PHOTO OF THE DAY

Edmonton's Ryan Smyth checks Carolina's Aaron Ward into the boards during Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final at Rexall Place.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Well, we were not passing up any opportunities to punish a guy that's playing 25 minutes a game. He played 24 odd minutes tonight, I think. You always want to make those as tough a minute as possible, and when you see Rod coming down, you want to make sure that you are finishing your checks. I thought we did a pretty good job of that tonight." -- Oilers coach Craig MacTavish on defending Carolina's Rod Brind'Amour

GAME BREAKERS

Ryan Smyth (EDM): 1 goal Jussi Markkanen (EDM): 24 saves Rod Brind'Amour (CAR): 1 goal

TODAY'S SCHEDULE

No game scheduled

RECENT EDITIONS

Saturday, June 10, 2006 Friday, June 9, 2006 Thursday, June 8, 2006 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 Tuesday, June 6, 2006 Monday, June 5, 2006 Friday, June 2, 2006 Thursday, June 1, 2006 Wednesday, May 31, 2006 Tuesday, May 30, 2006 Friday, May 26, 2006

Here at NHL.com, we strive constantly to bring you all the news and notes surrounding this Stanley Cup Final.

Doing so requires us to be at the arenas for long stretches of time throughout this Final. On game days, we arrive about an hour before the morning skate and stay through both team skates to get material for notebooks, sidebars and the Playoff Daily. Then after a short break, for some lunch or a quick nap, we return to the rink at least two hours before game time and are usually among the last to leave.

On off-days, we attend both team practices and spend a good portion of the day writing advances, features and sidebars. Of course, in the spirit of full disclosure, I must confess that we squeeze in a little time to experience the sights, sounds and tastes of every city we visit.

I tell you this not to gain your sympathy -- as I know many of you would happily trade places with me -- but rather to illustrate the amount of work we invest to make NHL.com the destination website throughout the Final.

When you are forced to spend that much time hanging around dressing rooms, looking for interesting stories and telling quotes, you quickly notice those players and coaches that make your job easier by providing intelligent, well-thought-out and unique sound bites.

And, already, the NHL.com staff has come to realize that we are in hockey heaven in that regard.

Both teams are full of what we like to call "great talkers" -- guys that can fill a notebook or a tape recorder with the slightest of prompting.

The Edmonton Oilers might be losing this best-of-seven series and feeling intense heat as they slide ever-closer to elimination, but coach Craig MacTavish is winning the quote war.

Despite his unhappiness with his team's showing in the first two games, MacTavish has remained calm and collected in his press conferences, answering questions with poise and intelligence. Often, coaches will use these type of quotes to entice reporters to chase a story and take the pressure of his players as they try to get their heads on straight.

Lindy Ruff was a mastermind at this tactic last round, starting a war of words with Carolina coach Peter Laviolette to shift some of the attention away from the fact that the Buffalo defense corps was slowly, but surely, being obliterated through injury and attrition.

Friday, MacTavish got off perhaps the best line so far in this series, comparing the Carolina Hurricanes suffocating play in the first two games to carbon monoxide poisoning.

"I said to the players today that Carolina is a little bit like carbon monoxide poisoning; you don't really sense it, you don't really sense the fear," he said, "but it's lethal."

A great quote like that are music to the ears of reporters.

And each of these locker rooms at the Final have been like symphonies.

In the Edmonton room, players like Jason Smith, Steve Staios and Mike Peca have been front-and-center in trying to take the pressure of their teammates, meeting the horde of press head-on.

In the Carolina room, where I have spent most of my days during this series, it is like an all-you-can eat buffet of quotes.

Doug Weight has been running a non-stop string of funny one-liners. Mike Commodore has embraced the jovial role he projects with his mop of bright red hair. Defenseman Aaron Ward has emerged as the conscience of the team. His brutal assessment of his individual play in Game 1 was almost painful in its honesty.

Alternate captain Kevyn Adams might be a fourth-line center on the ice, but in the room he is a first-line talker, always willing to hold court, no matter how esoteric the topic.

Young goalie Cam Ward talks all the time. Many goalies will not talk on the morning of a game day, but Ward is always available, dealing with the crush of inquiring minds that ring his stall in the crowded visiting dressing room at Rexall Place.

Make no mistake, we all understand hockey is about what these players do on the ice, not what they say before or after the games.

But, the media serves as the conduit between the players and the fans, recording the deeds of the players on the ice and their musings about their performances in the afterglow of the games. When the athletes involved make that job easier by taking their media responsibilities seriously, the end product is better for all involved.

Both the Hurricanes and the Oilers have taken that to heart and we can only hope that our coverage has reflected the players' professionalism in dealing with the media on hand in both cities.