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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: OILERS v MIGHTY DUCKSMay 18, 2006Scott NiedermayerTeemu SelanneANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA: Practice Day Q. Scott, what is your thought of being away from playing for a bit? SCOTT NIEDERMAYER: Well, it's the situation we were given. We've tried to make the best of it. I think the rest is something that's important to get if you're going to go a little ways in the playoffs. Now our challenge is to be ready to go tomorrow night. Obviously Edmonton is coming off of playing really well. They're just going to jump into tomorrow's game. It's up to us now to get cranked up and get ready to go. Q. Kind of a flip from the previous series, you went right from Calgary. SCOTT NIEDERMAYER: You're always going to be dealt different things in the playoffs, different situations that you have to try to handle. The teams that are going to have success are going to be able to handle those situations. This is a lot different than moving from our last series into the one against Colorado, you know. But that's what we have to do, we have to find a way to get ready to go and get that intensity right back up. Q. Do you see similarities between yourselves and the Oilers in terms of work ethic? SCOTT NIEDERMAYER: I don't think you get to this point without doing a lot of good things on the ice, playing together on the ice, playing together as a team, working hard, all those things. They're obviously doing them. They have a lot of depth I think at their forward position. They can throw three, four lines at you that are very similar. Obviously, they have a solid defense back there with the guys they have playing. You need good goaltending to get this far. The ingredients are always quite similar usually, I guess. Q. How would you compare your game defensively to Chris Pronger's? SCOTT NIEDERMAYER: Well, I mean, he's a great player. I'm not much of a scout. You know, obviously you look at us, we're two different -- he's a foot taller than me and whatnot. You know, but he's been playing very well for them, playing a ton of minutes out there in all situations: power-play, penalty kill. Doing a great job. I have a lot of respect for him. I'm not much of scout, though, so I can't make a great comparison (laughter). Q. Scott, when you look at the hand you have been dealt, does it stand to reason maybe in the beginning they have a little edge because maybe because of the rest you've had? SCOTT NIEDERMAYER: It's a possibility. You know, we're going to find out. We want to be ready to go. That's got to be our focus right now. We can't really think that way. We have to think that, you know, we're going to be able to get that intensity going, keep it simple, in the start of the game, first period, keep making simple plays, put the puck in and just go to work. If we can do that, we can start building on that right away and get going, that's what we're going to try to do. Q. Teemu, from your perspective, do you feel the same way about the week off? TEEMU SELANNE: I think the week was good for us. There's a lot of guys, they had chance to look after injuries, that kind of stuff. Like Scott said, we have to be ready right in the bat (sic). I think everybody's excited to get back to the action, too. I think one week is long time. We know that this is another opportunity for us. We going to be ready. Q. If you look at the young players that have been a big part of this team, especially in the playoffs, at this stage do you still consider them kids or is all that awash now? Do you have to sort of pay attention now that the stakes are higher to help them along the way? What is that like at this stage? SCOTT NIEDERMAYER: I don't think we have to change anything. They've done a great job so far. I think that basically the message is the same for everybody on our team, that we just have to realize what we did to get here and continue doing that. Nothing's just going to happen any more, you know, just 'cause we're here. I think they're the same as everybody. They've done a great job, they're committed to the team. We just have to keep doing that if we want to have success in this round. Nothing really changes. Q. You had a couple of breaks from the season, four days, five days. When you don't play for a while, especially with the kind of game you play, is it hard that first game back to get timing? TEEMU SELANNE: Well, I think the regular season is a little bit different because, you know, obviously there's so many games that sometime it's a little bit hard to concentrate one game. But right now the playoffs, we know the urgency, everything matters right now. So I don't think that's going to be that big deal. I would be rather playing than practicing. You know, it feels like a training camp last week. That's not the best time for the hockey player, I think. Like I said, I think it's good also to get your mind out of hockey and the games and get some time off. Now we are ready to start pushing each other again. Q. Was the break especially important for you personally, and like Sam Pahlsson, when the rest got an Olympic break, you played? TEEMU SELANNE: I think we both have played over 110 games. After the New Year pretty much we have played every second day. Obviously, it's tough. But, you know, when you play well, when you play with a great group of guys, you don't feel so tired. That's always good sign. I really believe that getting a little extra rest right now, it's almost like putting money in the bank. It's going to be good in the long run. Q. What is your analysis of going up against a guy like Chris Pronger? How do you play against him effectively? TEEMU SELANNE: Well, obviously, you know, he's their team best defenseman. We just have to make sure that we going to get a lot of battles to win and make sure that he can't do his job so well. I really don't think too much about other players and other teams. You know, what really matters for me is just make sure you going to be ready and you can do your job. Same goes with every other player. You know, when you can do that, I don't really care who is against, if you do your job good, you know you're going to get rewarded. Q. Scott, during the season, what did they do in particular that was successful against you guys? SCOTT NIEDERMAYER: I can't really remember even our record against 'em. You know, when it comes down to playoff time, what happened in the regular season doesn't mean a whole lot. I mean, obviously we played against them four times, you get to know their team a little bit, whatnot. When you get into the playoffs, things can be a little bit different. I think sort of like what Timo just said, when you get to this time of year, it's important to go out and play as hard as we can, as well as we can as a team, and that's really all we can do. We obviously have a lot of respect for Edmonton to get to this point. We're going to watch different things on video, go over that, do all those things. But it comes down to us playing as well as we can. Q. Are you a different team now? SCOTT NIEDERMAYER: I can't remember when we played them. I guess we played them once at the end of the year there. You know, we're both different teams, I'm sure. Time has passed. A couple playoff series. We're both different teams right now. You know, we'll see how it goes.
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