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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: FLYERS v BLACKHAWKS

June 4, 2010

Mike Richards

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Game Four

Flyers Â– 5
Blackhawks - 3

JAMEY HORAN: Questions for Mike.

Q. Mike, can you talk about your goal, and how as a captain you maybe felt the need to step up a little bit for this team?
MIKE RICHARDS: The goal, power-play, obviously. Just got the puck, and going into tonight's game, I think as a line we wanted to get the puck to the net as much as possible. Five on five and on the power-play. I thought we did that, the backhand, just sneaked through.

Q. Two questions, you seemed real physical as a team in the first period, wore down their defense and caused some turnovers. How much of a part of the game plan was that? The third period, their comeback.
MIKE RICHARDS: Yeah, yeah. Well, our game plan has been all along just to get the pucks in deep. We know they're great on transition. I mean, to lead to your next question, that's when we kind of caused some problems for ourselves, was turning the puck over.
We got the puck in deep. When we hit their defense, we had success. When we didn't do that, they came back fast the other way. Not the greatest way that we wanted to finish the game. But I think we have confidence in ourselves with a one-goal lead. Closed it out when we needed to.

Q. Mike, personally, what did it mean to you today to contribute as you did in rebound after not having the best game ever the last time?
MIKE RICHARDS: Thanks. I mean, it's nice, I guess, to take part in a Series. Obviously, not the best game, like you said, even though I didn't think we were playing poorly. Just not creating as much and not having the energy like we did in the previous Series.
So it was nice to obviously contribute. It's nice to get the win. It was a physical game. It was back and forth. I mean, the score finally got to where I think the game was as close as it was.

Q. Mike, as a whole, this is probably your line's best game of the Series. What worked so differently tonight to give you guys so much positive energy out there?
MIKE RICHARDS: Like said before, we were just trying to get pucks to the net as much as possible, trying to eliminate being cute with the puck as much as possible. I think sometimes when you try to do too much, you almost go the opposite way and not do enough.
Just keep it simple, try to relax, play hockey, and at the end of the day, just don't try to do too much with the puck, or don't try to do too much without the puck. Then you just dig yourself in the corners.

Q. The two power-play goals the other night, the early one that set the tone, they hadn't had one until the five on three. Do you see that as the big advantage that's gotten you guys back into the Series?
MIKE RICHARDS: Specialty teams in general. I think our PK has been great. Power-play, I think, all Playoffs long has been something we have leaned on, and when we have had success it seems like it's going. We try to do, I think, the same thing on the power-play as we did five on five and just get pucks on the net.
We were fortunate enough to get a couple of lucky bounces. And it's obviously nice to capitalize, and our PK was good. Obviously, the five on three they scored on. But other than that, I don't think we gave them a whole lot.

Q. Mike, Philadelphia sports teams have been a little snake bitten over the years. People from here aren't accustomed to a team going down 2-0, 3-0 in a series and responds like this. Can you talk about your resilience, and what has made this group seemingly immune to the pressure?
MIKE RICHARDS: I think the adversity that we went through at the beginning of the year kind of set ourselves up for the Playoffs. I mean, all year it's kind of been up and down. We dug ourselves into a pretty big hole early, battled back. Dug ourselves into a hole against Boston, fought our way back.
Obviously, a scenario that we don't like being in, but a scenario that I think we're confident in our team and our ability to fight back in.
I'm not sure what it is, but no matter what time of the game it is, it just seems like we're confident with the puck and we help each other out and play hockey.

Q. Can you talk about your defensive unit as a whole this whole Series coming up to now?
MIKE RICHARDS: The defensemen or just defense?

Q. Defensemen.
MIKE RICHARDS: They've been great. Prongs obviously logs a lot of minutes. Kimmo flies under the radar a lot in his defensive efforts. Coby, Matty, Carte, can't say enough about them. They are playing well. Tonight when we turned pucks over, and they had a lot of stress attacks, I thought they were very good at keeping them to the outside.
Obviously, clearing people in front of the net is a big thing too. Defense, all year, I think has been our strong point when we've been winning hockey games. They definitely are lately.

Q. Mike, you and Toews are such similar players. Similar expectations are placed on you. You got a goal early tonight. Did you sense him try to press to answer you to match him what you were doing at all?
MIKE RICHARDS: I don't think he looked at it like that. I didn't see it like that. He's a great player. He does so many different things that just score goals. He's great defensively. His hands are so quick on face-offs. It's even hard to get that tie from him. Even though he might be a little bit snake bitten, he does so much to help the team.

Q. Mike, in the four games, as a team you played well, two losses out there, two wins here. Is it a coincidence, or is there something that made the difference?
MIKE RICHARDS: I'm not sure. I mean, we have two teams that are great hockey teams playing. Obviously, it's not going to be an easy task for us. Some nights you're going to play well and lose, and some nights you're going to play well and win. I think that's what's happened in the first four games. They've all been close. One-goal games. Overtime last time.
We're not expecting an easy Series. I'm sure they're not expecting an easy Series. We have both even teams going at it and playing hard. I think it shows that on the ice with the product that we're throwing out there.

Q. Mike, I just wondered, you were matched a lot against the Toews line tonight. Do you like playing against that line?
MIKE RICHARDS: Do I like it? No. They're a tough line to play against. I mean, they're quick. Offensively talented. Defensively sound. There's into the whole lot of room to skate out there when you're playing against them. I think it's a lot of neutral zone hockey. It's something I don't think you can take lightly. Obviously, have the capabilities to hurt you.
And they have a pretty good deep pairing that goes out with them with them too. It's tight out there. You have to earn every inch you get on the ice. You have to continue to make them go 200 feet.
JAMEY HORAN: Thank you, Mike.
MIKE RICHARDS: Thanks, guys.

End of FastScripts

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