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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: FLYERS v BLACKHAWKSMay 27, 2010Michael LeightonCHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Practice Day Q. Michael, could you tell us about - are you feeling nervous? Excited about getting started on Saturday? MICHAEL LEIGHTON: I feel pretty good. I'm not trying to think about things too much. I'm trying to take it one day at a time. It's good we have a few days here to relax and enjoy just coming into Chicago now and relaxing a little bit. Q. This team has been through so much. Of course, the last game of the season to get into the Playoffs, and then all the injuries over the course of the season. Injuries in the Playoffs. Was there a defining moment when this team really came together and started to believe that you could get to this point? MICHAEL LEIGHTON: I think it was when we got that shootout win to make the Playoffs. Obviously if we hadn't done that, we wouldn't be here. But right from there we believed as soon as we got into the Playoffs good things would happen. And we made it into the Playoffs. We had confidence in our team. It's a big thing for us. Q. So many people have talked about the Chicago team. Of course, they're one of the top teams in the league throughout the course of the regular season. And a lot of people give them the edge over your team to win this thing. Do you and your teammates feel you're underdogs in this series? MICHAEL LEIGHTON: We've been underdogs through the series. So we're not really thinking about that. And we played them once this year and we beat them. So we're confident. We know we have a good team, and we've just got to go out there and play our best. That's all we can do. Q. The Hawks are a deep team, a lot of young, good players, offensive-type players. In what way does that change your preparation to play against them? MICHAEL LEIGHTON: It doesn't change at all how we play. I think we'll play a pretty similar way to how we played Montreal. Montreal had a lot of good forwards, quick guys, quick pucks to the net, and they worked hard. Chicago is very similar to them. Q. Is there a key to the series? MICHAEL LEIGHTON: No, we've just got to play as a team and work hard. Q. It's been quite a journey for you in your NHL career having started out with Chicago, and now you're in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Blackhawks. Talk about that. MICHAEL LEIGHTON: It's obviously exciting coming back here and being part of the city again. And you know I enjoyed my time here. But time has passed. It's been a long time since I was here. A little bit different. I don't know too many of the players anymore. Obviously the lineups have changed. But I know some of the staff here and the management. So it's going to be exciting. Q. What do you remember from your days as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks? MICHAEL LEIGHTON: Obviously I know I didn't play a full season here. But I remember the arena, the fans. During the National Anthem it's pretty exciting. If you don't get chills watching that or being part of that, then there's something wrong with you. Q. Pretty exciting time for you now being in the Stanley Cup Finals? MICHAEL LEIGHTON: Yeah, obviously. It's a great opportunity for our team, and I'm happy where we are. But we've got four more wins. Q. Is this team an underdog to the Blackhawks? MICHAEL LEIGHTON: That's sort of what everyone's saying. But we're underdogs in every other series we played in. So we're not disappointed about who we're playing. We're confident in our team and we'll go out and play our best. Q. Has it sunk in that you guys are here in this Stanley Cup Final? Has it sunk in? Did the flight help sink it in; what's going through your mind? MICHAEL LEIGHTON: It sunk it in now. For me, it's getting harder to fall asleep at night when your mind starts racing and thinking about things. We still have a few more days, trying to enjoy and relax and have a couple of good days of practice and get ready for Saturday. End of FastScripts |
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