NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: HURRICANES v RED WINGS

June 3, 2002

Nicklas Lidstrom

Brendan Shanahan

Steve Yzerman

STEVE YZERMAN: Any team -- Carolina for that matter, I think the reason the two teams are here, they have gotten production from their lines really. I guess in our situation with our team having -- in this series with Darren McCarty coming up with a hat trick in the first game basically was the difference in that hockey game. Then again in Game 6 he scores a second goal to put us up 2-0. Scotty, I guess his philosophy is he wants players that are effective in both ends of the rink. He concentrates or really spends a lot of time on the defensive part but he expects players to be assets at both ends of the rink so our team is -- he likes to play -- feel he can play any line in any situation. But reason both teams are in the Finals they have gotten production not from just one line; they were able to beat Colorado because they had some injuries and their scoring was centered around 5 players for that matter, and our depth was maybe the difference in that series.

STEVE YZERMAN: We have had a chance to watch them a lot since their second round. Pretty much the entire second round and all their games against Toronto in the third round, watched them play what they do. They use three lines a lot and all three lines again are a threat to score goals. Generate scoring chances. They do a lot of good things. They are structured pretty well; move the puck well; get the puck out of their end. Speedy wingers who drive hard. You talk about Cole and Battaglia on one line really effective big guys that drive hard with good speed and then Kapanen on the other line, on Francis's line, with Jeff O'Neil, two guys again with good speed. Then the young guys playing with Vasicek and Svoboda, again another line with good speed and good skills. So they just have good depth, again on the blue line as well, they really don't have a weakness.

STEVE YZERMAN: Yeah, I haven't really practiced hardly at all through the Playoffs, and just every now and then go out and shoot some pucks is about all I have really done and seemed to have gotten used to it and feel comfortable doing it.

STEVE YZERMAN: Yeah.

BRENDAN SHANAHAN: Obviously with players like Chris when you play against him he's not a fun guy to be out on the ice with, and usually the guys that you dislike the most playing against are the guys that you appreciate the most as teammates.

NICKLAS LIDSTROM: Yeah, I don't think it was really discussed in camp or early in the season. I thought well when I heard about the players that we signed over the summer last summer I was really excited about it just coming back and getting ready for camp and the regular season but I don't think it was much discussed really about winning the Cup, not really.

STEVE YZERMAN: I think 9th year, I think with the team, I guess over the years -- majority not the majority, we have got about 10 guys on our team now been here his entire tenure, and kind of gotten to know what to expect from him and for the most part he knows what to expect. So maybe he's a little -- just a little bit less hands on than he was early you know, he will kind of give us enough rope or whatever just leave us alone at times. He's not always right there, but his style or his approach to coaching I guess as far as the way we play really hasn't changed, how he handles situations, whether it be your travel schedule or practice time, or slumps or good times, really hasn't changed that much. If anything I think he knows the players more and we know him reasonably well and he kind of at times just leaves us alone; let's us do our thing.

BRENDAN SHANAHAN: I think that has been the one thing I have noticed between Scotty and other coaches I have had is that he obviously when he comes to a team he takes him some time to build the team the players that he wants, and after that, the group is pretty much left alone. I think he really relies on his players to -- you know, he likes to step back and let the players put peer pressure on each other to get his message across and to -- so doesn't always have to coach, he's not always having to say things behind the bench or in practices. He doesn't come in and give us big speeches, but certainly in big games and big moments, when you have got a guy that has been coaching as long as he has, and can draw from his successes, and experience, it's -- you know, it can -- he can exude confidence to the players when he's in a situation like that in Game 7 he can come in and tell us about experiences that he's already had in game Sevens with legendary players, I think that he's one of those guys that if he believes it will happen, I think that that can rub off on the players.

STEVE YZERMAN: I think the change in their defense also when they traded -- they traded Sandis to Florida, he's kind of a riverboat gambler more of an end-to-end rusher and bringing in Sean Hill who is a pretty steady defensive player as well and Brett as well, a solid very reliable defensemen, it just settled things down for them, and as you see in their Playoffs they have had a lot of -- not just because good goaltending but good defensive play. They don't give up a ton of chances. They become a more consistent and reliable defensive team.

STEVE YZERMAN: Well, Brett Hull is one of our coaches and he's only 37 as well, so we respond pretty well to him. (Laughter) I don't know, I have never -- I haven't -- I have played for Scotty for a while, never been in a situation where I played for a coach younger than I am. Ronnie Francis, he's in his late 30s, I believe, as well and guys respect the position, and regardless of your age whether it's your teammate who is 23 or 24, it's how people conduct themselves and handle themselves. So age is really irrelevant.

BRENDAN SHANAHAN: : I remember I played with Jeff in his rookie year, and I remember early in the season when he was a pretty young guy and he wasn't dressing a few games, they wanted him to watch, and he would come down after the game to the dressing room, and there might have been a handful of players that would sit out each game, but he could tell you every single play that happened in that game, and he would go up to players and ask them why they did this or why they did that. We really thought then that he was a real student of the game, and that he was going to be good. You could see that he had the skill. But I think that proved that he wanted to get better and he was going to learn from others that he played with, and so it has been nice to see him develop over the years, and as far as the team goes, I think that it's great because I had -- I left on really good terms with Paul Maurice and Jim Rutherford and Pete Karmanos and kept up a pretty good relationship with them so I have been happy to see them successful up until now. It's an organization, they work very hard, they have had a lot of changes. They have been in three different buildings since I left them six years ago, and but things have settled down now obviously there. I think Paul Maurice has been coaching almost as long as any -- well longer than most coaches in the NHL. Like Steve said, it really doesn't matter what his age is. People in hockey judge others on their performance.

STEVE YZERMAN: I go back to 1997 we were in the situation against Philadelphia, and we sat back, and listened before the series about a bigger, stronger more physical team, we wouldn't be able to play with them; we can't keep up with them, and we won that series. And I think we weren't considered to win that series. It is really irrelevant. The fact we played the team twice this year, you don't play enough against a team and they have some different players in the lineup and they were a different team than they were in the regular season and particularly when we played them. So you can't really tell how we match up until we play one another. Our goal is to win. Obviously Carolina is in a position where they want to win the thing as well. We go into this with apprehension because there's some uncertainty and we don't know what their team is really about because we haven't played them enough to get a good feel. We have been fortunate to watch them play since our games were opposite nights of their games and we have got a real appreciation for how they play and particularly the younger players on their team. We know Ron Francis and Brind'Amour and Irbe some of those young guys on their team, Cole and Battaglia, the two European players, we really didn't have a good feel for them. Watching them play, you are like, whoa, had no idea these guys were that good. Certainly not sitting here thinking we're not playing a top team. We're playing a great team. They have got something special going. They have carried it on through the Playoffs. I have said it before it makes them a dangerous team. They are on a roll. They have won overtime games. They have got something unique going on. I guess it's a magical season for them and somehow we have to figure out a way to put a halt to that.