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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: OILERS v HURRICANESJune 7, 2006Bret HedicanCory StillmanCam WardRALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: Game Two Q. I guess for Cory, where would you guys have been in the first two periods if Cam Ward hadn't stood on his head there? CORY STILLMAN: We have been relying on him way too much lately. He's been standing on his head making saves for us, giving us a chance to win. Tonight we got a couple of bounces, you know, one off Recchs and one off Weight. That's the difference in the hockey game. Q. Cory, it seemed the key was trying to get a quick start against the Edmonton goaltender, maybe it wasn't quick enough, but you did gain the necessary momentum later on. Talk about how that started, how it seemed to build? CORY STILLMAN: We weren't going to change our game plan if Roloson was in net or not. We wanted to come out and go at him. We had a couple of two-on-ones where we over-passed and Andrew Ladd gets a chance, takes a shot, I don't know if it hit their defensemen to change things. Obviously we wanted to get at them quickly, get at the goalie. I think we did a good job at that tonight. Q. A lot was made before the series about Edmonton's penalty kill, how strong it was, but so far you guys have only given up one power play goal. Talk about what you are doing as a team to really just keep them from getting those opportunities taken care of. CORY STILLMAN: I don't penalty kill. Maybe you want to ask these two guys. BRET HEDICAN: I think we're trying to be aggressive, obviously they have got some guys that can shoot the puck back there they have been successful in the previous series on getting that puck to the net. Obviously Smith is dangerous in front but we have got to take their time and space away. That's what we have been focusing on. Hard to make plays under pressure. That's what we're trying to do. Q. Cam, another night at the office? CAM WARD: Yeah, I mean, I felt good. That was reflection of the team; they played great in front of me. There was a lot of instances where we came up with some key blocks that were probably would have been sure goals. For example, Roddy in the second period there, he came up huge with a huge block. So I mean it is a credit to the guys they worked extremely hard and it was well deserving of the win. Q. Is there just a part of you that feels a little guilty doing this to your hometown team? CAM WARD: No, not at all. This is the best time of the season. You know, whoever it is, we got a goal in mind and we're trying to finish the job here. Q. Two wins away, what does it feel like right now? CORY STILLMAN: It's exciting, but we know we are going to have to play and play better even when we get out there. You look at past series, they were down 2-0 and came back and won, and we know that as a team. So it's important for us to go out there, try to get a jump in Game 3. To be honest with you, you need to win four games and obviously we're going to try to do it as quickly as possible. Q. Cam, talk about the job you did early. I thought they tested you maybe several times early in the game and it seemed like maybe you got more confident as it went along. CAM WARD: Yeah, obviously in the first period when you can make a couple of saves it defensively calms you down and gets you into the hockey game. But I thought our team overall was right from the drop of the puck, which may have not been the case in Game 1. We played a full 60 minutes, I thought. Q. Earlier in the series it was talked about their penalty kill against your power play. You got that three power play goals tonight, one in Game 1. Talk about the success you guys have had with the man advantage. CORY STILLMAN: Well, for our team it's been good throughout the playoffs. It is a matter of getting shots to the net. We have moved the puck around even in Game 1 and didn't get the opportunities we wanted to score. They block a lot of shots and I think tonight our power play, we had two deflections, and it's huge. You need to get guys in front of the net. Obviously they pay a price too, they get banged around. You move the puck around, make the right shot. Other side you give our guys credit, our defensemen. They have been coming up, carrying the puck getting in their zone. We have got two power play units that play. We are on the ice for a minute and off the ice. It goes for the team that we played and how we play with each other. Q. Did you notice or do you agree that maybe they weren't shooting as much as you might have thought they would? They were in pretty good situations and chose to pass it off? CAM WARD: Obviously they are a patient team. You look at a guy like Hemsky, he can dipsy doodle, you know can wait for that late trailer, but as a team defensively we did a good job of keeping tight gaps and not giving them any time and space but you know, that's up to them whether or not they should have shot more or not. That's not really for me to decide. Q. Cory, the goal when you score goals two seconds or whatever it was in a period, you turn a 2-0 game into 3-0, when in your the dressing room you are probably thinking, oh, that's 3 goals, that's a heck a lot to come back from? CORY STILLMAN: They always say the worst lead in hockey is two-goal lead going into the third period. To score with two seconds left probably had them thinking a little bit more. Sort of a broken play too. But Roddy has been great. He won a faceoff we got a shot to the net. Was it the back-breaker, maybe it was. It's hard to swallow with two seconds left. We done it once before, obviously against Jersey and it was the difference of the hockey game. Q. Cam, do you still feel like a rookie or are you really just 22 years old, because you are not looking like one out there? CAM WARD: Thank you. Q. Best you have felt all year. CAM WARD: Yeah, this is the best time of the season. You learn from the regular season and past experience try to carry it over into the playoffs. It's a new beginning, a chance to start from scratch and I am just enjoying it. I am surrounded by some great teammates that, you know, made me feel right at home. Q. Cory, on that goal, was that a set play by you because it almost liked like you flipped it over then darted around and put it in? CORY STILLMAN: No, I actually tried to flip it into the net, and it went around, it was on my stick again, but no, it wasn't a planned play. I was hoping the first shot would go in. Q. You have a two-game lead, you won the second game convincingly. Is it easier now or is it more difficult because of the extent of the victory you take tonight? BRET HEDICAN: Well, I think it is going to be more difficult. Obviously we're going into hostile territory, going up to Edmonton; they have had a lot of success there. Tonight we just wanted to play more our style, we had to be better off the start, from the first period. I thought we were a lot better tonight from the get-go. A lot sharper, and we played a full 60 minutes. That's the style of hockey we like to play and we're going to try to continue to do that up in Edmonton. Q. The play of the Oilers in the last part of the third period, I mean, do you see is that frustration, is that an attempt to intimidate? Do you pay any notice to Laraque, hit on Wesley up high, -- CORY STILLMAN: It's part of the game. It happens in every series, and obviously we were trying to play smart we were trying to stay out of the penalty box but it happens. They are sending a message obviously for the next game, but I thought our team was composed that way. We weren't you know, staying in after the whistles and we skated away. It was great. We got on the power play again and if they were going to get a better momentum, we took it away from them.
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