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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: SENATORS v SABRES

May 10, 2007

Lindy Ruff

BUFFALO, NEW YORK: Game One

COACH LINDY RUFF: Good morning.

Q. Coach, are you excited to finally get to play some hockey after three, four days off?
COACH LINDY RUFF: I think everybody is excited. I'm excited and anxious to get it going.

Q. What do you see different in Ray Emery this year versus last year with the Hasek story? Is he a different goalie from your perspective?
COACH LINDY RUFF: There's a lot of confidence in there, probably knowing that he's the number one and really there's no threat. I think he's gained a lot of confidence from that.

Q. Brian Campbell, how important is he to your transition game, especially knowing Ottawa is playing a different game, defensively very sound, strong game?
COACH LINDY RUFF: He's been very good for us in the transition game where, you know, we're asking him to be responsible defensively and at the same time try to be that fourth guy. Sometimes he's the first guy, but we ask him to be fourth guy on the rush most of the times.
That has been his strength, and he's been pretty good at picking spots, when to get up ice and when to, you know, maybe pull back and stay in a little bit better responsible position.

Q. Al was talking today about he feels good about where he is and obviously playing well. What do you think it is over the years at times that it takes almost nothing to shake his confidence and other times he feels like he's on top of the world?
COACH LINDY RUFF: I think it's just his makeup. I think that's just who he is. I think as a coach you understand that. He's a pretty sensitive guy when you really, really sit down and talk to him, get to know him, watch him. And when you're talking to him about different plays, he's incredibly passionate about the game and about how he plays and about his line, how it plays and so that's really just Al being Al.

Q. Did you ever consciously sit him down in terms of the power play and say, "Get the puck, please, I'm begging you"?
COACH LINDY RUFF: You know, there's been opportunities -- I haven't liked some of the passes or some of the setups we've given them where -- when you go through, you know, your power play and you're looking at there's been times where we haven't put, really put it in his wheelhouse where, you know, he could shoot it.
So we do a lot of times encourage him to shoot it if it's there, but there's been times where the flat out he's been receiving bad passes and hasn't been able to shoot it.

Q. Lindy, the footage of the brawl in February has probably been played as much in the last couple of days as it was right after it.
Chris Drury said yesterday in the press conference in here it never once has been mentioned internally in the locker room leading up to the game. Has that been the case and does that play in at all as you prepare?
COACH LINDY RUFF: No. That's the truth. Hasn't been mentioned, it won't be mentioned. I feel it's a non-factor.

Q. Lindy, are these teams in your mind as similar in style as they're made out to be and might one of the clubs have to divert from its natural tendencies to prevail at some point?
COACH LINDY RUFF: Well, I said what might happen in the series is it may not be as predictable as everybody seems to be thinking it would be.
I think, you know, the series last year took some strange turns, and you look at the overtime games and couple offensive games in there that I don't know if you really anticipate. Both teams are very capable of being very good offensively, and I think both teams are very capable of shutting the other team down defensively.
When you look at mobility on both teams, from defense outward, both teams are very similar in that sense so I think, you know, if you get down by a goal and you start turning it up a little bit, it could end up in a pretty, pretty battle on the offensive side of it.

Q. Lindy, you said going into the series you needed a little more from Toni and Henrik. Does that apply again in this series, considering they're probably play a lot against best line?
COACH LINDY RUFF: I said in our meeting as you go from series to series, you need -- if you think you were good in the previous series, you're going to have to be better in the next one, and you look for little areas to improve, and we mentioned a few areas. I thought as the series went on, that pair did get better for us.
They answered the challenge of shutting down the Nylander-Jagr line. We're going to need the same. They're going to see the bulk of the Spezza line, and for the most part, that's been their bread and butter is shutting down those guys.

Q. Lindy, can I ask you about Chris Drury and so much being made about what a winner he's been throughout his entire career. There's pressure on him really to lead this team to a Stanley Cup. What makes him such a special player, the guy comes in?
COACH LINDY RUFF: You know, the things that -- he's won before, he's won at different levels. He's clutch under pressure. I think he's the type of guy that, you know, I've used kind of used the analogy. He can get himself in that quiet place where it's one thing to get opportunity, it's another thing to finish. He's been able to finish on some big opportunities and some very key situations and that's been important for us, I think.
You know when you get that opportunity that a lot of times he can turn it into goal for you.

Q. Does he feel the pressure, the Sports Illustrated article, he feels pressure to do it?
COACH LINDY RUFF: I don't think so. No. I think that we've talked all year long that this isn't -- it isn't a one line or one set of defense team or that our strength is our depth, that no one line has to carry the team, and we've had at different times this year had lines struggle and players struggle for long periods, but when you're spreading that -- your offense around or your team defense around, it doesn't fall on one guy's shoulders. I don't think he feels at all that the pressure is on him to get it done.

Q. Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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