen. I think the key with Patrick right now, we're stopping a lot of pucks. The key is getting around their defensemen and getting at that rebounds.

SCOTT YOUNG: Who knows. It's something that, you know, we've -- with quality chances, we could score some goals. Maybe we don't need 60 shots. You don't know until we play the game.

PIERRE TURGEON: Well, you never know. I mean, sometimes it's going to happen. Like begins of the game, I don't know how many penalties were called. But a lot of times, it's at least it was in the -- we had a couple five on four and even a five on three there. But besides that, a lot of times they were called both sides at the same time. And you just battle through it and as far as the momentum of the game. And it's just -- you got no control on that. You've just got to go through it.

SCOTT YOUNG: Yes. We have to play with the same kind of desperation every game. I think it took us into the latter stages of Game 2 to kind of get that desperation in our game. And we played with it throughout last night. It's something that -- it's a must to win hockey games at this time of the year. So, I mean, I think that we're pretty happy with the way we're playing. We still have to make some adjustments. There's always adjustments. Their defensemen are making a lot of great shots. That' something we can work on eliminating.

BRYCE SALVADOR: I guess I have to I agree with that. We won one game and we're still in the point where we've got to keep playing the same way with the desperation F. we think that we've accomplished something by winning this one game, we can be deceiving ourselves. We can turn around losing the next game and be down 3-1 and going back to Colorado. This part of the season, every game's a desperation. We need to comet out and win. Start putting the pressure back on Colorado. So definitely I don't think that our desperation or anything's going to change. We've got to play the same way that we played yesterday. Because we need the win. We need to get four wins here. So we need to start doing them.

ROMAN TUREK: Actually, I just saw the guy. He made the move and he was back in and I was right open. I was just on the top of the crease and I just try to do something, just put my stick there, because I know the net was right open. I just put my stick there and he hit my paddle and the puck changed direction and that was a pretty lucky save. But I just try to do something.

ROMAN TUREK: They scored two goals, they had only four shots and they scored two goals. Especially the second goal, it was very soft goal. And after first period in the locker room, I feel like I have to make some big saves for guys, because they play very well all game last night. I feel like I have to help them win this game, because it's unbelievable. They hit 60 shots on the net. It's something that I've never heard before.

ROMAN TUREK: I can think about first period, because I feel like we have to win this game and I said just shoot the puck on me, because I am ready to stop everything. And I think they had some chances in the second period and that was probably help for me, because I didn't have one save in the first period. It was a tough first period for me. And second period, I had some saves and I started to feel comfortable again.

ROMAN TUREK: Sometimes it's very hard for a goaltender to play a game like that. There are only four or five shots on the net and they score one or two goals. It's not easy to come back and play a strong game. And of course I have to say thanks to all my teammates because they won this game for me.

ROMAN TUREK: You know, sometimes it happens. When the puck is bouncing or something, you just try and shoot the puck off the glass. And I think this is a rule for goaltenders, why we get penalty for this. Players, they shoot the puck over the glass many times a game and it's not penalty for them, and for the goaltender it's a penalty. I don't know why. I just try and shoot puck off the glass, and make just a little too high and puck went over glass.

ROMAN TUREK: Of course. He played very well last night. We had 60 shots, but we try to shoot from everybody. Sometimes we shoot from red line. I think a goaltender like Patrick Roy, this shot, it's not very dangerous shot for him. You know, and a good example is when Milan tried some moves. He didn't shoot, he just waited for him and Patrick just went down and he made nice moves on his back end and scored a very important goal for us. Or when Scotty Young scored the overtime goal just shoot the puck between the legs, their defensive, Patrick didn't see the puck. These shots are very hard to stop for the goalie, you know. I know we had 60 shots, but like I said before, we had a lot of shots from red line or from blue line when Patrick can make a good save, because it was a clear shot for him.

ROMAN TUREK: Of course I can hear that. Of course I did. I knew why, of course. Our fans, they come help us win this game. And they saw the first shot on the goal and they shot; and second shot, they score a goal. And we're not very happy about this play. But after the first period -- especially in second period, when I made some save, they helped me. I hear them scream that I make good save. Second period was different.

ROMAN TUREK: I like playing games like that, when I see Patrick go in the net, of course, I want to play like him or something like that. Same thing when we play against Stars. It's, of course, for me. When I see a good goaltender play against me, it's more motivation for me. And I think sometimes it's big help for me when I see big name in the net.

ROMAN TUREK: I think last night's game, we played excellent, you know. It was a totally different game. We played both games in Denver. We play much better defensively and we scored four goals, which is important for us. And especially I think each key moment last night when we tie the game on 2-2. And that was a key moment last night. And after this goal, I was pretty sure we should win this game, because we had a lot of opportunities to score a lot of goals.

SCOTT MELLANBY: Well, I don't know if it's misleading. I mean, we're not really making a conscious effort to try to pad the shot total. Every time you put it on the net, you put it there for a reason. You talked about trying to the pass the puck off the goaltenders sometimes from bad angles, just put it in the crease and create loose pucks and create traffic in front of the net. You can see it's a pretty good scrum out there in front of the net. At times they're not really concerned about the rebounds trying to bat the puck out of there, they're just trying to tie us up. It's been hard trying (inaudible) some of those shots we get make from the outside, but it's not a conscience thing we're trying to do. Shot total doesn't really matter, it's quality of chances.

SCOTT MELLANBY: We're definitely not shadowing him. He's a great player and to limit him to one shot is great. He's got just a quick shot. You have to give Chris credit, to. Prongs is playing against him a lot. And, you know, we obviously having 60 shots last night, I think we had a lot of the play at times. So you know, if you can hold them to one shot, that's -- you know, that's not going to happen many nights. And I didn't even know that he only had one shot. That's a big bonus when you keep Joe to one shot. That's not going to happen very often.

SCOTT MELLANBY: Well, yes, that's pretty obvious. You go down 3-0 against anybody and you're really, you know, history has dictated where you're at when you're down 3-0. So, you know, we felt pretty good about the second game at Colorado that we could have come out of there with a victory and we didn't. But we still felt pretty good about the way we played in Game 2. We wanted to come out and just try to have the same energy we had in Game 2. And, you know, we just felt even after the second period was a little discouraging that we didn't have a lead, because we were getting a lot of quality chances and a lot of shots. But we talked a little bit about the last couple of series when we had times when we were down in games, particularly against San Jose, when we tied it up, I think it was Game 3 and then Salvador scored in overtime. We've been in that position before and come through. We just waned to stay aggressive and go after them and keep the net. We thought with the opportunity that is we were getting, we would hopefully get the bounce we needed. And I think we showed a lot of character and mental strength the way we hung in there and kept going.

SCOTT MELLANBY: I certainly haven't dropped in front of one of them. I hope I never have to. Although, on the power-play, I am in front of them sometimes. But Al's got a great shot. Everybody knows that, everybody talks about the velocity of his shot. The one thing with Al is he doesn't put his head down and try to bury it. He knows where it's going. I've tried in front of the power-play with guys that did shoot the puck and didn't know where it was going. That was a lot scarier than playing against Al. He sees where you're at and where the stick is at, so if he sees a challenge to see where it's going, he knows where it's going. So he's definitely one of the best ever at getting the puck on that, not only to score but also to set people up for deflections and that type of thing.

SCOTT MELLANBY: Well, I mean, they have to be wearing down a little bit. I mean, we said that after the first overtime. We're tired, we're extremely tired, they must feel everyone more so, having ago seven-game series with LA. It's tough out, there I mine, when I say scrum, it's a rugby tournament. It's pretty literally rugby out there in front of the net. It's hard on us, and it's got to be hard on them. They've got a few guys that play an ton of minutes. We do too. So, you know, I'm sure that over the course of a game like last night, there has to be fatigue. It sets in for both teams. We can only hope that because of them playing seven-game series with LA, that it will be to our benefit to continue to maybe have another overtime game where hopefully it's going to be a long series. So maybe that will work out in our favor. But, you know, you never know. We're just going to worry about trying to get a win tomorrow night and trying to get even.

COACH QUENNEVILLE: Not only can he shoot the puck, but when he has the puck, he makes a lot of right decisions with it. At his stage of his career, he just seems to keep going on. He's in great shape. In overtime, any shot at the net is dangerous and with his velocity anything can happen. It could hit a stick, could hit anybody. It can sometimes dip and do funny things. But last night we saw a lot of action in the net and in overtime. And I think there was a lot of play that could have gone in on both sides.

COACH QUENNEVILLE: I think we found what it's going take to win. And that's how far you've got to go to do it. That's what we have to do. I think across the board the contribution was there. I think we penetrated the slot area much better. I think those are the areas we've got to concentrate. We're going to have to get not the pretty goal, think we're going to have the get the Jamal Mayers tip and I think we've got to get loose puck. We did what we had to do. We've got to continue to do that. I don't think we can change the game plan. That's how we have to play to be successful. And we executed what we wanted to do last night.

COACH QUENNEVILLE: Well, I think that, you know, we wanted to establish a win at home ice. I thought that going into it, you know, going down 2-0 and they're building knowing that it doesn't look that great, but we've also had success here at home and we feel we've got to win our home games to get us right back into it. We took care of business last night and we've got to go about it the same tomorrow night. But the starts are important to games but we feel that home ice is one of our key, one of our strengths, we've got the utilize it. Now we've got to get in their building and do something.

COACH QUENNEVILLE: I thought Rheaume was real effective. I thought he did a good job. Brought that strength and size and complemented Scotty and Pierre. Finer, it's a tough situation getting the game, knowing he hasn't played in the long time the pace of this game and in the pace that he played his LA game at. We'll see what happened.

COACH QUENNEVILLE: I think we're fresh. Knowing that we had a lot of time off but now we're back in the series, think we feel good. The five periods last night, we seem pretty fine today. We feel that we'd like to use everybody as part of our game plan with the four lanes. So everybody's getting ice time, to but don't tax too many peaches but we know that the longer the series goes that that rest of having those games off between the series, should pay dividends. With Scott Young, with from the get goalie this year, he's had a great season. He came to camp in terrific shape. He hasn't had any crimps in his career. This year it's that consistency of keeping his game in order, I think that's the reason he's successful this year is his quickness and the rest of his shots. He's finally getting himself in the position to get the release away and then he's got one of the best shots in the game.

COACH QUENNEVILLE: Well, Joe had a line, particularly had an outstanding Game 1. I think that is -- from our standpoint, you look at, if there's anything you've got to be concerned with, it's shutting down Sakic's line to have any type of success. And you look at, if they're so dangerous off the rushing and that's where you want to make sure that you emphasize when you're out there, you can't give up the three on two, the two on one, that was real dangerous at the second. We're fortunate to come out of it. At the 2-1, those guys are opportunistic, and they are looking from their own end. We want to make sure we don't give them those breaks.

COACH QUENNEVILLE: Well, at that stage, when it was 2-1, I didn't know when I wanted to call timeout or break the momentum. But I still liked how we were playing. It was early. I didn't feel like I wanted to use my timeout then and I was going to wait and see what happens. I thought he settled down the rest of that period and I think he settled down the rest of the game as the game progressed. But I felt it was too early at that stage.

COACH QUENNEVILLE: That certainly was a break for us. It was a great opportunity. And, you know, I think Roman made a desperation-type save and got a piece of it and it hit the post. We got a gigantic break and hopefully that could turn it around for us. But it was, you know, it was one of those plays that in overtime anything can happen. We saw a lot of anything can happen last night. It was exciting and we got a few breaks and that one would definitely stick out.

COACH QUENNEVILLE: Well, I think that the confidence, I think, at the end of the game, I think Roman needed that. Hasn't beaten these guys, and knowing that he did and the diversity we overcame as a team and several instances in the game was good for him and good for everyone. But, you know, he's been so strong for us these playoff, we're going to count on him and rely on him and we're going to be going in the right direction after last night.

COACH QUENNEVILLE: I don't know. You'd have to ask him.

COACH QUENNEVILLE: Well, I'd be surprised if that's the reason. If it is, I'd be extremely shocked if that's the reason.

COACH QUENNEVILLE: No. I didn't say anything to him. I think he's one of those guys, he's kind of maintenance-free type person. And I think he knew what he had to do to stabilize his game. And I thought he did a good job on that.

COACH QUENNEVILLE: First game we were great, next game we were all right. And last night they turned the tables on the winning percentages. They won some important faceoffs last night. I think as the playoffs have gone off, we've done very well. Last night was the one area it stood out we're on the wrong side of it and we'll be aware of that.