NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: PENGUINS v DEVILS

May 19, 2001

Jason Arnott

Martin Brodeur

Brian Rafalski

BRIAN RAFALSKI: Yeah, right now, I'm really seeing the ice well. Maybe moving down and not really worrying about defense. I'm able to look for those offensive chances a little more.

BRIAN RAFALSKI: Well, last year was a whirlwind, and this year I expected more of myself. I feel a lot more comfortable out there. The chemistry with the other players is there. It makes it a lot easier out there, and finding my niche and what I can do out there and where I can be effective, where last year, I was -- you know, I had to make sure I played safe and not take those chances, and this year, I've been given a little bit more liberty.

MARTIN BRODEUR: Yeah, mostly from friends, because they have me in fantasy pools and they are like, "Okay, you are doing really well right now." They were a little disappointed after the first round, but they have been happy ever since.

BRIAN RAFALSKI: Not so much freed me up from Scotty but getting me with Gomer's line and Arnott's line more, instead of being with Bobby where the main focus was defense and keeping the other team off the board. The other lines are relied on more to score, and that's maybe where I can be more effective helping them.

BRIAN RAFALSKI: We're doing a very good job defensively. If that was the case, I would like our chances, and obviously we are up 3-1 now, and we've done a good job so far. We've still got some work to do here in this series, and it's not going to be easy.

BRIAN RAFALSKI: A little bit, but it's more getting the wins right now. Something like that is usually not determined until the Finals anyway, so for me to think about it at this point is irrelevant until we make it to the Finals, or when, because winning the Cup is the primary goal, and that's what we are here for.

BRIAN RAFALSKI: Yeah, last year, I started working with them about halfway through the year on the power play, and we have really -- we did okay last year in the playoffs, but not as well as maybe we have done this year. And through the regular season, we finished first overall in power plays, and that was one of our goals. We've learned how to support each other what our different attributes and abilities, and we are really working well together and having Bobby in the middle gives us that extra physical presence on the power play.

BRIAN RAFALSKI: That one I was just shooting on the net. We had not yet had a shot on the power play, nothing significant, and I just thought it was a good time to shoot. But it depends on how much time I have and if I see something, then I will shoot for a tip. Obviously, it makes it a little more difficult for the goaltenders, if the tip's there; and if you have screens. Like on my first goal, Arnie was there screening, and, you know, he got a piece of it, but it's hard if you cannot see the puck.

BRIAN RAFALSKI: Not surprised. I had success in Finland my last year with a lot of goals and have always produced well in playoffs. My first three years in Finland, I had like 36 points in 30 games, so I expected a lot of myself out of playoffs. Like last year's focus on the defense, and this year I've been able to add to my game.

MARTIN BRODEUR: There was too many men on the ice. I mean, there's no reason for him to get on the ice like this when the whistle wasn't blown and the player continued. And he just came in and I knew he was not really part of the play, but you've just got to be aware. And I just wanted to make sure the referee was going to call it, because at first, he was -- you know, he didn't know the whistle was blown, but nobody blew the whistle.

MARTIN BRODEUR: That's all right. I got four this year and I was not the star yet. That's okay. Winning is what we are here for. I'm here to give these guys the chance to win and I am fortunate to have two shutouts.

MARTIN BRODEUR: I think Kujo had two shutouts. They talked about it a little bit, so I kind of know. For me, it is not a goal of mine. If it happens, great, but just hopefully we will win the game and that's what -- that's what the playoff is all about. It's all about winning.

MARTIN BRODEUR: Definitely these guys are playing really hard in front of me. They are blocking shots and making sure these guys are not getting in wide open. I thought they had their chance on the power play. They had a lot of power plays but we killed them really well. I think that makes a big difference. I think we discouraged them a lot to shoot the puck and that makes my job a lot easier.

MARTIN BRODEUR: There's a few testers over there. There's no doubt whenever Mario and Jagr, and then Kovalev, these guys are sharp shooters, you've got to be aware. If they get these shots, probably not -- probably they didn't get tons of quality shots, but they are still out there, and there's still a possibility it's going to happen, so you've got to make sure you stay ready.

MARTIN BRODEUR: I don't really look at it that much. When I read the paper, I see I pass this guy; I pass that guy. I think it's great. I didn't finish my career yet, so just hopefully climb up as high as I can. But this is -- it's all about winning and when you win, you'll get shutouts once in awhile and you'll move up.

MARTIN BRODEUR: Play with that fear. Play with the same fear of being scared of -- you know, that these guys will wake up offensively and they will bury us. I think if we have that fear in our eyes, it's going to be a tough game for them. We cannot get in a comfort zone at all against these guys. We've got to make sure we play hard, and what we face on Tuesday will be the hardest thing to do in hockey; and it's close the series down. Ask the Flyers, ask the Maple Leafs against us the last two years. It will be real tough for us to close the series.

JASON ARNOTT: I don't know, I got shot out of the way so I don't really know if it touched me or not. I don't think it did.

JASON ARNOTT: It's been a big bonus. We needed someone to step up like he has from the defense end of it, and he's done a great job at it. He's jumping up, but he's also playing great defense. He's putting points up on the board, but he's also keeping them off.

JASON ARNOTT: Well, I mean you've always got to play through injury. You can't always use that as an excuse. We were just struggling a bit. We were not clicking as a line, and we just got together and things turned around for us.

JASON ARNOTT: Yeah, it's probably a good thing. You want to go into a game with that fear. We knew that this was a huge game for us, but it's not over by a long shot. We have to come with the same effort and same effort from every guy the next game.

JASON ARNOTT: Well, as long as we keep playing the way we are. We're a tough team to beat, but we have to have everybody going. We can't have anybody taking nights off, and it's shown in the last couple of games what we can do when we all play together.

JASON ARNOTT: It helps, I think. We want to try and help the team out as much as possible, and if that's putting points up on the board, that's what we've got to do. But like I said, everybody chips in here and especially on the PK, they did a great job of shutting them down, clearing pucks out in front of Marty and he all know that Marty is going to be there for us and make the big saves.

JASON ARNOTT: A little bit surprised they have had chances. Marty is a pretty tough goalie to beat, and when you have got Scotty back there and Dano, the way they are playing right now, it's pretty tough to get penetration against Marty.