NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: MAPLE LEAFS v HURRICANES

May 24, 2002

Curtis Joseph

CURTIS JOSEPH: The one thing that I can convey is that we really believe that we can win. We're a good team and we've been down before in the other series, and low and behold we've comeback. But I think it's similar with this team, we have the confidence that when we need a game, we have come up with it. So we've got that in our favor.

CURTIS JOSEPH: Oh, yeah, we know that you have to get to the net to win hockey games. They do a great job of holding up, and it seems like it's within the rules, but they have done a great job of holding guys and clutching and grabbing and clawing their way to not letting us get anywhere.

CURTIS JOSEPH: No. I'm sure he'll be back there. I think it was a surprise to everybody that he was there last game, but apparently he's feeling really good. So, that's good news.

CURTIS JOSEPH: Yeah, but don't take my word for it. (Smiles).

CURTIS JOSEPH: Well, I think it would be nice to get a lead and play with a lead, and then they would have to open it up a little more and that would be to our favor. Unfortunately, we haven't got a lead yet. We've just got to find a way.

CURTIS JOSEPH: Oh, yeah, but they always even out eventually. You make your own bounces, too. If you go to the net ten times in a row, you're going to get a bounce. Some games, they just don't go your way. That's why it's a seven-game series and usually the best team wins. We have had some bad bounces, too. I remember some goals that went in against us that went off sticks or whatever. Then maybe in the Game 7s, they evened out for us a little bit. But you've got to make your own breaks, too. You've got to make your own breaks. You've got to go to the net. I think last game we did enough to warrant getting a bounce or two, for sure. The last game, if you play like that each game in a seven-game series, you're going to get some bounces.

CURTIS JOSEPH: Yeah, with the same effort and same amount of traffic and whatnot, they will go in.

CURTIS JOSEPH: Well, I wasn't around in '67, but I was around, barely. We know what we have to do. But you have enough to worry about without trying to add things on top of your task. So you try not to look for things to add to the pressure; you try and take away from it.