NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: RED WINGS v FLYERS

June 1, 1997

Scotty Bowman

Q. A lot of people have been commenting about how you seem to be having a little bit more fun this year, a little bit more relaxed, enjoying yourself more; is that true?

SCOTTY BOWMAN: Well, we told the team that -- I think we did it two years ago, too, but when you are in the Stanley Cup Final you don't get here very often and, you know, as long as you have enough time to separate this stuff, you know, many years ago we as used to take the team away, try to keep them -- they don't get the atmosphere of how important the Stanley Cup is. But, I think our team has reacted pretty well. We have tried to, you know, do the work when we have to do it. And, maybe the fact that we were there two years ago probably has helped us as we didn't do very well two years ago, and would have to do somewhat better. That is what we are trying to focus on.

SCOTTY BOWMAN: We have extra days, so it can work both ways. Either you can keep patting yourself on the back or get ready for the next game. That is what it comes down to. I told them today, it is just one game. You know, when you are on the other side and you are anxious to get going, it gives you even more time to build up and really get primed up for the game. So we played two good games in Colorado. We felt after the first game that we felt we could play with that team and now we are in a situation here that the first game we got to the lead position twice by two goals and last one we held on for the win. And, I think our team knows that it is not easy to come back in the NHL today. It has happened and it will happen on occasions where the right things will happen, but the defenses are such that when a team gets aheads of another, they can play a pretty contained game. Maybe in the third period after they watch the tape last night and this morning, you know, we were probably being a little bit protective, gave up some -- you know, gave it up maybe three or four excellent chances, we lost position a little bit, and we were icing the puck which, when you get away with it, you say it is good strategy, but, you know, they are a good face of team just to reiterate the points in the game that helped us win. And the fact that we could we can get better.

SCOTTY BOWMAN: I don't know. You mean for the whole League or -- .

SCOTTY BOWMAN: I mean, I don't know. In Montreal we used to go up in the mountains. The change probably happened one year when we had a snowstorm, took us 9 hours to get to a game. (LAUGHTER) So they threw that out and they stayed in the city. That is only thing I can think about.

SCOTTY BOWMAN: Well, we didn't think about -- they were big players obviously our line is not quite as big. But I think when you get into the situation we are in now, if your role players can step up and they are playing a different role now than they even did during the season they are probably even seeing more ice time. And, they are spurring on their teammates. I mean, it takes a big -- best thing about a good team is not to have all the pressure, you know, on the certain, you know, two or three players. If you get somebody -- they have been kicking in with some important goals for us. I think that is the importance -- if you have a lot of good players, if you spread the pressure around a little bit, then you know, they have to play under pressure. There is no question the top player has to react, and -- but makes them easier it is easier for them to react when they have other players around them. I mean, you know, I think Montreal, LaFleur was a great player in the '70s, but what helped him a lot is we had a lot of other players that were real good. So it everything wasn't always on his shoulders. That is what you need to do. You always try to get couple of good offensive lines and a couple of real main checking lines or lines that can go out there play under any circumstance and the biggest reason we are playing them so much is they have been really good defensively throughout most of the Playoffs because, I think the fact is they are fresh and they have the ability to they know if they don't work extra hard, they could not be playing again.

SCOTTY BOWMAN: That was kind of exaggerated. Joey was in Vancouver. Then he had come back to Detroit. Joe really knew what transpired in the real training camp there that, if he was -- he had an agent Larry Rausch (ph). First time we saw Joey he came around our dressing room in November or December, maybe it was late November. And, he wanted, you know, he is a good friend of some of the players like Steve Yzerman and we decided we had just made the trade with Hartford and we will to put a player on waiver, so we had to put Stu Grimson was the one that we decided that we would put on. It was tough to let him go. He was a good team player. He wasn't playing very much. Maybe in late November we had a couple of pretty rough games with Chicago and somebody else. And, you know, McCarty was fighting a lot. LaPointe was fighting a lot. Shanahan was fighting a lot. They were fighting players that weren't used as much as in the same role as they were. It came down to the fact that, you know, Joey was looking for work and we knew that if we brought him back before December we would have to put him on waiver. That is the rule if you sign a player that that is unrestricted up to the first of December, he has to go on he has to go through the League waivers. So we started talking in November. Then it came all of a sudden in December, he went to play in -- I think he was talking to two or three times. He really wanted to play in Detroit, and we were talking about it. But we hadn't acted on it. I think finally the thing that triggered us we felt we needed his presence on the team so we made a deal that if he went and played in the International League for a couple of weeks, we would scout them. Then we would try and sign him. So, we signed him between Christmas and New Years.

SCOTTY BOWMAN: I called Larry first and we made the deal and then he was actually staying in is an aunt tone I don't. He had signed there on the basis if he got a chance in the NHL, and well he was pretty excited because he had his truck and his stuff there and he flew right back to Detroit and he arranged for somebody to drive him back. So he didn't waste a day. I mean, you know, so was -- it was good for him to get back in the NHL because he hadn't been out of the NHL for probably ten years.

SCOTTY BOWMAN: Yeah, he is a very valuable player for us because of his defensive strength. When the game is on the line he usually -- he has really given that extra now, that he maybe didn't have before he was a young player. He is playing a bit more now. We kind of a lot of times -- we wish we would play him more, but you know, we don't have him on our penalty killing unit. He is on some of the powerplays but not a lot of them but it helps us in the late stages of the game because we often play him -- we often double him up with 6, 7 minutes to go and play more in the third period than do in the first two.

SCOTTY BOWMAN: Well, we decided after St. Louis, they beat us in the last game of the season to force they got into 6th spot, I guess and that is when we were going to play Grant Fuhr. That was only the last game of the season. We had both goalies ready because they each had played four games -- he had a great record against the Blues. He had only lost, I think, one or two games in his -- it was like 16, 2 and something. Different teams, but it was mainly because of Grant Fuhr.

SCOTTY BOWMAN: We are going to have a practice for the ones that had limited ice time you plus the ones that didn't dress. The other players are going back and we have been doing this most of the Playoffs having off ice workout and then we could have a regular practice to. They can get probably just as much out of off ice workout so it is not much of a date off it gives them a little variety and there is a good place at the hotel we are staying at.

SCOTTY BOWMAN: We didn't change our lines a lot. We had the lines together. When you are in a position, I mean, we have taken the position that for the most part we are not going to get into line changing as play goes on unless it is our defense probably. Because you lose a lot of momentum. You lose your fore-checking and things like that. It is not easy to do. And, the fact that we have some different strengths on each line. We have some good defensive players on each line. So, we have been playing more four lines than we have in the past. And, you know, I think we are -- the four lines has helped us keep our smaller players, at least last night, I think we played Larionov 21 minutes or something and Yzerman maybe less than 20. So it gives -- it is not so much we are -- you know, the matchups are always guess-up anyways. We can't matchup Lindros line with size anyways, they are going to be bigger than any line we put on the ice. So what are we going to do? We are going to play different players against him. You know, it is no different than when we have done before when we played Philadelphia in the '70s they had the top line in the League Clarke, Barber and Leach. They were the best line offensively and they were the best line defensively and we had good players but if we matched up our top line against them they always had the edge. They always seemed to get the extra goal and stuff. We tried to play the only way we got through that series is they were all close games by a goal, we played a checking line against them. We played the scoring line. We didn't put it all on one line. I don't think the way Lindros and LeClair and Renberg, when he is there, play, you know, I don't think three players are going to be able to contain them.

SCOTTY BOWMAN: It is just the last one, the one in Pittsburgh, I have had it for two, three years I have worn it. You know, I am going to give my kids all the rings when I finish, so I will have enough to give them all one, let them make their choice. But, I like to keep the last one so that is the last one we got. That is why I wear it.

SCOTTY BOWMAN: Five.

SCOTTY BOWMAN: Well, we started them most periods and they started the Lindros line a lot so that matchup but we didn't have a particular preference to either play Lidstrom or Murphy or Konstantinov and Fetisov. Sometimes we put in Bobby Rouse. Fortunately all five of them they play pretty big. I mean, so we are not looking to just say two can play against them because I think they would we are down pretty quick.