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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: FLYERS v LIGHTNINGMay 22, 2004Fredrik ModinBrad RichardsTAMPA, FLORIDA: Game Seven Q. What was the difference in the third period tonight as opposed to the third period in Game 6? BRAD RICHARDS: I think tonight we learned a lot very quickly that no matter win or lose you don't want to go out there in the third period and play back of your heals; that's what happened in Philly. You can live with yourself if you try to win a game we didn't try to win a game and they took it to us. Tonight we rebounded very well and took it to them. Q. Brad, how big was that first goal just to kind of take the edge off of you guys, kind of break the ice? BRAD RICHARDS: They came at us pretty hard for on the road. Two big penalty kills I think were the turning point in the first period. I think that killing those two penalties we get a powerplay and score right away really took the nerves out and got us going. Q. When you got here a few years ago did you ever imagine you would be playing for a Stanley Cup on this team? FREDRIK MODIN: Well, you always want to think that but we knew we had a long way to go. That was five years ago and every year we improved especially over the last couple of years, things have really started to look good and getting the team together, that really plays for each other and have a system that fits the team. It feels good. Q. What does this mean for you to get David Andreychuk into the Finals for the first time? FREDRIK MODIN: Well, obviously it's -- Dave is such a great guy. He has been playing for such a long time and he never had the opportunity to be in this position. Obviously we have learned a lot from Dave Andreychuk. It's great to see him finally get a chance at the Cup. But at the same time we are all pretty excited for ourselves too, but obviously it's fun for everybody, especially for Dave. Q. When you arrived here, maybe you talked about it with Vinny, did you see this day coming, did you talk about this day? Did you dream about it? BRAD RICHARDS: I don't think you see it, but you dream about it and you want it, you hope for it. You work hard to get there. I didn't expect it to come this quick, I don't think after the first two years, just I think after the second year -- after the Olympic break was when I started really to believe in this team, how we played there, and backing it up the year after and not having too many trades and changeovers, we have really stabilized ourselves and had a lot of fun at the end of my second year and you could tell that the core guys, we were going to do some damage some day. Q. Could you describe the feeling in the third period as compared to the third period in Game 6? What was going through your mind; you played so much better? BRAD RICHARDS: Yeah, like I said, it was a lesson well learned. I think, especially after losing, how we lost that last game, and the emotion this crowd gave us and being at home, knowing we had another chance at it, you just had that feeling that everybody was just on their game and we were going to go out there and really move our feet and dominate and I don't think we gave them too much and we tried to win the game. But being at home, that's where Game 7 and home ice advantage really kicked in. Q. How did you guys recover emotionally after Game 6? Was there ever a feeling in the last two days that that was your chance to win the series? FREDRIK MODIN: I don't think we thought that. We knew going into Game 6 obviously we had a chance to finish it off there. But I think everybody really mentally really prepared well for this game, coming off Game 6 which was hard for us, hard for any team to have a chance to finish it off and don't do it. But as Brad said, the difference, I think between the third period and Game 6 and this third period is that we weren't sitting back. We kept playing the way we were playing the first two periods, we tried to take it to them. We tried to hold onto the puck and get our forecheck going. I think that's what made the difference today. Everybody came in with the right mind going into the game tonight. Q. Do you feel like you guys dominated the game from a physical standpoint? Seemed like you guys were delivering a lot more hits along in-boards? BRAD RICHARDS: I don't think -- I think the home crowd has to do with that. Hits seem a lot better. Same thing on the road, you get hit it's not really a factor and the stadium goes crazy. We did move our feet tonight and that's what gave us a chance to finish our checks. Definitely a lot better than Game 6. But sometimes that has to do with the crowd and hitting the glass and it makes a lot of noise, but it's intimidating sometimes, so it helps. Q. I know it is tough to look ahead. Talk about the potential for the Stanley Cup Final. You have two fast aggressive forechecking teams that has the makings of an exciting one? BRAD RICHARDS: Well, obviously we have been watching their games on our nights off. They are relentless. They never quit. Their feet are always moving. It's going to be a tough challenge. They are playing with so much emotion right now and a great goalie, it's going to be a fun series no matter who you are playing but it should be a good matchup. Q. Talk a little bit about the second period. You guys, even though you gave up the one goal, seemed like you guys took control, outshot them, you had a lot of good shots in that second. FREDRIK MODIN: I think that's, again, we had the right mindset tonight, I think. We put everything behind us and we concentrate and put everything into this game. We got off to a good start. Scoring a goal in the second, it is just that we didn't let that get to us. We just kept on plugging away, making sure we were doing the right things at the right time. Just simple plays getting the puck in instead of turning it over and giving them chances coming down on us again. Just trying to play smart, I think that was the biggest difference tonight from our last game. Q. Can you talk about what it meant to have Jason Cullimore back in the lineup tonight? FREDRIK MODIN: Culli comes in first thing he does, he makes a play on our goal. He makes a huge block. Blocks a shot, goes down on his knees and just -- it looked like he didn't miss a beat out there. Very impressed with Jason tonight. Q. Looking to game No. 1 of the Stanley Cup, Calgary has got a little bit more of a rest. How important of a part you think that's going to make in it? BRAD RICHARDS: You know what, we have played 18 games, they have had a Game 7 already and two Game 6s, so I really don't think -- we have been resting seems like all Playoffs, and we can't wait to get into it, so the less anxiety and waiting around I think the better. When you get to this it's very short-term and a lot of emotion, adrenaline, you can -- both teams -- I don't know if you call either team rested. They are just going to be going on adrenaline an excitement and it is going to be a lot of fun.
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