NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: STARS v DEVILS

June 3, 2000

Jason Arnott

Claude Lemieux

Petr Sykora

JASON ARNOTT: Yeah, a little bit. I figured we would be playing against them a little more, but we didn't. We had -- we got four solid lines that go all the time. I guess that we took advantage of that.

JASON ARNOTT: There was no talk about it. I think last game we realized that we can go better and contribute a little bit more and we just tried to go out and work as hard as we could tonight. We got the bounces.

JASON ARNOTT: We do. This morning we were actually pretty quiet. I think we all felt and knew what we had to do to get out of it and we were quiet right up 'til the game, first period; then we started talking a bit and it was probably best that way.

JASON ARNOTT: Well, it was a transition play. I came through the neutral zone and I didn't know if Sykora was going to pick it up or not. It bounced over his stick. I got it and just split the "D" and just kind of chipped it towards Belfour, it went through --

JASON ARNOTT: I think right now we are just looking at this game as a big positive. We wanted to win one on the road. Now we have a chance to win two which is even better. I don't think we can get ahead of ourselves right now. They are a great hockey team that battles back from losses as they have proven before. I think we just got to keep our heads up and get ready for the next game.

JASON ARNOTT: Well, it was after that kill it did give us a big boost. PK has been strong all season and throughout the Playoffs it saved us hockey games. It is one of the reasons why we are here today. And I think we just try to go out and create as much offense, so it definitely gave us a big boost).

JASON ARNOTT: I think there is too much to be said about who played bad and who didn't in this Game 2. We play bad or we play good as a line. Tonight I think as a unit we knew we had to go out and help the team win and we got the bounces just from hard work and working with each other.

CLAUDE LEMIEUX: Yeah, the guys did a great job, everyone that was involved in the penalty killing, worked really hard and it was huge for us, down by a goal; then we had a 5-on-3 and I took a bad penalty and, you know, the guys chipped in and bailed each other out; then came up with a huge goal, so you know, just a great effort.

CLAUDE LEMIEUX: We knew that they would be physical in their building, but we are a physical team and we wanted to come out tonight and show that we were going to stand up to ourselves. Like I said, we took a few bad penalties and (inaudible) overall we did a great job. We were physical and it was very important tonight.

CLAUDE LEMIEUX: Well, he has always been known to be a great player. When he first came into the League he put up some great numbers right off the start. For some reason, maybe Edmonton kind of gave up on him, but I know he did really well with the Devils, especially last year when I came over in November this year, I didn't realize how good that line had done last season together. The three of them were probably the most productive line in the League; probably one of the top five anyway with Elias and Sykora and Arnott. They did the same thing this year. The three of them were outstanding all year, but I think right now it is probably their commitment to -- their commitment to both ends of the ice, something that Larry has made sure that they were going to get matched up against top lines and they got to be able to play both ways and they are committed and they are chipping in in every aspect of the game and it is a huge asset for our club.

PETR SYKORA: Well, I thought that we can't afford our line to be playing the way we did in the second game to be winning in the Playoffs. I thought that we played a little better tonight. We tried to keep it simple. We didn't try to beat defensemen on their blue line. We didn't turn the puck over. This is the way we want to play, just chip the puck deep and wait for our chances. I thought that we did a pretty good job tonight.

PETR SYKORA: Well, I think the whole couple of minutes on the powerplay we moved the puck pretty well. We create a couple of scoring chances and powerplay, I was trying to hit the net because I saw the goalie being screened. I think I would never score if the goalie wasn't screened because he was playing far out. So we have to give credit to the guys creating traffic. Because you are not going to score a lot of goals when the goalie can see the puck from that far out. Guys are going to the net; that is how we are going to score goals.

PETR SYKORA: You know sometimes you have a feeling that you can beat him, but if you -- they are -- if they are coming back 3 on 2 it is not the right play to do and both me and Patty and Arnie, all three of us, we know that we have a couple of moves one-on-one, but you know, I think it is better for us not try to use it because it is not going to work a lot of times. And like I say, it is not about making offensive plays, it is about winning and we have to play the way to win. So we can't afford doing that.

PETR SYKORA: Well, I thought we -- I think we had our best game defensively tonight. I thought that we didn't get caught. We were coming back not only the third guy but the fourth and fifth guy was coming back very hard too. I think that we don't want to give up the point, a lot of shots. If fourth and fifth guys are coming back, it is tough to create some offense. No, I thought -- we always know we are going to get our chances. We always know it is going to bounce by maybe 2 on 1; maybe we can get 3 on 2, but I think to be successful for our line we have to be patient, don't try to force anything and I think we did that tonight.