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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: OILERS v HURRICANESJune 15, 2006Jussi MarkkanenMichael PecaFernando PisaniJason SmithRaffi TorresEDMONTON, ALBERTA: Practice Day Q. Talk a bit about what you have seen when you watched Fernando in these Playoffs? MICHAEL PECA: Just a very stable personality, he has got skill, he has got size, strength, but to have his stable personality allows him to perform in pressure-filled games. Really made a name for himself in these Playoffs with the big goals he's scored. Q. When you say stable do you mean -- MICHAEL PECA: Doesn't get down, doesn't get overexcited. Scores an overtime winner and still didn't seem really an overjoyous celebration because he's always in control, good thing to have, good quality to have. Q. Mike, did the short series against Anaheim and the retreat to New York start to pay dividends last night in particular where you seemed to be the better skating club in the end? MICHAEL PECA: It may. Went to Game 7, I think the -- we talked about it on our side, doesn't necessarily help you early as much as it would help you as the series went on. One thing we wanted to focus on was continue to play a game where we got pucks in and punished their D. Primarily because it's the way we're going to be effective against them and score goals and win. But also because we expect ourselves to win that game and that will itself pay-off as we go deeper in the series and affect them. Q. When you look at Chris scoring the first ever penalty shot short-handed goal in a Stanley Cup Finals, do you sense that maybe this team is a team of destiny? MICHAEL PECA: Possibly. Only eighth seed to ever be in the Final. We'll be the only eighth seed to overcome the deficits we faced at times and I don't know if we'd say we're a team of destiny, we're just a mature team and don't really care about what historical, you know, statistics and percentages are and it's really irrelevant. We have been able to stay focused on short-term goals, you know, a game at a time. We said the other day that we're going to start using a lot of cliches, well we can back off a lot of the cliches a little bit, but a lot of them are still in effect and we essentially got to come out and play the game of our lives again on Saturday night. Q. When did you feel you got the momentum back? MICHAEL PECA: I don't know, I think we were building confidence as a team with our defensive game. Obviously we gave up a lot of goals in Game 1 and two. Came home and made adjustments defensively. Kind of got away from our offense. Got back yesterday just trying a really loose inspired game. When we come out and start the way we did and at the end of the game the way we felt we dictated play, especially five-on-five, we knew we were in control of that game and I don't want to get too far ahead and say that we have taken control of the series. I think if we can press the repeat button and play that same game we'll probably see the same result. Q. Did you feel the momentum shift last night (inaudible)? RAFFI TORRES: Hopefully the momentum changes but then again, I am not trying to knock anybody out or hurt anybody, but it is a contact sport, trying to finish the hits. Hopefully things will turn out for the best for us (inaudible). Q. Do you know what a whirling dervish? RAFFI TORRES: I don't. Q. One that possesses abundant for frenzied energy. Is that a good description -- - RAFFI TORRES: Sure. I don't know what to tell you, I guess. Q. What has gotten into you? RAFFI TORRES: I don't know. I don't know if anything has gotten into me. This is probably the way I have always played. I just think I am getting lucky enough to get good dumps to our defensemen, just get chances to finish my hits. If the chances are there I am going to finish them. If not, I said this all series long, we can't go running around with our heads cut off because it will hurt us just like in Game 2. Q. The hit on Dougie, who was that with? How did that come about? Do you guys kind of think -- RAFFI TORRES: I seen him get the puck there and I kind of saw his eyes looking at Pronger, coming into Pronger and I seen Pronger coming intoo, I was like well better get in here too so I guess we can finish the hit, hopefully -- (inaudible) I have a lot of respect for the way Dougie plays the game. I think he's a great player out there. Last thing I want to do is hurt him. But I thought it was a clean hit. I didn't think there was anything dirty about it. It was just unfortunate. Q. Do you have to go out and look for a hit like that or do you have got to be patient? RAFFI TORRES: Definitely got to be patient. Like I said you can't go running around out there. If you do that like we did in Game 2 start taking penalties, getting out of position and they buried us. They are such a good team out there they can put the puck in the net whenever they want. I think it's better for us we just stay at it. If the hit is there, we have got to go take it. Q. (Inaudible)? RAFFI TORRES: I am not counting the hits here. I am looking at the scoreboard. It is fortunate enough, like I said, right hits at the right time, like I said, trying to make the rest of the guys feed off each other. I think we did that last night. I didn't think I was the only one hitting out there. There were a lot of guys out there banging. Definitely feeding off each other. Q. (Inaudible)? RAFFI TORRES: It's a do-or-die for us. We have got to put everything out on the table there. It is just happens out there. Like I said you can't go looking for it. Obviously it's Doug Weight and Ward, they are big players out there (INAUDIBLE). Q. Do you know how dangerous you can be physically, you maybe not realize how much you can hurt players but do you know that you have got that in you? RAFFI TORRES: I am not trying to hurt anybody. That's the last thing I want to do out there. That's the last thing I want to be known as, somebody that's a dangerous player out there. Like I said, it's a contact sport, just finishing my hits. Q. Coach is a smart guy. He was a young guy once. Is ther a request to focus entirely on hockey and just hockey alone; is that a good way to put it (inaudible)? RAFFI TORRES: I am focused. I have nothing on my mind other than Saturday right now, and just like the other 23, 24 guys in the room. That's why I play the game. Play the game to be winners. Q. You can say whatever you like, has there been a curb on anything extra curricular? RAFFI TORRES: Not at all. My girlfriend of six years would agree with me, I think. Q. Talk about the roll Fernando has been on? RAFFI TORRES: He has been great. It's been a treat to be playing with him throughout the Playoffs and during the stretch of the season. He's definitely come up big for us. He's taking advantage of every moment right now. He's not doing anything wrong out there. He's making a lot of great plays and he's finishing. Q. (Inaudible)? RAFFI TORRES: I think the longer the series goes it's going to have to go 7 for us and the longer it goes, the more we get physical on them, the more (inaudible) cycling and all that stuff in their zone, tire them out (inaudible). Q. (Inaudible)? RAFFI TORRES: I think it was huge. Any time you start doing anything -- it could be the momentum for the rest of the period if not the game. I think it was good for us to go out there and get an early one. Q. Do you sense the effect that you have on your teammates? RAFFI TORRES: Guys joke around about it. I just hope that guys feed off -- we all feed off each other. Ethan Moreau out there finishing hits, it gets me going. Makes me want to go out there and finish my hit and obviously make a play to get a goal. Q. You knew you were coming home. You didn't know if you were coming home for a Game 6. What is it like to be back here? JASON SMITH: It's exciting, I mean, obviously when we left the other day that was our goal was to go down there and get the opportunity to play another game here and now we want to succeed in the Saturday night and play well and hopefully can accomplish that and get an opportunity to play another game. Q. (Inaudible)? JASON SMITH: I think it's positive. Obviously we're very healthy as a team right now, other than Dwayne getting hurt in the series, we're confident. We feel good and we're rested. We have got a lot of energy and just excited about obviously still playing. Q. As a heavy hitter yourself how do you critique Raffi Torres' style? JASON SMITH: He's obviously a big part of our team success last night. He's a player that can bring that physical edge and also create offense. Does a great job of getting to the forecheck and a great job of playing that physical game. Q. (Inaudible) Game 6, you worked so hard to get it, now -- JASON SMITH: Going to take the same approach all along. We're going to be comfortable and confident with the game plan that we have and execute it and look to go out and play well. If we play well, we're confident that we'll get the result we want. JUSSI MARKKANEN: I think they matched really well. We kind of get a little more opportunities in the end and get that one goal. Q. (Inaudible)? JUSSI MARKKANEN: I guess I felt something hit my glove and I just tried to throw it somewhere and obviously was really lucky that it wasn't -- didn't go in in the first place. I was still on my knees when it came back behind the net and that's just shows how close those games are like one break either way and game is over. Q. (Inaudible)? JUSSI MARKKANEN: You don't know what you are doing, you just react and actually I saw it on the tape. It looked like a smooth move but it definitely wasn't like that. Q. (Inaudible)? JUSSI MARKKANEN: It happened really quickly. I tried to find the puck better, but I think he hit the post; then it went in my hands. I was hoping for a whistle, sure, but I knew right away that it's still in the play there. Q. (Inaudible) what is your mental approach now? JUSSI MARKKANEN: It's pretty much the same anyway, like you have to prepare for one game, especially now when our season is still on the line on Saturday, so it's going to be another big game for us and you just try to make the most of it and try to relax. Q. (Inaudible)? FERNANDO PISANI: I slept pretty good last night, enjoying today as well. It's been crazy, phone has been ringing off the hook. Just enjoying every minute of it. Q. (Inaudible)? FERNANDO PISANI: I talked to my parents and friends I went to school with. Everybody is so excited. Q. You talked about it being the biggest goal of your career. What about the magnitude of this whole team, new life again and maybe now a little bit of momentum in your favor, even though you are down a game? FERNANDO PISANI: Yeah, we were in a do-or-die situation last game and thought we played a solid 60-minute game which we haven't done throughout this whole series. It was great to see, when we needed a game, we got one. Q. In hindsight how important was that goal -- FERNANDO PISANI: We wanted to make sure that we got lots of pucks in traffic and I thought we did a good job of that early on. Got on the forecheck right away, created turnovers and threw it back to the D. D were doing a great job of finding pucks to the net. Q. Have you had a chance to see a replay of the goal? Did you get calls on it? What was the reaction? FERNANDO PISANI: I did see it right after the game. I got a pretty good shot away and was pretty happy with the result. Q. Did you get calls from people or messages because of how big it was? FERNANDO PISANI: Everybody was excited and really happy for me and I probably have about 15, 20 messages right after the game and another 10, 15 today, people have been pretty excited. Q. 3 and a half, four minutes in the first period you blocked a shot there. Did it sting and you came out kind of later in the second looked like you were testing, did you get hurt and how did you kind of handle that and especially down the stretch? FERNANDO PISANI: You know what, it was one of those things where you just react, try and take away the shot. Had a good scoring opportunity from the power play. I think as a PK unit we have got to make sure that we get in front of those shots. In terms for the rest of the game, it felt good. I thought our line was playing good; had a lot of jump; had a lot of energy every time we got out there it seemed like we were creating a lot of opportunities. Q. Most guys at this point of the year are playing injured. Are you among them? FERNANDO PISANI: A little bit, yeah. Q. Lower, upper middle body? FERNANDO PISANI: I would say upper body.
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