NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: MIGHTY DUCKS v DEVILS

June 5, 2003

Pat Burns

COACH BURNS: Obviously, Nieuwendyk is not going, so we'll have to have somebody else there. Mike Rupp will be playing in his place.

COACH BURNS: Certainly is, yeah. I have been through two times 2-3-2. I didn't like them. It's really scary. The two times that I was involved with them, I didn't like them. We squeaked through San Jose one time but we lost against Vancouver in '94. It's tough. It's tiring. But now as it goes it's become even; they've traveled, we've traveled. It shouldn't be an excuse now.

COACH BURNS: He's a big guy. He gets energy going. We have to have energy and jump, and he will do that. He'll finish every hit he can.

COACH BURNS: What do you mean? Do you think he's not playing well? He's playing well.

COACH BURNS: That's why these games are played. If a puck doesn't go in -- if it went in every time, we would need a scoreboard the size of a football field. When he gets his scoring chances, he's getting them. Gionta played with them during the course of the year, and we switched Jamie on and off that line. Who knows what we'll do.

COACH BURNS: Just aware when he's out there. That's all. Be aware, and we've tried as much as we can to match-up the right defense, and our four big guys have done a great job.

COACH BURNS: We didn't have much time the last one. It ended early. Of course you want to play -- we have been pretty open all year long when it comes to overtimes, and it's a question of you still have to play the same way. Like I said on that last game, we missed a chance. It could have been our chance. It wasn't. They came down, and they polished it off. Are we playing bad because that happens? No. I think both times we had chances to finish it, and we didn't. That's the only thing, and they got the breaks and that's what it's down to.

COACH BURNS: Defensively I don't have a problem, but offensively it's almost like the baseball games we talked about over the course of the year; we've got good pitching, but we need good hitting. They've done a great job defensively of boxing us. When we did get an opportunity, Giguere has made -- I don't think we've made him have to make big saves. That's what we have to do. We've got to make this guy work a little bit more.

COACH BURNS: It's a lot. When you get to the ending games, it has a lot to do with it. Not just gamewise, but periodwise is what you have to be careful of. It seems to play like that, that has a lot to do with it. It's not just game momentum swings, it's periods and shifts. As it goes on, it gets tighter and tighter.