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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CANADIENS v FLYERS

May 24, 2010

Jeff Carter

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Game Five

Q. Jeff, after the first time that you broke your other foot and coming back those two games against the Rangers, obviously, you weren't playing at the level that you wanted to. This time the last game, did you feel like you were up to that level that you wanted to get to right away?
JEFF CARTER: No, I don't know that I'm at the level that I want to. It's going to be a work in progress. I think I basically missed two months. I came back from my first injury, I wasn't even up to speed yet and broke the other one. So every day I'm getting better; felt better this morning. So we'll just keep working at it and keep going.

Q. Was there any, before you went out on the ice on Saturday, was there any trepidation or anything on your part where you said, I want to try a few things in this game to see what I can and can't do?
JEFF CARTER: No, I don't think so. You know, there were some nerves and stuff like that. I obviously jumped into a big game like that. I didn't want to go on and mess anything up with the way the boys were going. I just wanted to go out there and keep it simple and play my game as best I could. I was happy with the way things went.

Q. You had the four hits, you had the four shots right away. Did you make a conscious effort that you wanted to do that? I think you led, or you had the most hits in the first two periods?
JEFF CARTER: Yeah, obviously, it's no secret that I shoot from everywhere. I wanted to get out there and get as many pucks on the net as I could. Tried to get myself in the game pretty early; and I had that hit at Center Ice that kind of got me going a little bit and gave me a little confidence. I was trying to finish everything, all my hits, just trying to get in the game quickly.

Q. In the big picture after everything you've been through this year, what would it mean for you to win tonight and move on to the Finals?
JEFF CARTER: Well, that's our goal right now. Obviously, it would be a great feeling in here. Our goal coming in here is to play for the Stanley Cup. To pull one out tonight in front of our home fans would be a great feeling. It's been an up-and-down year for us; we've gone through a lot as a team. Winning tonight would pull it all together and have a chance to play for the Cup. 3

Q. How tough has this been mentally, because you came before breaking your other foot, you played that Ironman streak going on, and you had a Series of injuries. Was it starting to wear on you mentally in the sense that, why do I seem like I'm snake bitten? Why are these things happening at this crucial time of the year?
JEFF CARTER: Yeah, it was tough. I had a pretty good run there for a while where I could pretty much do anything and I'd be ready to go. But to get a couple injuries back-to-back, especially at the time of the year that it happened, it was tough. I had to keep my head straight and just keep working at it. With my first injury, I knew that I'd be back pretty soon; but my last one, I was told that my season was pretty much over, so that was a little discouraging. But, obviously, happy to be back and feeling good now.

Q. Is there a fine line between how close you are to a berth in the Cup Final and finishing off Montreal, not getting over hyped with what could be kind of staying in the present?
JEFF CARTER: Yeah, I think so. Obviously, everybody in the room knows what's at stake tonight. They've been in this position before where they're down a couple games. We know they're going to come out hard and play their best game; and we have to come out and match them or be better. Obviously, our goal is to close out tonight and have a chance to play for the Cup, so...

IAN LAPERRIERE: Great answer.
JEFF CARTER: Thanks a lot.

End of FastScripts

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