Transcripts Courtesy of the NHL Communications Department

Travel Day comments from Flyers players Simone Gagne, Jeff Carter, Danny Briere, Chris Pronger, and Head Coach Peter Laviolette

Comments from Simon Gagne

Q.  You guys are finally healthy here, with getting Carter and Laperriere back.  Do you feel like that might be the guys that will get you over the top?

SIMON GAGNE:  Well, it’s going to help, that’s for sure.  You’re talking about two guys that play a big role on the team.  Lappy, we all know played very well defensively, played against the best player on the other team, very good on PK.  Likes to block shots, we all know that.  So he’s a big, big part of the team, and to see him back is definitely a plus.  Now having Jeff Carter back, you know, we all know he’s our goal scorer that scores most of the goals for us this year.  So that gives us a lot more options now on the power play or five‑on‑fives.

Definitely, it’s almost like the perfect timing for us to get those two guys back, and we’re happy to see him play and feeling good about last night.

Q.  You’re in the same place now the Bruins were when they were up 3‑1.  Lessons to be learned from what happened to them?

SIMON GAGNE:  I think so. We all know that the last one, the fourth one is the toughest one to win.  We’re a perfect example.  We did come back from a 3‑0 lead, and we all know that’s the toughest one to win.

You could ask Boston, they’ll tell you that for sure.  We learned a lot of things from winning that Game 7 in Boston, but we’ll try to use it on the other side.  We’re going to try to play our best game tomorrow night and try to close the Series out.

Q.  You guys have had three shutouts, and I know Leighton obviously deserves a lot of credit, but you have a beast like Pronger back on the blue line, how much has he meant to this team?  The guy’s 35 years old, he’s logging almost 30 minutes a game.  It’s pretty amazing what he’s done?

SIMON GAGNE:  Yeah, he’s a big, big part of our team.  You know, you could tell in the season what type of a player that we were getting here by the trade this summer, but now it’s Playoff time.  He’s able to play more minutes right now.  Like you said, 35 minutes on the ice is more than half of the game, so you want him on the ice as much as you can.  But at the same time, you need your rest once in a while.

But he’s a big body right there on the ice.  Tough to beat one‑on‑one, block shots, played very well on the power play.  So he’s the full package.  That’s why Mr. Holmgren went after Chris Pronger this summer for this time of the season.

Q.  How much of what you guys have done with those three shutouts has been a team‑wide effort?  Not just what your defense or your goalie has done, but what you guys have done as well?

SIMON GAGNE:  You know what, we’re not really too happy about the first two games here in Philly.  The reason why we won those two games was because of Michael Leighton.  That’s all the credit for him from the first two games – and our special teams did a good job too.  We have to say that too.

The power play did a good job to be able to score some big goals for us, and our penalty killing did some good stuff against their power play.  But I think last night that was a team effort.  For 60 minutes, you could tell from the drop of the puck, we were ready to play our game.  Initiate, not wait to go see what they’re going to do, not wait to go see what the crowd’s going to do in Montreal.  We just went after them, and we all know the story.  We came out with the win.

It was a tight game.  Not too many chances on both sides, but we were able to get a couple chances and be able to score on those.

Q.  Judging by what you guys did yesterday, what didn’t you do in those first two games?

SIMON GAGNE:  Well, we have to look at what we did well yesterday.  You know, what happened in Game 1 and 2, I think it’s behind us.  We learned from it, and we learned from Game 3, especially Game 3 against Montreal in Montreal.  We learned from that.

It’s behind us.  We want to focus on what we did well yesterday and try to play the same type of game we did yesterday in Montreal.

Q.  But there were significant adjustments on how you approach them?

SIMON GAGNE:  Well, you know, we play our style of hockey.  That’s the way we played against Boston, and that’s the way we have to play to have success.  Like I said, initiate, not waiting to see what the other team’s going to do now, be physical and play well in their zone.

I think our defensemen did a great job since the start of the Playoffs blocking shots, and as a forward, you try to help them.  Try to come back in the zone and play some tight defense, and from there we all know ‑‑ it looks like we say that all the time, but good defense brings some good offense, and that’s what we did yesterday.

It was a game on the road, not too many chances, like I said, offensively.  But when you play some good defense you get those breaks, and that’s a bit what happened, especially on the second goal.  Philly was a good defense, and we were able to get a lucky break and kind of breakaway and were able to get it in.

Comments from Jeff Carter

Q. Was that a little bit of a limp we saw there, Jeff, or how’s your foot feeling the day after your first game?

JEFF CARTER:  Not bad.  I think it feels better than I expected.  Felt better than I expected last night, so good signs that it’s getting better every day.

Q.  When you made the move at the blue line on Travis Moen, is that kind of when you realized hey, maybe I am just fine and ready to go?  Is that when you really kind of felt it?

JEFF CARTER:  Yeah, I think it took me a couple of shifts to get my feet underneath me.  Coming back after the situation, I was pretty nervous, and didn’t want to make a mistake my first couple of shifts.  But, yeah, I think that power play you get out there and get to feel the puck a little more and get a little move like that, it builds confidence up and set the tone for me for the rest of the game.

Q.  What’s that like when you’re feeling better, but you’re still not quite ready to play, and you’re watching your team this deep into the Playoffs knowing I know I can go out there.  How tough is that?

JEFF CARTER:  Yeah, it’s tough for any hockey player, injured or healthy, wants to be out there.  I feel that I can really help the team.  Really, no matter how I’m feeling, it’s tough sitting there.  It’s great when they win, but when you lose a couple games it’s tough seeing them go down like that.

I love playing hockey.  I love being out there; and as soon as I got the okay from the doctors I knew I was getting out there.

Q.  When you suffered the injury, were you thinking something like, man, if they could just keep going, give me a chance to get back in?  What was your confidence level that you’d have a chance to get back in?

JEFF CARTER:  I really didn’t have one.  They basically told me that I was done.  So when they said that it was pretty discouraging.  You know, I just kind of really wasn’t doing anything.  I wasn’t working out.  I was basically my year was over.  I became a cheerleader for the guys, and just tried to be a good guy around the room, you know.  Keep everybody upbeat.

When I got the call that there might be a chance that I could come back and everything was going pretty good, definitely a good feeling, and I got right back to work.

Q.  When did you actually hit the gym for the first time?

JEFF CARTER:  Monday morning.  A week. A week tomorrow.

Q.  Really?

JEFF CARTER:  Yeah.

Q.  With what this team accomplished against Boston, how much will that serve as a reminder to not layoff?

JEFF CARTER:  Yeah, I think obviously we’re on the other end of it, but it’s a great learning experience.  Anything can happen.  We know that Montreal’s been in this position before, and they’ve done well in this position before.  They’re going to give us their best effort.

So we need to come out, have a strong start, carry it over, and feed of our advantage.

Q.  Where’s your conditioning level right now?  Are you back to normal?  You were only in the gym on Monday?

JEFF CARTER:  Yeah, it’s getting better.  Definitely getting better.  In these games you don’t feel out of shape.  The excitement, and the fans and the crowds get you going, and you can make it through anything. Definitely not where I want to be.  It’s a work in progress, but I’m feeling better every day.

Q.  You guys were considered a surprise at this point, mostly based on what you guys did at the regular season?

JEFF CARTER:  For you guys.

Q.  That’s why I’m saying it.  Was it a surprise in the locker room?

JEFF CARTER:  No, I think we were happy the way the regular season went.  We knew we had a better team than what we showed.  We showed at times that we can play like we are now.  At times we showed like we weren’t a very good hockey team.  Everything’s coming together at the right time.  We always knew, and we had faith in the guys in the room that this is where we would be at the end of the year, and we’re just rolling with it.

Comments from Danny Briere

Q. How badly do you guys want to wrap it up tomorrow night?

DANNY BRIERE:  Well, yeah, that’s the goal.  Obviously, we’re happy, very happy with being able to get one big win in Montreal with the atmosphere that was there in their building, the way it was rocking.  It was a key game yesterday to be able to leave their building with that third win.

But we all know the last one will be the toughest to get.  We also realize what Montreal has gone through previously, in the previous rounds against Washington and Pittsburgh.

So we can’t take them lightly.  Also what happened with us against Boston.  So it’s never over until the end.  We don’t want to get too high, too confident.  Just one big one left and probably the hardest one to get.

Q.  Do you guys remind each other of that?

DANNY BRIERE:  Oh, yeah, that’s definitely something we’ve talked amongst ourselves.  We realize that it’s not going to be easy.  Montreal’s not a team that has quit in the past, and they’re not going to quit now.  So we’ll have to play one of our best games again to clinch.

Q.  You’ve got a guy in that dressing room that’s been hot postseason 14 straight years in Chris Pronger.  He’s won a Cup.  He’s been to the Finals.  Is there any coincidence that he’s gone through that kind of stuff?

DANNY BRIERE:  I don’t think so.  He was a big reason why we were able to come back from 3‑0 down against Boston, just his calmness, his composure, his focus.  You look at him and he just gives you confidence that good things are going to happen.  He’s got that quiet confidence about himself that just follow me.  I know the road.

He’s not the only one.  We have many guys like that.  We have a lot of guys with lots of character.  But like I said, we don’t want to get overconfident.  We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.  We know we’re still in a tough Series here.

Q.  Does he talk much in the dressing room about the experiences he’s had knowing that he’s had so much of it?

DANNY BRIERE:  No, it’s not so much what he’s done in the past.  I think it’s just his demeanor.  How calm he is, how focused he is on what’s ahead.  You can just see it in his eyes that he’s been there before.  He knows the way, the road.  So I think it’s mostly his demeanor.

Q.  Do you recall your emotion after you lost Carter and you lost Gagne, and then you lost Laperriere the next game?  How down was the team?  Do you remember what the emotion was?

DANNY BRIERE:  Yeah, yeah.  I mean, the last two years ago when we got to the Conference Finals we lost Timonen and Coburn to injuries.  Before that, the year that our coach won the Stanley Cup in Carolina and I was with Buffalo, there were a lot of injuries to our defensive corps as well that year.  When that started happening, I was like ‘oh, boy, not again’.

But for some reason we found a way.  One of the key games to me was Game 5 in New Jersey.  We had lost Gagne and Carter, and we lost Ian that game.  It would have been really easy for us to kind of sit back and just kind of wait to see if we would still be in the game in the second and third period and make a push.

But we came out swinging right from the get-go.  And I thought that was a pretty good sign that we have a lot of character guys.

Q.  Have you guys changed your game much from the beginning of the Series when you’re giving up 38 shots or have you guys just tightened up defensively and decided to sit back and wait for them to make a mistake kind of thing?

DANNY BRIERE:  Well, we’ve said it from the beginning of the Series, we didn’t feel until last night that we had been playing really good hockey.  You know, I remember people didn’t really quite believe us after we won 3-0 or 3 or 4-0 Game 2, that we weren’t happy with our game.  People didn’t understand why.  I think it was just something that was coming, we didn’t feel.  We weren’t as sharp as we need to be, and it finally caught up to us in Game 3 in Montreal.

You know, when things are going well and you start winning, sometimes bad habits creep into your game.  It’s really easy to overlook them when things are going well because you just think that you’re getting away with it.

But like I said, it caught back to us in Game 3, and we had to make a lot of adjustments for last night’s game.  So I think that’s mostly the reason why.  We played a much better game last night than we did in the first three.

Q.  Did you know when you were playing well and weren’t playing well in the regular season, or was there just an inconsistency level that the team had trouble shooting?

DANNY BRIERE:  Well, both of them.  We realized when we weren’t playing well.  But, yeah, I can’t explain why, why we were so inconsistent during the season.  Obviously, injuries were a part of it, but also we come out for a game or two, and then we’d have two or he three bad games.  I can’t really explain it, but we’ve been much better in the postseason.

We were saying: you just need to get into the postseason.  That’s the first major step.  Obviously, we would have liked to have the first seed and have home ice the whole time, but it didn’t happen.

You get in the Playoffs and everybody has a chance.  That’s what we kept telling ourselves.  I knew at the same time that we had a lot of character guys in the room, a lot of Playoff warrior guys.  So I was confident coming in with the team that we have.

Comments from Chris Pronger

Q. It’s funny when your teammates aren’t saying bad stuff about you they’re actually talking about how nothing seems to rattle you and you bring a real sense of calmness to this team.  You’ve been in the Playoffs 14 straight years.  Has this kind of developed as you’ve gotten older and more mature in this league?

CHRIS PRONGER:  Yeah, I think you learn it.  You obviously have to have gone through a lot of different experiences, and some good, some bad, some indifferent.  I think that was one of the biggest messages that I tried to get across after the game in Game 3 was it’s only one game, just like the first two were only a part of the puzzle.

You can’t get too focused on one game.  We’ve obviously got to look at Game 5 as a huge test for us. Their backs have been against the wall a few times in these Playoffs and they’ve always come out and played extremely well.  We need to understand that and stay focused.

But really, after Game 3, it was all about just trying to relieve as much of the tension and stress as I could, and just allow the guys to kind of relax and refocus and reenergize themselves which we were able to do.

Q.  How hard is that to do?  When you’re in such an intense pressure cooker there and you see yourself on the ice and you look just so relaxed out there?

CHRIS PRONGER:  Well, I think because I’ve been in those situations before.  You learn how to handle it.  And also I’ve played with a lot of great players that I’ve been able to learn an awful lot from, kind of watch and see what they did in those situations.

You can take a lot out of what other great players do in the game, and that’s certainly one of them is how they handle tough defeats and how they handle wins as well.  Try to keep everybody on an even keel and understand it’s a long process.

Q.  Who do you have on your mind?  Are you thinking of a player that was like that?

CHRIS PRONGER:  Lots of guys.  Obviously, as recent as Scotty in Anaheim, his demeanor really doesn’t change whether it’s Preseason or the Playoffs.  But he’s a pretty laid back guy.

But that kind of helps in the locker room and around the rink and what not.  Just not changing who you are, whether it’s preseason, regular season, Playoffs, just kind of go about your business.  Understand that you’ve got to prepare and be focused.  But try to make sure that guys are relaxed and yet know what’s at stake.

Q.  Were you surprised at all with how well Jeff Carter played last night?  Four hits, four shots, the nice move at the blue line around Travis Moen, considering he still limps pretty good when he’s getting around?

CHRIS PRONGER:  Yeah, I don’t think anything really surprises me with some of these guys.  He’s obviously a very talented player, a guy who can skate and has a great shot.  Saw some of his moves there yesterday.  I think it’s really a testament to the character he has and the hard work that he put in while he was out.

It’s tough to stay in shape when you can’t really do a whole lot.  But he’s one of those guys that I don’t know if he’s got a lot of fast‑healing muscle fibers or what, but he can scoot, whether he’s laid off for four weeks or not.  He played very well yesterday.

Q.  Braydon Coburn has played a lot of minutes in the postseason and played well.  Is there an aspect of his game that he’s really picked up in the postseason?

CHRIS PRONGER:  You know what, I think just his reads, making that quick first pass, getting it out of the zone.  He’s obviously a great skater, and that kind of gets him out of a lot of trouble.

But really it’s just moving the puck quickly, getting it up to the forwards and allowing them to do their jobs and supporting the attack from there.  He’s a big guy that’s tough to beat one‑on‑one, and he’s obviously done an excellent job for us this far.

Q.  There is always a lot of talk from the outside about how many minutes you’ve been playing.  But are you just the type of guy that’s like, bring it on, I’ll rest when this is over?

CHRIS PRONGER:  Yeah.  I’ve always played a lot of minutes, so it’s not like it’s anything new.

Q.  But you’re 35, right?

CHRIS PRONGER:  Well, I was 25 at one point.  I was 20 at one point.  I was 30 at one point.  It is what it is.  You just have to make sure you rest when you get an opportunity and take care of your body.

As you mentioned, I am 35, but there’s a lot of guys in the league that were older than me that play just as many minutes.  Really it’s all about taking care of yourself and playing that next game.

Q.  A lot was made after one and two, you guys hadn’t played your best games despite the shutouts.  Do you feel, after Game 4, that now you’ve gotten to that point?

CHRIS PRONGER:  Yeah, we’ve certainly played a lot better.  That was probably our best game of the Series right there.  A lot better first period, but we started getting into our rhythm in the second period, getting pucks in deep, get something sustained pressure cycles, creating some turnovers and getting some chances off those turnovers.

So we started to kind of get back into our flow and rhythm and the way that we play.  So if we can continue to move our feet like that, get into that cycle again, we’ll hopefully have the same results tomorrow.

Q.  What about a veteran player trying to guide through this process, what role does the coach play in that?  How does Peter handle this compared to the other guys you’ve played with?

CHRIS PRONGER:  You know what, it’s a big deal how the coach handles things.  He’s obviously done — I think he’s done an excellent job of keeping us focused and understanding just worry about that next game.  Don’t worry about the stakes, don’t worry about what’s coming next.  It’s worrying about that next game.

A lot of our meetings are really just focused on the game at hand.  Today’s was about tomorrow.  Don’t look past tomorrow’s game.  They’re obviously a team that, as we said, has come out very well against when their backs have been against the wall; and we expect nothing less from them tomorrow night.  We need to come with our best to be successful.

Q.  Is it hard to put out of your mind what’s at stake?

CHRIS PRONGER:  No, not at all.  Because you start looking too far ahead, and you’re going to get bit real quick.  As I just said, they’re a team that has shown a lot of resiliency in these Playoffs, and we’ve got to stay focused on the task at hand and that’s winning tomorrow night’s game; and we need to be closers and step on it when we can.

Q.  If you win tomorrow night, should Richards touch the trophy?

CHRIS PRONGER:  There’s no ifs.  I don’t deal with ifs or hypotheticals.  I’ll deal with that when that happens.

Q.  When you win tomorrow night, should Richards touch the trophy?

CHRIS PRONGER:  I’ve got no comment for you on that one (smiling).

Comments from Head Coach Peter Laviolette

Q. All the players are talking about the calmness and demeanor that Chris Pronger seems to bring to this team.  At a time like this, when you’re so deep in the Playoffs and so much on the line, how much do you need a guy like that out there?

COACH LAVIOLETTE:  Well, he plays so many minutes for us too.  To have a guy playing 30 minutes that has the patience and the settling effect that he has on the ice.  I mean last night was a perfect example.  It is a hostile building, and every time the puck was on his stick, he felt pretty good about things.  He just has a way of calming the game down.

He’s a physical player.  He plays with an edge.  But also he’s very ‑‑ just a calming game he plays.  It’s never, you never see him diving anywhere or sprawling anywhere.  He’s always in control of himself, the puck and the game.

Q.  No coincidence he’s been in the postseason 14 straight years?

COACH LAVIOLETTE:  I don’t think it’s a coincidence.

Q.  You’ve relied on him most of all, but you’ve had four defensemen play a lot of minutes.  Was that your intention going into the Playoffs, or did it evolve that way just because they were playing so well?

COACH LAVIOLETTE:  They’re playing really well together.  You know, we try to keep everybody in there.  Sometimes those other guys get up in that 8 to 10 minute range, 12 minute range depending on the nights.

Like I said, we trust all of our players on the ice.  When you’ve got Chris Pronger on your bench, Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle’s playing great, we find ourselves in situations where we’re must‑wins.  Mike Richards plays a lot more than other people do.  Those players have the skill set and have been in those situations, and those are players that you want on the ice.

Q.  But Coburn even has played more than his regular season might have suggested.  What’s he done to step up his team?

COACH LAVIOLETTE:  By how many minutes?  A couple?  By 21, 20?

Q.  It’s 24 now, I think.

COACH LAVIOLETTE:  I know.  But I’m saying he was probably 21, 22, now he’s 24.  I think it’s just where you are in the Playoffs.  The Playoffs is about winning four hockey games in a Series and trying to move on.  It’s different from Game 51.  You’re trying to play your very best on Game 51, but you can’t get eliminated.

I think in the situations that we’ve been in, we’ve had rest during this Playoff Series.  We’ve had some rest.  Want to get your players out there and get those minutes.

Q.  Were you confident that your players all know about Montreal against Washington, Montreal against Pittsburgh, that you didn’t have to maybe address that one more time now that you’re up 3-1?

COACH LAVIOLETTE:  I told you.  I’ve said this before, I’m concerned about everything.  So there’s always meetings that goes on.  There’re always conversations.  Try to touch on it.

Q.  Do you think about the character of Michael Leighton?  He had an injury that was tough for everybody, actually, but he came back really strong?

COACH LAVIOLETTE:  I think — you said everybody, and I think you’re right.  We’ve been successful as a team when you’re team has played a certain style and a certain way.  It’s not about one person.  Certainly you need your goaltender to be one of your top players every night.  He and everybody else’s efforts was improved in Game 4.

Q.  Is it a question of he’s older, he’s not 22 anymore, he’s not 23, he’s been around?

COACH LAVIOLETTE:  Well, you certainly could make a case that a 21 or 22-year-old could get it done as well.

Q.  Going into tomorrow, is it hard not to think about and talk about what’s at stake?  Is it hard to not talk about that?

COACH LAVIOLETTE:  The players know what’s at stake.  I don’t think it’s wrong to think, to dream about, to go down that road and allow yourself to play the game hard because you want to move on. It’s the planning, and who and where and whens and all that.

Every team sets out at the beginning of the year to win the Stanley Cup.  It’s okay to say we need to win a game, one game tomorrow night, so that we can move on.  By moving on you get that right to fight for it.

Q.  What kind of options do you have now with Jeff Carter back in the lineup in terms of you can move him around the top six, can you maybe change up your power play a little bit?

COACH LAVIOLETTE:  I could do all of that.

Q.  How much of a luxury is it to have that going into this?

COACH LAVIOLETTE:  Certainly we’ve got — I’m trying to count — we’ve got six Centermen, that’s a luxury.  You never want to be short down the middle.  We’ve got six Centermen in the lineup.  I don’t know, Ville Leino tells me he played center.  Every time I ask him if he’s done this, he says, yeah, I’ve done that.

But we’ve got six Centermen with Powe and Carter right now on the wings that we’re really comfortable with any of them playing down the middle.

So I think there’s room to move things around if you felt like you had to.

Q.  Does Claude Giroux seem to you like he’s taken another major step in his development?  Is he a better player now than he was, say in March?

COACH LAVIOLETTE:  He’s taken his game to, I think, to the next level offensively, yeah.  Yeah, he’s been an impact player.

Q.  Any updates on that sand thing close to your dressing room?

COACH LAVIOLETTE:  I didn’t comment on it last night.  I have no comments.  I’m not sure exactly what it is you’re talking about.

Q.  Did you sharpen your skates today?

COACH LAVIOLETTE:  All of our skates — we’ve got one of the best skate sharpeners in the League, so we’re all good to go.  We’ll be ready tomorrow.