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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: FLYERS v LIGHTNING

May 19, 2004

Brad Richards

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Practice Day

BRAD RICHARDS: We'll try to close it out and we have to relish that and step up.
Q. There's not a comfort level, but how confident are you, knowing what this team has done on the road throughout the entire playoffs, no matter what the series?
BRAD RICHARDS: We've played well on the road. I don't think that's a big concern of ours because we are in Philly. I think the big concern is coming out and matching their intensity and desperation, because, you know it's going to be high when their back faces the wall like that.
Whether it's the building or wherever we are playing, I don't think it's going to hurt us. It's how we prepare for the game mentally and get ready to play.
Q. Is there any advantage to having a mindset or will you have a mindset that this is a game you don't have anything to lose, you still have another one, whereas they are up against it, can you play a little freer or a more aggressive style?
BRAD RICHARDS: I don't know if it's going to change. It might chink their game a little bit more. I don't think it's going to change what they have to do. If you let that creep into your head, I think that's the wrong thing. Sometimes when you're facing elimination and the other teams aren't, maybe they are a little more uptight and stuff like that. But they have got a lot of experienced guys and know how close they are, so I don't really expect that. It's going to be the same type of game, and we just really hope that everybody shows up and we want to close it out.
Q. Is it difficult to step away from thinking, hey, you are one game away from the Stanley Cup Finals?
BRAD RICHARDS: Everything happened so fast, we won last night and you're here already, you don't get a lot of time to think about it. I think letting those things creep into your head is the wrong thing. Just take it one day at a time and prepare for the game tomorrow and move on from there. It is difficult, for sure, it's human nature, you're going to think of it but we are going to try not to.
Q. Would you say that the team that wins each game has been the most desperate, the most intense to get that frame of mind, has that been it?
BRAD RICHARDS: Pretty well, yeah. The way the games have gone, I'm trying to think, yeah, it's been like that. There's different parts in the games, I think different teams have been more desperate, but maybe the overall game or at certain times when you score a key goal, that turns the game around, and I think the way we came out last night in the first half of the game, won us a game, luckily. Didn't finish off the way we wanted to, but at the same time, we played with a lot of desperation and passion in the first period and I think that carried into getting us a three-goal lead.
Q. Saying that, is it just too difficult to be able to maintain that thing over a seven-game series, to be up like that for every game?
BRAD RICHARDS: I think you can get up. It's just the quality of teams and players on the ice. I don't think you're going to see four teams left in the NHL that you are not going to see some team or some players take over and dominate every shift he's out there or every team, every shift you're out there. It's evenly-matched teams and everybody knows how important each game is and each shift. So it's just natural that when you've got two teams and two different players that are good, competing against each other, sometimes you are on different sides of that.
Q. Tort's speech on Monday, that seemed to mean something to you; what did you get out of that and how did that change your mindset at all?
BRAD RICHARDS: I don't think it changed my mindset. I think it's just reinforcement that he just wanted to make us think about not letting it off the hook. The way we came out in Game 4, he didn't really like it; not the fact that you lose, but the way we played. Sometimes you can play really well and not win, but that wasn't the case in Game 4. We didn't try to win the game. He just wanted to put that in our minds.
I think everybody knew, it was just a good reinstatement, kind of make sure everybody focuses when they go to bed at night that it's a big game the next day.
Q. Why have you been so successful for yourself in this year's playoffs?
BRAD RICHARDS: I'm just playing. I have no idea. If things are going good, I think everybody is playing well as a team, and when the team goes this far, it's a lot easier to lift your game because I think everybody is in a different level.
You know, I haven't changed anything. It's just things are working.
Q. How would you describe your relationship and maybe the team's relationship with the coach? Is it a love-hate relationship? There's a lot of respect there but he drives you to the brink a lot?
BRAD RICHARDS: I don't think there's much hate. It's been such a changeover in these four years I've been here. It's pretty hard to hate someone when you go from winning 20 games to being in the semifinals. Everybody realizes what he's done. And he demands a lot of you, but we're used to that now. If you don't like it, then you probably aren't here. They have the guys that are buying into the system and that's why we've been successful. It's a good relationship. He's really helped us and he's changed, also, so that's good.
Q. At times, do you say to yourself, how can he expect more from us at this point; can we give any more?
BRAD RICHARDS: I think you can always give more. The only time you can't give more is if you win your last game you play and we haven't done that in our career.
You can always give more, that's why one team wins and the other team loses. That's what he's focusing on. You've got to dig deep sometimes and find those extra things.
Q. After such an intense game last night, how do you feel today?
BRAD RICHARDS: FastScripts by ASAP Sports ...

End of FastScripts...

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