MIKE MODANO'S PLAYOFF DIARY - JUNE 19
Dreams will be realized if Stars can win one more
06/19/99
You dream about this throughout your whole life, and it was more vivid for me
last night than ever. I couldn't sleep. You're laying there, and you're mind
starts playing tricks on you and you start playing out different scenarios.
The whole ride of the whole thing, it empties you out totally, mind and body.
Two months of playoff hockey, it's such a ride.
It doesn't get any more emotionally or physically draining than this run. I think
that is why you see a lot of guys just break down when it is all said and done
because they have been pushed to the limit, pushed to the edge, and then
you find that little extra to get through it and to be the top team in the league
for 1999.
That is something that we have all thrived on - and we've really pushed
ourselves - to be the best. But physically and emotionally, there is nothing
more draining.
We need one more win. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but
you don't want to get caught up in thinking like that. Game 6 is going to be
the toughest game yet, and we know that. It's going to be the toughest 60
minutes some of us will play in our whole lives.
My only other time in the Finals was with Minnesota in 1991. My role now is a
lot different than when I was 19. I didn't play as much, my responsibilities
weren't as heavy as they are now, and that's why I've gotten so much more
out of the game, because my responsbilities have changed since I've come
into the league. I don't need to score goals to feel good about my game
anymore.
Now I realize how tough it is to get here. Back then, we didn't deserve to be
there, but we made the playoffs and we shocked teams, and very rarely
panicked. We were just some guys who were having fun.
I feel good about this team. The guys are playing with a lot of confidence.
Before the game, everybody will remind each other what our goal is, and that's
to have a good start to the game, have a good first period, and to build as the
game goes on.
Mentally, everybody's going to be as sharp as ever. I'm assuming that we'll
play our best game of the playoffs.
Mike Modano's diary, as told to Staff Writer Bill Nichols, will appear in The
News during the playoffs.