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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: FLAMES v LIGHTNINGMay 31, 2004Jassen CullimoreCory SarichCALGARY, ALBERTA: Game Four Q. I just want both guys to comment on Khabibulin tonight? CORY SARICH: I thought he did an excellent job tonight. He had good angles. He was sharp in his net, moving from side to side. He even handled all the rolling and bouncing pucks out there. I know there was a scary one at the end of the first period, just a dump all the way down the ice. The puck was really bouncing. I thought he did a fantastic job. JASSEN CULLIMORE: I mean, he did a great job out there, especially I think shorthanded. They had a shot from the point and he got his glove on it and made a big save there. That's what we need. We need those big saves at big times in the game. Q. You guys haven't lost a back-to-back all through the Playoffs. Your situation here with two players who made big contributions are out. What was the sense going into the game of what you had to do and what you were told to do in terms of how much time spending on the ice and the like? CORY SARICH: The focus tonight was, you know, make sure we were competing for the full 60 minutes, just wanted to make sure we were moving that puck quick out there tonight. I think at times in the last few games maybe hanging on to it a little too long a little indecisive. We just wanted to spend as much time in their end as we could. Really takes the pressure off us as defensemen and I think that's where some of our strength lies. Q. Until now you had not been behind in a series, I don't think. How much of a feeling of desperation was there in the room tonight knowing that if you lose, you are down 3-1? JASSEN CULLIMORE: There was definitely a lot of desperation, especially with a couple of the key players that we had out, I think the theme of our video session yesterday and today was, let's get the what-ifs or almosts out of our vocabulary. There was a lot of plays where we almost got the puck, almost kept it in, almost got a scoring chance. We wanted to take those out of the game and make sure we got it going. Q. Talk about Brad's play. The day before Coach Tortorella said he needed more out of his star players. The night before he goes to the stick side, it's a great save. A night later, is it that close? JASSEN CULLIMORE: I think definitely it's that close. Like I said, it's that little split second that you get there a little ahead of time, it's that extra effort that fraction, you know, of effort that you give a little more. Brad has been doing that all playoff long and been getting key goals for us. I think the one thing he asked of all of our forwards was to try to hold on to the puck a little longer when we get into their zone instead of trying to make a play out to the middle and having Calgary come back on us, to hold onto the play and turn your back and protect it. Q. Jason, stepping into that sort of role facing the first line. Also the second period shift, where you guys were short of running around, you managed to sort of survive that sequence. JASSEN CULLIMORE: Well, I didn't know that Pavel wasn't playing until we came to the rink just before the game and I wasn't sure who I was going to play with even then. And I think they switched it up a couple of times before we started the game. It was a big change. I have been playing as a 7th defensemen and they have been putting me in in certain situations, playing 10 to 12 minutes. I think I played a lot more tonight, at least it felt like it. To play against the top line, you have to step your game up and be aware of where everyone is on the ice. The second period, that happened to us last game, too. We got hemmed in there, had a long change in the second period. You get a little tired, and you can't let that happen. We got to get the pucks out or get the pucks in whatever we need to do to stop them .
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