NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: MIGHTY DUCKS v DEVILS

June 4, 2003

Mike Babcock

COACH BABCOCK: He's got goals in the playoffs. The reality is, it's tight checking and guys are under big-time scrutiny. It doesn't matter who scores. Those guys draw the match-ups. They draw the guys -- they make the coach get people on and off the ice. They create confusion and panic as far as match-ups go, and in some ways it's easier on the road because you fire them all over the place and it's harder for the other team. When you look at him and Petr, that's just the way it is. We have had good balance in scoring, and we asked him to lead by getting involved physically. That means getting to the puck and being greasy on it and playing the game. We expect that from everyone.

COACH BABCOCK: I don't know anything about the Devils. I know we're going to be ready. We had that little vacation before we came in here last. We have been the best team on the road in the playoffs. We had a setback when we came here. I think everyone who has been following the series sees we're back to playing the way we are. We knew from day one that we were going to have to win a game on the road to get what we needed. What an opportunity this is. We feel good about ourselves. We'll be better than we have been yet in this series.

COACH BABCOCK: We missed the playoffs by 25 points or something last year, and the year before that they missed the playoffs. Are we talking about here and now, or are we talking about what happened in the past?

COACH BABCOCK: Now we're a pretty good hockey team. I think I just went through all of this stuff. We actually have the best record in the playoffs, and we're excited about playing the game.

COACH BABCOCK: I don't know the answer to that. We play a basic simple game, play as hard as we can and be patient. If you're not patient, you don't execute real well, you have no opportunity whatsoever. The thing I've found over the years, I've never seen any fans score any goals or finish any checks. It's great to play in front of your crowd, but there is so much noise in both buildings and enthusiasm. I know our guys are excited. We weren't very happy with the way we played here last. We'll be ready this time.

COACH BABCOCK: Steve's a guy that, as a coach, you're pretty proud to have him on your team. His leadership has been unbelievable. His work ethic and his commitment and, obviously, his personal life is his own billing. But there has been big struggles there. They just make him a better person. He's a big-time player on our team, that we need to be great every night if we're going to win, and he's been fantastic for us.

COACH BABCOCK: I think scoring chances are what we focus on and the process. You've got to score. That's the bottom line. Neither team lets you have any speed through the neutral zone when they're playing right. You add all that together, it's difficult to generate offense. We did it at home, and we have to do it here too.

COACH BABCOCK: I think that's what you saw. It's not like that wasn't our plan the first two games. We were unable to get anything to go at the start, we didn't manage the puck, we didn't skate. It's hard to have your D-men in when you spend your whole time in your own zone.

COACH BABCOCK: You would have to ask Petr that. The reality is, every team you play in the playoffs you have guys, whether that be Mitchell or Stevens or Hatcher, they have people that plays like that against you. When you're the guy who draws those people, that's what you have to fight through. As long as you buy these guys time, they usually find a way to get done. They're real proud people. All scorers measure themselves by scoring, whereas I just want them to compete as hard as they possibly can. I want them from everybody.

COACH BABCOCK: I don't have any reaction. That's great that he's excited about the team that he's in charge of. I think he's fantastic. He hasn't had this opportunity in ten years to get excited about that. All that stuff that's put on walls and all that, the game is played on the ice. I wouldn't worry too much about that.

COACH BABCOCK: It's a nice story, obviously, and a guy like Steve Thomas gets a game-winning goal and he hasn't been with his family. He was pumped to see his kid. Those are great stories. What they do share is they share their experience and the knowledge. This opportunity doesn't come very often. I think everyone says you've got to have experience for that. It's just common sense that tells you you don't get this opportunity. You could coach or play in the league forever and you might never get back to be here. Bryan Murray has been in the league 22 years. He's never been this far. He's never been at the 14 game mark. We want to make good on our opportunity.

COACH BABCOCK: Well, he's a real good player, and he's been a good player for a long time. Anytime you bring someone back, what you do is take away someone else's ice time. And they've got some guys playing pretty good. So, we're going to get prepared for the Devils, but we're going to worry about what we do.

COACH BABCOCK: Well, first of all, we had an 11-day vacation. So then we got back playing now, and we do this all the time. This is all you do is you fly back and forth back and forth. All year long we flew back, didn't skate -- had a morning skate and played 5:00. That's what we've done all year. It's good for us.

COACH BABCOCK: Well, the scoring chances aren't like they have been in other series. But in saying that, it's pretty hard to be any better than he's been the last couple games. I thought he was the only reason we were within a touchdown within the first couple of games. Our guy has been great. We think we have an outstanding goaltender and a big-time leader. He's a key factor for us and we expect him to be that.