	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: FLYERS v LIGHTNING

May 22, 2004

John Tortorella

TAMPA, FLORIDA: Game Seven

Q. When you took over this team for the first time could you imagine it would happen this quickly that you'd be in the Stanley Cup Final?
JOHN TORTORELLA: No. No, I think as quick as it's happened, we didn't expect that. We felt we were making quite a few strides as we have gone through the past couple of years. Last year I thought was a very big year for the team, an understanding that they can win. They were fortunate to win a round, found out how hard it is to play in the Playoffs the second round, and I think those are the lessons that are the most important as you go through this year.
I am not going to lie to you, there's no chance we thought this would be happening so quick. We are fortunate. I am so happy for the guys. I am happy the way they did it. I think that was the most important thing tonight was not going in the back door. I think they knocked down the front door and just charged. I thought that was very important as far as our mindset was concerned.
Q. Hitchcock made a big, big point, John, that he thought the difference was winning the battles along the boards. That hasn't always been the case in this series; what changed tonight?
JOHN TORTORELLA: Well, you know, I end up listening to some people about the series as far as the type of play and who was winning all the battles. I don't think it was one-sided as a lot of people thought and I don't think people wearing down was as one-sided as everybody thought would happen in a long series. I thought we held up very well through a grind. We knew the place on the wall especially in the neutral zone as far as which end we were going to play at was very important.
Philly, they are a helluva club. They spent a lot of time in our end zone through some of the games, but defensively I thought we did a very good job and tonight we had to change that as far as the amount of time spending in the end zone and it all starts in that middle zone and I thought we did a terrific job there. Held onto the puck more offensively, scored a jam goal with Mo. So it was a great series.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Flyers, the players, it was, I thought, I just think it's been a great series for the National Hockey League as far as what has gone on in these last seven games.
Q. The Islanders and Montreal five games, four games not really physical series; what do you -- biggest thing you take out of a 7-game physical series that you beat the Flyers in?
JOHN TORTORELLA: It answers the question that the Tampa Bay Lightning play through a grind, they can handle some of the physical play. I think we proved that. I think -- again Philly, is a fine line of winning and losing that's why this series goes seven but I think the style of this series, I thought we stood up very well and now we have another team in Calgary, who just comes, and everybody is involved physically. It's going to be a very, very tough series and we have to answer again there. That's the big question that a lot of people had about us, were we going to be able to handle a 7-game grind and I thought we handled ourselves very well.
Q. Discuss a little bit the ability of your team to learn lessons and learn them quickly going from Game 6 to what happened in the third period to watching what they did in the third period tonight?
JOHN TORTORELLA: To be honest with you that Game 6, that loss was probably one of the most emotional losses I have ever been involved in. Philly scores four minutes into the third period, it isn't as emotional because you could feel the anticipation on our bench at the end of that game and we are almost there, almost getting to the Finals and then they score and then they just -- it was men against boys in the overtime.
For them to answer it isn't physical; it's a mental toughness, and it's something that collectively our guys handled very well and have handled very well through the regular season and even through the first two series, always adversity through the series, our team has matured. They have matured. Do we have more to learn? Absolutely. But for them to win the game and I stress the way they won it, I think it's a great sign for this hockey club. That's them. It is no one else except the players, they are the ones that have to gear up, get through some of the scrutiny of Game 6, and get their mindset right, so I give them a ton of credit.
Q. Hitch said having seven defensemen tonight was huge for him. Just talk about -- I know you won't take credit for it -- talk about the mindset that you had going in to do that and how you -- Culli, when did you know you were going to play him?
JOHN TORTORELLA: Well, Culli wanted to play Game 6. He felt he was ready for Game 6 and I think when you are in Playoffs the most important thing at this time of year is your team chemistry and I have Nolan Pratt in there who has fought like hell when Culli was hurt and has done some really good things for this hockey club. I said no to Culli in Game 6. We wanted to keep our team the way it was. We felt we were playing fairly well and I didn't want to destroy some of the chemistry but Jason has been our No. 1 guy. We spent some time in our end zone more than we'd like to. We felt our "D" were getting run down a bit and to have 7 and to bring in a big body like that and really your top defensemen we wanted to do it. We were really concerned obviously, him stepping in Game 6 and 7 at game speed and being out for six, seven weeks, that's a tough thing to do. I watch him and I see him battle through it and I think he got 12 minutes or so, if I look at the sheet right, and they were 12 important minutes for us. So who knows where we go with that. We're pretty happy with all our "D" and it gave me some flexibility up in the forward lines too. Spotting Andrei. And spotting Dinger in, who I thought played terrific in the third period after sitting on the bench. Again it goes down to execution of the players.
Q. He gave you the offense, Culli?
JOHN TORTORELLA: Yeah, he jumped up in the play and so -- I mean, that's what is so interesting about this. You never know who is going to step up, and these type of games on both teams, it's a test for the players to see who can handle the situation and that's mental toughness. So it's a good thing.
Q. Calgary not only representing the west, they are also representing a country. Are you going to downplay the United States versus Canada part of this Finals?
JOHN TORTORELLA: I will tell you right now I am not getting involved in any bullshit in this series. (LAUGHTER) I have too much -- and I mean this, I have too much respect for that man, Darryl, with Calgary and their team and how they have done it, don't expect me to be involved in any bullshit. This is the Finals. I am not going to get involved, lose any integrity of what these two teams have done to get there. We're going to go and we're going to go after them just like they are going to come after us. As he says and as I believe, it is about the players, they are going to decide this series.

End of FastScripts...

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297