NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: AVALANCHE v RED WINGS

May 18, 2002

Scotty Bowman

COACH BOWMAN: Well, it's a wonderful effort from a guy who gives his all every game and it's two very evenly matched teams. Ask any player to do that in a period. And they were all great goals. I think when you're doing it against one of the greatest goalies that ever played, they were great shots. There wasn't anything lucky about any of them. The first one he got a lot on them. The second one he picked the top corner. It's amazing how a player like that -- but he's been a player done amazing things like that before. But to get a hat trick is something in one period.

COACH BOWMAN: We knew we thought that line had three or four really good practices. There is a lot of good experience on Colorado, especially the Sakic line, especially in the first two periods. And we changed our other lines around because we felt we couldn't put one line against them all the time. We thought they were just creating as the game was tilting in their favor in the second period, so in the third period we didn't touch the Datsyuk line. But certainly they had enough ice time that they were dangerous. Made a great play for the tying goal. Colorado is the type of team when they get a lead they're hard to come back on