NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: CAPITALS v RED WINGS

June 15, 1998

Ron Wilson

COACH WILSON: Yeah. Well, particular -- yeah, I said -- I saw him go down and do the same thing and he scored and he says: Well, you see what happens when you practice, moves like that. It's your fault we haven't practiced. He said: Okay, we'll practice it at the end just to lighten the mood a little bit. And it's funny, when guys -- all eyes are on them. Some guys miss the Net. It's not as easy as you think times. We've had empty net practice this year. If somebody has -- you know, made a big mistake that's embarrassing, then we'll practice and just try to have a light moment with it and point out to other guys that the mistake made sometimes, it's not as easy as you think it is.

COACH WILSON: Well, I think we fully understand what we haven't done in this series so far. A lot of it has to do with the Detroit Red Wings. They know how to bend, but not break even more so than us and, essentially, we've talked at great length now for two days about what we have to do in the first period. If we can come out of the first period, even, or up a goal, but, bottom line, even -- and we've done a pretty good job in the last 40 minutes of the game in terms of winning some periods and doing things well. So, tomorrow night, our goal is to be ready at the start of the game, not be nervous or tight or wait to see what the Red Wings are going to do because they're pretty consistent in their game plan and pretty consistent in their effort. If we dig in the first period, then I'll be happy and then we just got to continue to play in the second and third the way we have in the game so far.

COACH WILSON: Well, you've got to understand that our best players are being checked tightly by a whole team, essentially. There are no weaknesses in the Detroit lineup when it comes to playing defensive hockey. So the room is a lot smaller out there and we've got to, as a whole team, understand that maybe Peter won't score tomorrow night or Brian Bellows or Joey Juneau might get shut down and it's up to everybody else to participate in the offense. And it's also the guys who aren't scoring's responsibility and obligation to be just as determined defensively and sometimes you worry so much about trying to help the team with your strengths -- for example, goal scoring -- that you sometimes overlook another important aspect of a team and that's playing well in your own end. And we need a commitment from everybody first and foremost defensively in the first period and then just to be ready when the chances are there. I think the Red Wings are a prime example of that. They've got -- they know what it takes and we're learning as we go here. But as far away as we are, we've also been very close to wins three games and that's a positive for us to take out of this.

COACH WILSON: He's got a -- like an inner ear infection, I believe, so I went to see the doctor and whether he plays tomorrow, I don't know until I hear back from the doctor, but he -- he would have probably been at practice, but the either nose and throat specialist could only see him at, like, 10:30. He's a guy who performs surgery or something, so he had to miss practice.

COACH WILSON: Well, I think we have to be patient in the first period instead of forcing the issue sometimes and opening yourself up to silly mistakes, the things we didn't do -- we haven't done all season long and we've always -- we're pretty consistent in our play in the first period - even throughout the Playoffs. Most times we came out of a first period with a lead or even and in this series we've been behind in the first period in every game and we have to be patient in the first period and watch and see what's happening and just take what Detroit gives us and not try to force things. Not come out and say, we've got to score in the first five minutes and in the first couple of games we did and we were playing well and then they scored and, you know, to be like a punch in the gut; it knocks the wind out of you when you're going so strong. So we've got to make sure that we don't expose ourselves because this is a team that's lurking around and waiting for you to drop your guard a little bit and they hit you with a solid punch and sometimes you don't ever recover from it. At least, that's the way I've seen the first three games.

COACH WILSON: I think Olie's been great. You know, the goals they've scored, they earned them. He hasn't let any soft goals in. I mean, it's so easy to sit and say, the goalie should be -- geez, if Olie stops everything, they'll be coming out 0-0. I thought he's played great.

COACH WILSON: I don't think he's feeling the pressure at all. He hasn't lost his temper. I can usually tell if Olie is getting testy and I don't think that he has. I think he's enjoyed this. He's lost three games by one goal and, under no circumstances could you say that it was in anyway Olie's fault.

COACH WILSON: Yeah, as the game went on, it was great. But you win the game on the ice, nowhere else and Detroit's answered the bell a number of times in this game. Key people have made big plays. But it just as easily could have gone the other way. We've had some near misses at key points in games as well. I mean, sometimes that's just the way it happens. We just look and say: Hey, we're out to win one game, turn this into four one-game matches right now to win a Stanley Cup. We have to win one game or we're done right now.

COACH WILSON: I suppose, but, no, we're not -- we're not just trying to prolong the series. We're trying to win the Stanley Cup. That's what our motivation is. It's not about -- tomorrow night -- it's not about -- tomorrow night, we're going to now play better because we don't want them to win the Stanley Cup here. We would rather see them do it in Detroit. If we win here, chances are, in the back of their minds, maybe the players wouldn't admit it, but they're thinking about a Stanley Cup parade on Friday and if they're not, the moms and dads and wives and kids are and they're going to hear it all day and they're going to read it in the newspaper and the test for them will be psychologically can they avoid thinking like that. I mean, they might be thinking that right now. Tomorrow we get home, the people are going to be there, we're going to have a nice parade, blah blah blah, and they're professional enough not to say it, but you couldn't tell me that they don't hear it from their friends or from the media or what does it mean tonight if you win in Washington. You know, those are tough questions to deflect. So we have -- if there is anything that we can use, it's that, you know for the next three games, until they do finish us off, if they do. You know, I mean, those cliches, the fourth game is always the hardest one to win. So before we have to worry about winning the fourth game, that would be Game seven. I can just worry about winning each game here without that pressure of winning the fourth game. Pressure is on Detroit to finish us off.

COACH WILSON: Yeah, I do. I think we realize how close we are to winning a game here, whether it was Tik missing the empty net which would have -- I mean, who knows? Maybe Detroit would have come back and scored two goals, you can't tell, but that probably psychologically would have finished them off that night. So you're left with how close you are and that should be a positive sign, not a negative one.