NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: WILD v MIGHTY DUCKS

May 11, 2003

Sergei Zholtok

SERGEI ZHOLTOK: A little bit last night, but I saw some of them on the news. It seems like he played perfectly, but I didn't put enough up high, but hopefully I will do it tomorrow.

SERGEI ZHOLTOK: Absolutely. I shot maybe a foot above the ice. If you shot it all the way up, even not hard enough, you can catch it. Every goalie has a different spots where you can beat them. When I was playing against Patrick Roy, and he was probably one of the best in the game, and you try to get the traffic and tips on him. I tipped one puck, but I don't think he saw it. So, it's a goal. It's frustrating, but at the same time you just got to do what you think to make you successful.

SERGEI ZHOLTOK: It never will. This team is really strong, especially, you know, we don't get bothered by things like that.

SERGEI ZHOLTOK: Yes and no. We're facing a different team than we were facing in the first two rounds, but also it's a lot of similarities to both teams. They've got superstars like Kariya, Oates, and forwards like Sykora. You know, I have a chance in overtime, but you're a little bit nervous and all this stuff, and he showed the poise and had all the good skills. They have superstars which can put the puck in the net. They also have a lot of speed on the transition. They're basically trying to be free of mistakes and jump on the attack. They score a lot of goals from the red line up very fast, and, you know, Vancouver plays similar style offensively. They're skating a lot, but at the same time, they're a good defensive team. That's why they're in the Semi-Finals right now.

SERGEI ZHOLTOK: We create chances. That's what the coach is asking for. On the PP, I think the first couple powerplays, especially one in the second period, every time you make a couple passes in front of the goal back and forth, that's good. That's when you know you kind of tear apart the structure of the defense of Gaborik. At the same time, they are a good penalty killing team. So, you need to adjust. It's different than Vancouver. We didn't have a lot of time to see much videos on them right before the game.

SERGEI ZHOLTOK: They are more aggressive. Vancouver is sitting back more. The pressure of the puck everywhere in the zone, and sometimes they're going on the break-out, they send the guy out to pressure the puck. Like I say, we'll create chances, and hopefully in the next game, we will win if we score. It's not so much pressure to score on the powerplay. At the same time, if we're going to win the final five, nobody cares.

SERGEI ZHOLTOK: Yes, I think so. I think that the people who do the schedules don't realize how far Vancouver and Minneapolis and St. Paul are from each other. Today, I feel great. It's like the first day of training camp. You have so many emotions to be in the Semi-Finals, so you forget about all the tiredness you have. The family is a great thing too. At home we have families around us, and we're going to be ready tomorrow.

SERGEI ZHOLTOK: A lot of sleep. Believe me, I went home and shut it down for a good 10, 11 hours. Then you play with the kids. We went a little shopping today. I love to spend time with the kids . I feel great right now. I'm ready to go.