|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: FLYERS v LIGHTNINGMay 21, 2004Darryl SydorTim TaylorTAMPA, FLORIDA: Practice Day Q. Obviously coach has been preaching change since training camp. When you see your team getting caught maybe in that mindset, does it kind of drive you crazy that -- how difficult is it to pull yourself out of it? TIM TAYLOR: I think when things, what happened in Game 5 and we were able to pull a win out it's hard to change when bad things don't seem to happen to you in that situation. Obviously last night it did. It caught up with us. We addressed that today and we know that within our team concept we can't sit back. We are a team that's a very aggressive forecheck. We got caught sitting back and it wasn't so much that we were -- we were afraid to take that next step forward to win the hockey game and we were letting them come at us instead of us continuing to put the forecheck on them. We talked about it today. It's Game 7 for us to go back and give everything we have and win with our system. Q. They say you play all season long so you can get home ice advantage. Does it make a difference in a 7th game; can it make a difference? DARRYL SYDOR: I think so. I think I mean, this is what you fought for all year, is for home ice advantage. It's not so much for the first two games. I mean, yeah, that's key but to be able to have a Game 7 to go to Stanley Cup Finals. If they would have asked this team three years ago they would be loving it. If they asked us in January they would be loving it. They fought all year with me coming in late for Game 7 to go to the Stanley Cup Finals. It's exciting. Guys are going to have fun. That's one thing we talked about was to enjoy it and give it your all. You have got one game, that's all you have got to worry about now. Q. Darryl, when does transition start from not looking at what-ifs from last night's game and looking more forward; what can we do for tomorrow night's game and how hard it is to not think about what-if? DARRYL SYDOR: The "if," could-have-should-have-would-have shouldn't be in our vocabulary. You have got the "dos," I did, and you know, you got to know that what we did last night is we lost a lead with a 1:49 tie game; we got to learn. I mean, the road to the Stanley Cup is not always smooth. I said this over and over. We took our lumps in Game 2. We took our lumps in Game 4 and we learned from it. I think we're going to learn from our situation last night in Game 6. I mean, it happened for a reason. We really do believe that, that we have the team, if we want to go and do it we feel we can get it done. They do too. So it's going to be a matter of who gets it done. Q. The mood on the ice today seemed kind of a lot more serious, maybe even somber than it's been, not really a lot of joking around. Is this team bounced back or are you guys ready to go for Game 7 now? DARRYL SYDOR: Yeah, I am not questioning our team. I think the coaching staff is not questioning our team. It's a 3-3 series. It's one game-winner takes all -- well, not takes all but goes to the next series. I think there's no questions in our room that we can't get it done. We are positive. We understand what we could have did it last night but we got another game to play now. Q. As veterans of Game 7s in the past, what do you guys tell the other players in your room that haven't been through a Game 7, how to approach it and what it is like? TIM TAYLOR: We talked about it today and I think four, five guys in the room that have done it. I have only gone through one. Dave kind of hit the nail on the head, he said that with the Game 7, he doesn't remember a lot of games but he does remember the Game 7s he's played and whether he's won or lost and whether it be home or away, he said things do happen for a reason and this maybe happened last night to give ourselves an opportunity, the luxury of playing in Game 7 because this is the Playoffs and what more can you ask for than playing a Game 7, having an opportunity to go to the Stanley Cups Finals. I think a lot of us are going to really enjoy it, embrace it and go after it. I think that's one thing we really stressed today, was going after it. Not siting back and kind of lulling ourselves to get through this Game 7. We want to go after it, and look at it face on and grab a hold of it. Q. Darryl, you in particular with the success that the powerplay has had in this series, are you a little disappointed that some of the calls weren't made in last night's game that maybe both teams got away with a little bit more than maybe they should have? DARRYL SYDOR: I don't think so. I mean, there's games where you think there's too many calls, then there's games that you don't think there's enough calls. I think last night the referees let the teams decide what is going to happen. I don't think it was out of hand by all means. I think that's what hockey is about. That's what hockey used to be about. There is no diving out there, no nothing, it was just a matter of -- I believe our powerplay is working right now. You obviously want calls but you just got to go out and work hard and whatever happens happens. If it's a penalty-filled game, hopefully we are on top with the powerplay. Q. Obviously the Playoffs have been going on for a long time. It's very grueling. How do you personally recharge your mental state of mind and refresh yourself for the next game? TIM TAYLOR: For me I am looking at it, hey, I am more charged now than I was at the start of the year. You see the light at the end of the tunnel, the light is there now. We are right there. We have one game to win to go to the Stanley Cup Finals. For me, I am more charged now than I was for Game 1 at the start of the Playoffs. I am sure most of our team is feeling that way right now. DARRYL SYDOR: If you can't get motivated to play in a Game 7 to go to the Stanley Cup Finals, you are not human. That's just the way it is. You have got to be excited. You have got to be -- coaching staff doesn't need to motivate you. Nobody needs to motivate you. You are going to be excited. You have got something you are going after, the Holy Grail; with one more win then we are four away.
End of FastScripts... |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|