NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: SABRES v STARS

June 9, 1999

Dominik Hasek

Lindy Ruff

LINDY RUFF: We did take some undisciplined penalties, there is no doubt. I think maybe 70/30, something like that.

LINDY RUFF: Perfect.

LINDY RUFF: We have gone through the scenario before, the first game in Ottawa we had nine powerplays against us. We turned it around after that. We realized we are going to have to be a lot more disciplined to the point where maybe we can't stress hitting as much as we did. Obviously we tried to set the tone and hit throughout the game. A couple of times we got a little bit too carried away.

LINDY RUFF: I found it really hard to forecheck. We only had four guys out there and the rink wide passes were tough to when there are four guys. We tried a lot of those passes. We just shot it from below our goal line down to the other end and started again. I said all along, Dallas is one of the best teams through the neutral zone. On the ice, that you have got there, if you try to make the little plays up the wall, they shut you down. You try to stick handle a little bit; one mistake, they are going the other way. They did a good job against us. I thought in the third period we finally started to come through and made sure we got it deep and it made a difference.

DOMINIK HASEK: I never played before in such a hot building so I was very tired. I tried to drink as much as water as I could, but I remember in the overtime right before we scored the goalie tried to get up, after I made save from Verbeek, I got a cramp a couple of seconds later, I don't know what, minute later we scored the winning goal. So I was so tired. I tried to get to the other side of the ice, but I make a couple of steps. I said no more and I fell on the ice. I left the ice. I was -- I don't remember I have ever been so tired during the game.

DOMINIK HASEK: My groin didn't bother me the whole game. I didn't feel any differences. I feel good.

DOMINIK HASEK: I have done my job. My job is, in the Playoffs, there is nothing about shutouts or goals against; it is only about a win. My goal is to win the game, to give up less goals than the other goalie and I have done my job. That is all I can say.

LINDY RUFF: I think Dominik has mentioned the building was very hot. For the first two periods we spent a lot of time in our zone. There was a lot of scrambles, a lot of situations where Dominik was up and down making saves. A lot of those flurries are the things that really tire you out. I thought at least in the third period we took some pressure off; spent some time in the other end and gave him a little bit of a break. But then again, in overtime we had to kill two penalties. We spent some time in our end. I think you are concerned -- we were concerned with dehydration with a lot of players and obviously the goaltender wearing all the equipment he has got on is probably the worst case scenario.

LINDY RUFF: No, not happy with the split anymore. Obviously when you win Game 1 we have got the luxury of really trying to go after Game 2, but we have to go about it in a more disciplined sense. We realize, as a team, that we can't afford to take the penalties we took and I think 5 on 5, we can play with them.

LINDY RUFF: You'd like to say they wouldn't be as nervous. I thought our team was pretty nervous coming out in the first five, ten minutes. That has a lot to do with youth and inexperience. I think that is why we took a few penalties. We were caught kind of standing around a little bit. I think as the game went on we got stronger. We got in our groove, we started skating. I thought it was a great hitting game for our hockey team. You go on the road hoping for a split, but if you win the first game, you'd like to steal two. I think anything is possible when you win that first one.

LINDY RUFF: I don't know if there is any less pressure in any game. Bud there is pressure with every game. There is pressure in Game 2. We realize we have got opportunity. I don't think that changes.

LINDY RUFF: Well, I think at this time of year technically every player knows their position. They know where they are supposed to be. They know the system we are playing. I think you got to be loose. I think when you win your first game you have got the luxury of playing a little bit more loose. We also stressed with our goaltender we can take a few more chances; create some problems with the other team by having the "D" joined; by having the "D" pinch and we have gone that way a few times and it has worked out good for us.

LINDY RUFF: Well, Jason was down in Florida was -- I basically ran the defense; changed the defense. Jason was our powerplay Guy. I think the thing people didn't realize is that Jason is a good player defensively as well as offensively. I think he has slowly earned that respect over last two or three years. What some people don't realize he is a very strong kid. He is not one of those offensive/defenseman that is slight of frame. He is -- strength-wise he is one of the top guys that test out on our team. I knew he could play 5 on 5. I knew he would be a good guy for our powerplay. When I got the job I knew that the one thing we needed was help on the powerplay and even throughout the year, this year we have proved again we weren't a very good team on the powerplay, but in the Playoffs, it seems like we have become a lot better team.

DOMINIK HASEK: Playoffs is a little bit different than during the season. All the players they try to do it even more and I am glad if my defense, anybody tries to block the shots, I appreciate it, and of course it is sometimes could happen, the player tries to block the shot and he can deflect the shot. But I like when my teammates are aggressive in the defensive zone, I like them to be aggressive and jump into the shots, but I always tell them just be careful, be sure that if you go there, you block the shot or at least the player shots, you know, if he -- if there is some skilled player like for example, Zubov, you have to be careful. You don't just go down, try to block the shots because you know he can make a move and pass.

DOMINIK HASEK: I didn't plan anything else. I don't know if I can do anything else what I have done before the last game. I was drinking a lot before the game and during the game. But there is only a certain amount you can drink. If your stomach starts to feel upset after you drink two bottles of water you can't drink anymore. I don't plan to do anything differently.

LINDY RUFF: I looked at that today. It was definitely a head butt. I think Varada should have maybe went down like he was dead (laughter). I mean, I saw that. He should have laid there like he was dead because it was a head butt. There is a certain amount of acting going on during the game and V's a tough kid. He is not going to dive too often, but I was disappointed. It was definitely a call that it should have been a major penalty. He head butted him. Maybe doesn't warrant a suspension at this time of the year but it is a major penalty.

DOMINIK HASEK: They had a couple of good chances in the first two periods, but like Lindy says, most of them, they came out the powerplay. We were glad, especially after first period we were down only 1-0 and it was the key point to go to that period and we were down only by one goal and I don't know how many big chances; how many small chances they had. I never count it. Like I say, I tried to do my job and stop the puck and win the game. I think they had a couple of good chances especially in the first and second period. But after the second period we started to skate better and I think we were a better team in the third and we were maybe lucky in the overtime.

LINDY RUFF: Just banged in the boards in the first shift and I guess bruised his back. His status is questionable for Game 2.

LINDY RUFF: Well, hockey is secondary, obviously. I think the one thing that you stress is family comes first in life, really; that the people around you are the most important people, the sport we participate in - this is a game. It is a high stakes game, but it is still a game. We have to work extremely hard at it as coaches and the players have to work extremely hard at it as players. But second to that, you have got to have a lot of fun and you have got to enjoy because there is a lot of situations where there is no guarantees. It is a game you play for today and I have told the players to get to this point for myself it has been twice in 20 years. For Don Lever, another coach, it has been once in 25 years. I think there is a lot of examples. So we are here to enjoy this next couple of weeks, have fun with it, we want to be the hardest working team on the ice in the same sense.

LINDY RUFF: I think Dallas respected our team going into Game 1. I think there were things said that maybe got blown out of proportion, but I know that Ken Hitchcock wouldn't underestimate our hockey club from watching it. There is a certain amount of detail you put in watching films. There was not a chance to say boy this is going to be an easy series.

LINDY RUFF: Well, throughout the Playoffs he has been one of our best skating forwards. You have mentioned creating chances, he has created chances for us. He had a chance to put the game away for us late in the third period on a breakaway but didn't score. Things that stand out now, how hard he for checks, he is on top of the puck all the time, and he is working both ends of the ice. Six weeks ago he said he wanted to be a grinder. I think Ken has asked all his players to play defense. He has asked Brett Hull to play defense. We have asked all our guys in the same sense got to be able to play both ends of the rink. Geoff has accepted that and I think he has learned to play in both ends and now offensively he has skated really well; got some confidence; he scored some goals. He has been a very important part of this Playoff run.

DOMINIK HASEK: Maybe lots of experiences from this situation, but it really doesn't matter if you come -- if it comes to a Stanley Cup Final, I was nervous before the game, even during the game, but I always say it is nothing bad about it. It is good to be nervous. It keeps you more focused, more concentrated, and you know, the pressure I believe what helps me to play better. It is nothing bad about it. That is the way I felt. I was very nervous, but I played pretty well.

LINDY RUFF: You know, we talked a little bit about the penalties in the first and there was a time in the second period on the bench one of the TV timeouts where we said enough is enough. We took I think the Ward penalty where he punched somebody in the head was totally an undisciplined penalty. That is when I just said: No more, we can't take anymore of these. We wanted to hit. We wanted to go out of our way to hit last night. We have got some good hitting forwards. We knew we would take a couple of penalties, but it got to a point where enough was enough.