|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: PENGUINS v RED WINGSJune 11, 2009Ruslan FedotenkoSergei GoncharDETROIT, MICHIGAN: Practice Day THE MODERATOR: Questions for Ruslan and Sergei. Q. I don't know what you remember of the moments leading up to Game 7 in 2004, but did you feel any different? Did you have a sense that you had something special in you that night? Or is it only after the fact when you do produce that you say, well, I must have? What was that like? RUSLAN FEDOTENKO: I think it's after the fact. I mean, going to Game 7, you know, you have nerves, excitement. It's everything and above. You can't take a pregame nap because you're so excited. But, you know what, you know, it's still a game. We still need to focus on the game. It is probably the biggest game of your life for most people. But it's still a game. We still need to stick to the plan and play our game. Q. Following up on that, you've been there, you've been the hero, you've done it. Do you say something to your teammates tomorrow about that moment? Because they've been saying you've been talking all week about things now? RUSLAN FEDOTENKO: Oh, for sure. I will have my moment, and I will talk to the team before the game. But, you know, I think I want to keep it between the teammates and myself right now, so I wouldn't want to say too much right now in the press. Q. The last time you had Game 7, you were the one going to the home game. Can you talk about what kind of lift you felt as a home player going into that game, and how it might be different now as being the road team? RUSLAN FEDOTENKO: Yeah, I think it's going to, could play both ways. At home you have a little bit more pressure. But, you know, obviously home, in this series, it seems home advantage has been pretty solid. Everybody's playing pretty well at home. But for us right now, we won at home. We forced Game 7, gave us the opportunity to play for the -- give us a chance to win. And right now we'll take that. I felt like we've been successful in the probably first ten minutes in each game. I feel like we've come out pretty strong, and a lot of times, you know, obviously first two games we lost. And the third one here we lost, too. But I feel like we need to find a way to put 60 minutes of that. I'm sure if we do that, we'll have a chance to win. Q. Can you just talk a little bit about maybe what it's like for you personally to be here on the eve of a Game 7 when there was probably a good chance that you thought that your season was over and also about what the Stanley Cup means to you personally? SERGEI GONCHAR: Obviously, it's a very special feeling, you know. The way the season was, it was very tough in the beginning. I had an injury, and I didn't know how it's going to be after the surgery. I didn't know if I was going to come back and play this year, because there were a few options. There was a chance I'm going to play this year. Then obviously I had an injury in the series against Washington. And at that time I didn't know how my body's going to respond to it. I didn't know how my knee's going to feel. Obviously, I'm very fortunate my body responded the right way, and I'm playing right now. Growing up in Russia, you know, obviously you're never dreaming about NHL at that time. The only thing that you're really dreaming about probably is a world championship in the Olympic Games. And at that time not many Russians were in the NHL. But when I got here I realized how important it is for everybody. Now I've been in the NHL for so many years, now it's probably a main goal for me as a professional hockey player to win a Cup. Being in a Game 7, it's a huge opportunity. And as you know, it doesn't come very often, I've been in the Finals two times before, and, you know, the third time, hopefully this time, is going to work for us. Q. Win or lose tomorrow both teams are probably going to go to Center Ice and shake hands which is a tradition we have in hockey. I wonder what you think of that tradition, and how difficult it is to go through that especially after you lose? SERGEI GONCHAR: I think it's a great tradition. Doesn't matter how hard you're fighting against each other, at the end you're shaking hands. I do believe it's a very good thing to have. I don't know, hopefully we're going to win and shaking hands as the winners because I've been there two times and I lost the game. It's probably one of the worst feelings that you can have. You've been fighting so hard and you've been there. You got there, and you were close, but you didn't get it. So that's why tomorrow's going to be a huge game for us. Q. Could you characterize Sid and, you know, what he means as a leader of this team on and off the ice? RUSLAN FEDOTENKO: Oh, I think it's kind of tough to mention everything. I think he is a great leader on the ice and off the ice. He's not the person who is gets to his head like he's the greatest one. I think he's really still down to earth. You know, you can talk to him off ice, on the ice. Like I said, I think he's a great player, and I'm glad he's on our team. End of FastScripts |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|