Claude Julien: 'It was ours to earn'

Julien: "Yeah, certainly would not think about saying anything negative about the goalies that I've had because I've had some great ones, Marty Brodeur and others. But Tim Thomas in these playoffs just totally dominated. That's the sign of a great goaltender.

"He was on top of his game from start to finish, and especially in this final round. He was outstanding every game. I know everybody expected him to have an average game at some point. Never came. He was in the zone, focused, never let anything rattle him and never questioned his style of play. What's happened to him right now is so deserving and so proud of him and obviously the rest of the team."

Coach, it wasn't too long ago that you were here down 2-0. Talk about the battle back.

Julien: "Again, we talked to the players and we had been down 2-0 to Montreal losing both games at home, so we had been through it and probably in a tougher situation. But at least now we were going back home, and really as you hear coaches say, you need to take a look at the small picture in order to get back in that series. We had to win Game 3 and if we did that, well, I told the guys momentum would take over and other things would take care of themselves. They did.

"You know, we came out Game 4 and played a strong game at home, also. We missed Nathan when he got hurt, you know, guys really felt like they wanted to rally around that situation and be supportive of a guy who came to us from Florida and put everything on the line. And, you know, they wanted to win it for themselves, but even more so for him.

"They really rallied around that situation. I think it was great the way our team just looked at the small picture. Every game, all we talked about was going out there and earning it.

"It wasn't ours to have, it was ours to earn."

Like any coach, you've come under your fair share of criticism throughout the season, perhaps more than others. What type of personal satisfaction do you take in this?