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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: FLAMES v LIGHTNINGMay 28, 2004Andrew FerenceJarome IginlaRobyn RegehrCALGARY, ALBERTA: Practice Day Q. Robyn, how important is it to get the first goal? Obviously you guys got the first goal and won Game 1; game two they get the first goal. Is that the ultimate momentum? ROBYN REGEHR: Well, the first goal is very important, but I think it's also very important to come out and really establish a really strong game, the game that we need to play to be successful. It's nice to capitalize early in and that really helps. But you know, also being on your game and being sharp is a big key. Q. Speaking about being on your game, what about Kiprusoff rebounding from a loss? ROBYN REGEHR: Well, he's done a great job all season long in really playing extremely well after losing a game. It's not just him though. We all have to be a lot better than we were last game, and I think everyone realizes that and we'll be a lot better. Q. (Inaudible) they were very similar to your game in that they played, the best defense was their offense. ROBYN REGEHR: Tampa came in with a very, very good forecheck in Game 2. They utilized their speed and they were also physical, and they put a lot of pressure on us every time we were out there. We didn't do a great job in handling that, and that led to playing a lot in our own zone, which ultimately led to them scoring that first-period goal. Q. Talk about the power play. How important is it to get that going? ROBYN REGEHR: Well, we haven't done a great job on the power play and special teams. We knew it would be very important in this series, as they usually are, and we have to do a lot better job on the power play to get chances, to get shots. And likewise on the penalty kill, you know, you have to be able to kill off the opportunities that they have. Q. (Inaudible) ROBYN REGEHR: I think a little bit more could be given from everyone, from game two's effort and, you know, that's a little bit more by some people and I think a lot more by some players. So we all have to realize our potential and how we have to play it to help our team succeed. For a team like ours, you need every single player that's dressed that night to be on top of their game and to be doing the proper things out there to be successful. Q. You guys are 4 and 1 after a little -- after somebody on the team drops the gloves. Any method to that madness? ROBYN REGEHR: I don't think so. I don't think so at all. That stuff happens every now and again, I think it was dealt with last night, but I also think that we play better as a team and individuals when we don't like them. I hope we really bring that in Game 3. We're going to have to. Q. What is it that you don't like about Tampa Bay? ROBYN REGEHR: Lots of things. Q. The atmosphere here, is it possible to be too nervous going in and too excited trying to get a win in front of the home crowd? ROBYN REGEHR: I don't think so. I think we have dealt with that situation throughout the playoffs and the first couple of home games, I think we were a little bit tentative when we came out. But I see no reason why we shouldn't come out and be on our game. Q. There's a bear that's sitting beside the road on Highway 21 with a Regehr sweater on it. Who put that? ROBYN REGEHR: I have no idea. First time I heard about it. ANDREW FERENCE: We enjoy the fan support, but it's not something that we as a team rely on for success. It's just a matter of somewhat feeding off the excitement. But in the end, the game out there is controlled by greater forces than the fans. Q. What about you and the minutes you are getting and just the time you are playing got to be rewarding? ANDREW FERENCE: It's fine. The four of us are getting lot of ice. We're sharing a lot of minutes and it's good for us to get that rhythm and all be playing a lot. And, you know, we just want to win at this point in time. There's not too many guys picking up the stat sheet at the end of the night and going over the minutes. I know it sounds pretty cliche-ish, but it really is just about wins now and not minutes and whatnot -- it's a bonus. But I think we all know where the importance lies. Q. Fireworks at the end of the game last night. Yourself involved. ANDREW FERENCE: I said last night, you know, the rivalry is two teams fighting for the Cup, and I know that -- I know what our team is willing to do to win the Cup, throw Mike Tyson out there, I am sure anybody will fight him for the Cup because we want it. Everybody wants it. You dangle that in front of somebody's nose and they are going to do a lot to take it, I know especially guys on our team will. Q. Is a lot of it by design or is it something that's just happened? ANDREW FERENCE: Hockey is such a game of emotion, it's not premeditated or anything like that. It's a game where tempers flare, frustrations get high, I mean, there's a lot on the line. When you put a lot on the line, you know, peoples' emotions run high, and that's a good thing. It's not negative at all. Q. You said a lot of it was because you guys just don't like them. ANDREW FERENCE: Well, they are trying to take the Cup from us, and how can you like somebody who is doing that? Q. (Inaudible) any method to the madness of 4 and 1 and the gloves come off? ANDREW FERENCE: I don't know. We're a team of sore losers, really. We hate losing. You look from our captain down, Jarome hates losing, whether it's anything in life. I am not just saying he's the only one, but our team feeds off our captain. Our team is constructed of a bunch of guys that have a lot of pride and hate to see somebody else be victorious. Q. From that standpoint, you guys have always played better in the playoffs -- Vancouver series, emotional physical series. Sometimes you have to generate that yourself? ANDREW FERENCE: If our team doesn't play with emotion, we lose. And that's not just a couple of guys you know, going out and hitting and setting the tone. Everybody has to be on the same page with that. I think we have proven that time and time again where you know, if it's -- I hate to go back to it. If it's just Jarome going out there and doing his thing and, you know, fighting Hatcher, doing this or that. We're not going to win games with just him doing that. Everybody has got to take that lead and everybody has got to be on the same page and everybody has got to be, you know, willing to sacrifice everything for the win, and that's just the kind of team we have. That's our makeup. Q. Thoughts on what went wrong last night? ANDREW FERENCE: Well, they scored more goals than us and (laughs) our power play -- I can go down the list. Our power play -- you guys have listed them all in today's paper I am sure. I think it was pretty obvious. We have said it almost after every loss. The games we have lost, we deserved to lose. The other team has been better. We're not a team that can just get by on certain nights. We have to really thoroughly earn every win we get. That's just a matter of the kind of team we have and -- Q. Was it much more difficult for the forwards to handle last night -- ANDREW FERENCE: They turned up their game. I think their passes were better compared to the first game. There was a lot more bobbled pucks in the first game, a lot more unfinished chances. So they picked up their sharpness. JAROME IGINLA: We have had games where we haven't played as we wanted to all playoffs and we have had power plays that weren't -- we have had some big power play goals. Good or bad that stuff is behind and now it's just about this upcoming game. Q. (Inaudible)? JAROME IGINLA: I wasn't surprised. They play a lot. In the first game we were out against them, Richards, too, I think they St. Louis played 25 minutes, Richards played 25. They are out there a lot. We like to play four lines, so that means we're out -- so we had played against them before and that game, they were very good last game. Hats off to them all the way around, not just that line, their whole team, line after line, was going and they outplayed us and it doesn't feel good. It was a good opportunity to go up 2-0, but you give them credit and also we know we can be better. Q. First game seemed like the referees were letting you guys play; not a lot of penalties called. But a lot were called last night. Were you surprised at the fact that the referees tightened things up a little bit? JAROME IGINLA: Not really. I think yesterday was a little bit more chippy game. I think there were more penalties that deserved to be called on both sides and they were called. No, it's the kind of game, sometimes sticks get up and guys hook more than others. Either way, it's something that if we have more power plays and we have to kill more penalties then we have to do that. Whatever it takes to win. Yesterday all the way around, we didn't get the job done and this isn't the first, I mean, every game we lose in the playoffs, we're not happy. We all think we can do better. We feel we're going to rebound. Q. How is it to play with Gelinas? JAROME IGINLA: He's great. He's a guy that -- he's so prepared. We all try to be good professionals, but he's like a true professional that you watch as a young group, and myself being fairly young, not too young, but it's something that I look up to him and realize how he is prepared for practices, for games; how he brings the same thing night in, night out and his intensity. He has been a great example for our club. Q. 33? JAROME IGINLA: I am going to be 33 soon. That's not that old. He's done it his whole career and that 33, he's worked probably even harder. We like to think we're a pretty fit club and he's the fittest on the team. So he's a great example. Q. You guys are 4 and 1 after somebody decides to drop the gloves in the next game, any reason for that? Is it inspiring at all? JAROME IGINLA: I think it's something that our team, we like to play with an edge and sometimes we aren't always at the proper edge, and we don't have the intensity in our losses. We look at it and it's a big reason all the way through all year and in the playoffs, a big part of it we're a team that has energy and we want to be physical and want to be in your face, and it seems the games we lost, that's not the case. So maybe we realized too late in the game and we're maybe a little upset with the outcome or whatever it is, and it's just something that maybe it does fire us up a little bit and we'll realize the importance of that intensity and being on that edge and getting dressed for the next game. Q. You are getting a lot of attention for not only your hockey skills but being a great guy. How much credit do your parents deserve for being the man you have grown to be? JAROME IGINLA: My parents have been great examples. My grandparents are people that I have been able to look to and give me advice and call and friends, too. It's something that -- this has been an unbelievable run and it's been a dream come true being in the NHL, and being in the Stanley Cup Finals. It's been awesome to be able to share it with them and to have them come to games because they have really been a big part of my live. Q. Given yourself a chance to -- when the playoffs started, everyone said you were one of the better players in the league. As it's gone on now, "he is the best player in the league." JAROME IGINLA: That's very flattering. That's a big compliment, but it's something that being on -- being part of the winning team here, we're all getting, you know, things are getting magnified and it's fun more. Canadians are watching us and more, people are watching our games more than before. But no, I haven't thought about it in those terms, but it's definitely a huge compliment. There are so many great players in the league and it's nice to be one of the final two teams playing, and being three wins away from the Stanley Cup. Q. Any discussions about what you have to do to do a little better in this building? JAROME IGINLA: Well, I think it's something that from our point of view, we like playing here. We really do. It's a great atmosphere. Our last game here was good. We're going to build on that. We adjusted some things last game. Our intensity was up last game at home and we want to have that same effort. It was a very big game, last game, and it's a very big one coming up. Q. They came after you so differently than game No. 1, were you surprised? JAROME IGINLA: I don't think we're surprised. We all talked about how they were going to be more desperate. That's the way it is. That's the way it's been all playoffs. You lose a game, you realize the importance of the next one. They were second overall in the league and first in their conference. That's impressive. Very good club. We talked about it. We just didn't have the intensity, the energy that we needed and but now it's our turn. This is a very big one. We found ways to rebound all year and now it's time to do it again. Q. Because of that, no panic here? JAROME IGINLA: There's no panic at all. This is the playoffs. Nobody -- it should be tough. Stanley Cup Finals. It should be extremely tough. We have had some very, very important, very tough games, coming off games that we have lost, every time we lose we're not happy and there's things we realize we could have improved on this is no different and we plan on improving. Q. Going to the hotel now? JAROME IGINLA: I don't want to tell you. (Laughs) no. We're going to -- guys have always had the choice and stuff as how they want to prepare before the games in the playoffs. Teams stay in the hotel at times. Teams -- we have had the choice the whole playoffs. We'll talk about it. Q. What gets you jump-started here at home? JAROME IGINLA: At home, I think there's been some good games here at home in the playoffs for us, games that we have been a little flat also. From our point of view we had the biggest game at home in the playoffs we just played and we have won some very important ones against Detroit, against San Jose, to clinch it, so we like playing here at home. This is as big as it gets, our biggest so far and we plan on being prepared in building off our last game. It was a very good effort here at home and we'll need that again. Q. For the games you lost, the other team was the better team (inaudible) -- JAROME IGINLA: That's true. We are a team that's taken pride and enjoyed it being that every single guy has come to play and try to match the guy who went out before, the games we have lost we're not happy. We realize that there's things we could improve on in every single game we have lost.
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