Article Archive

MIKE MODANO'S PLAYOFF DIARY - JUNE 14 Strong play in Game 3 keeps Sabres guessing 06/14/99 The win in Game 3 was big for us because it put the pressure back on them. We figured with two days off, they can do all the analyzing and figuring out all they want. It would have been a long two days if we would have lost. I really didn't think I'd be able to perform and do the things I want to do out there because of my wrist. But I knew I would be able to play after the morning skate. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. But it kind of caught up to me in the third period when I got a little frustrated and got those penalties. I felt good. I felt like I was skating well, but when you don't have hands and you don't have the ability to make the plays you usually make, that gets you frustrated. I just went into the game trying to keep things simple. I didn't want to do anything too special. I wanted to play smart and real conservative and not be a liability out there. The injury affected my handling of the puck and my shooting, but faceoffs were the biggest thing. But all in all, it felt a lot better than I thought it would. I'm not surprised how well we played. This team really recognizes what it needs to do when a player goes down. We don't put ourselves in danger by getting out of position. We become tighter when guys get knocked out. We just try to be more conservative. This little rest should be real good for us. Some guys really need it because they're banged up. But the biggest thing is that having some time off allows us to get rested and regrouped for Tuesday. It's funny. Everybody wants to know about my injury and exactly what's wrong. It's been such a big secret. But that's the good thing about hockey. You don't have to say what the injury is, and that makes it fun. I know what it is ... It's my right knee. Mike Modano's diary, as told to Staff Writer Bill Nichols, will appear in The News during the playoffs.