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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: FLYERS v BLACKHAWKS

June 6, 2010

Michael Leighton

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Game Five

Blackhawks Â– 7
Flyers - 4

Q. Michael, did you take shot in warm-ups that hurt you or affected you at all?
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: You don't miss too much, huh? I took a shot in the warm-ups. Hit me in the knee. It didn't affect the way I played. It hurt, but definitely doesn't affect the way I play at all.

Q. Did it affect you going forward? Is it something that might linger, or are you feeling okay?
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: It's just a bruise. Get hit. It happens. Like I said, it didn't in any way affect the way I played or -- once you get on the ice and you're playing, you don't really think about it. I didn't feel it on the ice.

Q. What about the night, especially the first, what was your sense -- I'm sure you were expecting Chicago to come out similar to the way they did?
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: Yeah, they come out hard. They battled us first period. They earned their goals in the first period. That's what hurt us. For some reason, we weren't ready to play. It costs us the game.

Q. How would you assess your play tonight?
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: Obviously, the second goal I wasn't too happy with. Just bounce off the boards. He tapped it off my skate and in. That's the only goal I was really upset about. I would like to have back.

Q. Did it matter almost who was in goal for you tonight the way they played in front?
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: Bouch made some great saves and kept us in it. Like I said all along, they're an offensive team. They're going to score goals. And that's what they did tonight.

Q. Michael, with your record in the playoffs back at Wachovia Center, do you expect to be in net for Game 6?
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: I don't know. That's Coach's decision. Obviously, I want to play. That's his decision. You have to talk to him.

Q. Did you feel you played well enough in the first period to stay in there?
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: That's again, Coach's -- talk to Coach.

Q. Michael, are you upset though? First game here you got pulled. You get pulled again here. Three goals. Are you upset you get pulled that early tonight?
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: Anytime you get pulled you're upset, obviously. We responded well to it early in the second. We got a quick goal. From there, we played a lot better.
But we didn't play well enough, I guess.

Q. In warmups when you took the puck to the knee, was it -- did affect you in any way?
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: No, it hurt when I did it. I just kind of shook it off. That was about it.

Q. This team has been through a lot this year. Do you kind rely on that now that there's enough in this room to get it done?
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: We've played a lot of games with our backs against the wall. So I expect we're going to come out better. Especially being at home. If we do that, we'll be all right. If we don't, we'll get the same results.

Q. After the game, Peter Laviolette said he thought it may have been nerves for you guys coming out of the dressing room and they jumped on you quick. Do you think it was nervousness at all?
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: I don't know. Talk to the other guys.

Q. For you guys, Peter Laviolette thought there were some nerves with the Flyers coming out starting the game.
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: As far as I know, I thought we were excited to play. This was a game we wanted to win and go back home and have a chance to close it. For some reason, we didn't come out and battle. They played good first period. That was about it.

Q. What do you expect on Wednesday?
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: Loud building and for to us play a lot better.

Q. All year long, you almost count on it now, the team responding the way it has after a loss?
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: That's what we're counting on. Obviously, I don't think anybody can be really happy with our game tonight. All around, we just got out battled the whole night. They played well in this arena, and I think they executed their game plan the way they wanted to. We just didn't respond to it. We're hoping to come back and play well at home like we have been.

Q. Do you believe just like last time you'll be the starter again in net for Game 6?
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: That's not my decision. I'm hoping I'm in there. If I'm not, I'll support them. I'll support the team.

Q. Does getting pulled at all in these two situations affect your confidence in any way?
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: Not really. If I let in a lot of goals and I got pulled and the team was down on me, it's different. I'm not -- just got to battle back. Pretty much. That's what it is. That's what it comes down to. I'm not happy about being pulled. That's the way it goes. I have to respond in a good way.

Q. Seemed like you were in a groove early. You made six tough saves. They had a pretty good flurry coming in. Was it just that one power-play goal that changed things for you?
MICHAEL LEIGHTON: They got, obviously, a lucky bounce. Guy took a shot. Wasn't even a hard shot. It just hit Pronger. That seems to be a trend going on in each game, hitting the defense and going in. That's kind of what happens sometimes when you block a lot of shots. Eventually it will get through and hit our guys. It's just bad luck there.

End of FastScripts

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