NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: MAPLE LEAFS v HURRICANES

May 25, 2002

Darcy Tucker

DARCY TUCKER: No. Never saw the puck. I saw it go through to the net, but I didn't see after that. I was just looking for a rebound and fortunately, it went off my foot. The game is so fickle, it's unbelievable. Sometimes you get breaks that you don't expect, and we were fortunate to get one tonight.

DARCY TUCKER: Yeah, we should have maybe played a little bit better on the second power play. We could have scored our second goal of the game and put us up 2-0. We had some chances there but did not capitalize. But we got efforts from everybody tonight it. It was a huge game for us, obviously, being on the brink of elimination. We're on the road. We came in here not thinking about anything else but winning this one game and giving ourselves the opportunity to go back home and redeem ourselves on home ice.

DARCY TUCKER: I think they have different coaching styles. Pat has his way of going about things and Rick has his way of going about things. I don't think they are a whole lot different, but Rick is pretty straightforward. He tells you what he wants from you, and he doesn't pull any punches and just makes sure that you are ready to play. Pat, he's stern. The way he comes into the room. But I don't think it makes a difference to us who is on the bench or what's going on. We had a game to win and get it accomplished. I think everybody over the boards did a great job.

DARCY TUCKER: It's tough, because you have to kill off a lot of penalties and it takes some guys out of the game. It makes an onus on a lot of guys to kill the penalties. I thought we did a heck of job of killing those penalties off. It was tough on five on three, they have a good five on three and they shoot the puck really well. I thought we did a great job of killing the penalties.

DARCY TUCKER: Well, he's been there for us right from the start, since he's got here. He's been a huge part of our success, not only in these playoffs, but in the regular season and in the past playoffs. Obviously, tonight he was huge and in key parts of the game. But we've got to be better in fronts of him, especially on home ice. We have to limit the chances against him and make sure that we play better on home ice.

DARCY TUCKER: I don't think I felt pressure. I think that any time you come back from an injury that maybe you come back too early from, there's an adjustment period. I think it was more mental for me than anything. I think that my mind was willing to do it. I just didn't know if my body was prepared to take that next step. I had a little talk with Rick before Game 4, just I think more for my own mind set than anything. I was willing to do whatever it took to win the hockey game, but my body wasn't responding the way I had hoped. Definitely in the last two games, I got back to playing the way I'm capable of playing. I understand that everybody has a role to fill on this hockey club and I have to go out there to fulfill mine to the best of my ability. I give it everything I've got every night. It might not be great some nights, but I'll give you everything my heart is willing to give.

DARCY TUCKER: I think it's good for us, especially going back home. We are, and have been, banged up throughout the playoffs. As well, I think it gives us time to think about what we have accomplished here in Game 5 and not rest on our laurels. I don't think getting back right away would be beneficial. I think the day off gives us time to go over our strategy for game 6.

DARCY TUCKER: I think the guys that have been out of the lineup are feeling a lot better. I think that this time of year, you have got to be a very, very special player to come back after being off, I don't care if it's one game or 20 games, to come back and be your absolute best, I think that the guys that have come back, to try to help the team win have done a better job the last couple of games, just in their tenacity and their willingness to do whatever it takes to win.

DARCY TUCKER: I don't think there will be just one, that's for sure. We've been through a lot as a group in these playoffs. It's made us a lot stronger and a lot harder egg to crack, I think. I'm very proud to play on a team like this. I'm very excited about the opportunity in Game 6. We have a long road ahead, but it's the old cliche, it's one game at a time. We've got one, so time to go get the next one.

DARCY TUCKER: I think it puts the onus on the players a lot more. The players have to make better changes. The players have to go out there and maybe their role is narrowed down, and I think that it's easier to understand what your job is when you go out on the ice and do it to the best of your ability. I think in the last two games, we got back to being hungry again. It's tough when you have changes in your lineup, and I don't care what team you are. Some hockey teams need 25, 26 guys to win, and we've done that so far in these playoffs. I think that we were not as hungry as we needed to be for a couple of games, and even at that, we were only one shot away from winning those games. We have a great group of guys in that dressing room, and like I said I'm very proud to play with this team.

DARCY TUCKER: It's a tight series goal scoring wise. It's very hard to get room out there to score goals, and that's what you expect when you come down to the final four, you expect that tight-checking hockey. We have to be desperate if we want to win. Our hockey club has to play a certain way to win. Maybe it's a throwback to the 70s, late 60s and 70s, but we are not here to please everybody. We are here to win a hockey game.

DARCY TUCKER: Well, it wasn't really much of a goal, but obviously, when you're on the brink of elimination, any game-winning goal, doesn't matter who scores it, is huge for the team. Like I said when I first came in here, I think the game is very fickle in that aspect. You could do nothing all night, and one goes off your foot and boom, everybody is excited. Everybody is saying, now everything is back to normal, you're playing better. We played better the other night in Game 4 than we played tonight, but lucky bounces, and boom I'm sitting in a room like this.

DARCY TUCKER: I think that is our makeup. If we play any other way, less than hungry, we are not going to be as effective as we normally are. I think the characteristics of our team have come to the forefront of these playoffs. One thing about our team is we find ways to adapt to whatever sort of game is being played, and I think that falls upon the leaders of our hockey club, which is a testament to how well they go out there and perform. I think everybody follows from their lead. We've had guys that are older guys, who have played phenomenal hockey in the playoffs, and we've had younger guys from the minors play phenomenal hockey, which has helped us get to this point. It's a long road to get to where we are now, but it's an even longer road to get back to where we want to be, and that's coming back here. So we've got to focus on Tuesday night and get ready for that.

DARCY TUCKER: Playoffs is a weird bird. We played the first series, won all the games on home ice and lost all the games on the road. The second series was kind of back and forth, and then the third one here, we lost on home ice and won two here. So, it's a weird, weird game sometimes. We've got to find a way to win on home ice. We have an opportunity to win at home, and we've been good there all year through the regular season. We have to find a way to be good in Game 6.