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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: BLACKHAWKS v LIGHTNINGJune 13, 2015Corey CrawfordPatrick SharpAntoine VermetteTAMPA, FLORIDA: Game Five Chicago – 2 THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Patrick, you see a loose puck, no goaltender in a net. What's the immediate thought that's in your head in this situation? PATRICK SHARP: Put the puck in the net (smiling). Just trying to force the play, skate as fast as I can up the ice, apply some pressure. I haven't seen the highlight, exactly what happened. I just know there was a collision. I found myself with a heck of an opportunity. So make sure you put that one in. Q. Patrick, did you feel like you were due for something like that? PATRICK SHARP: Hadn't really thought about it, to be honest with you. You hear Joel say all the time, "We don't care where the goals come from." That's an honest quote. We're happy the goals are going in. We're playing a good team game. I feel playing up on the top line with Johnny and Marian, they're unbelievable players to play with. Getting the pucks and some better opportunities. Whatever my role is on the team, I'm just going to try to do it the best I can. Q. Antoine, talk about your journey with the Hawks, the adjustment at first, now three game‑winning goals. ANTOINE VERMETTE: Yeah, right off the get‑go, was a great opportunity for me. I want to make the best out of it. This is a good group. Obviously a special team. I'm glad I'm here to try to help the team. This is all fun right now. But there's a lot of work still ahead. Q. Antoine, when a team gives up a prospect and a first‑round pick for a guy at the deadline, is there ever any pressure that falls on the player, like yourself in this case, to maybe live up to that trade? ANTOINE VERMETTE: I never really thought about that way, but you could see that way. As a player, you always put a lot of pressure on yourself. You try to bring your best foot forward every time you're stepping on the ice there. Q. Corey, with there being so little between the teams, how relieved were you that your turnover didn't end up in the net? COREY CRAWFORD: Yeah, I mean, you don't want to turn a puck over for a goal. It was pretty close. Was able to get back and get a piece of it. But, you know, it wasn't a smart play. Luckily it just didn't go in the net. Q. Patrick, you've been part of both Cup Championships. How much of that experience factored in a game like tonight? PATRICK SHARP: I guess it's a factor, the experience, whether it's winning championships or playing a number of playoff series over the last few years. You got to find ways to win, find ways to fight out victories. Whether it's the guys that have been here with the championships, or new players like Vermy, some other young guys that have stepped up, seems like everybody is on the same page and we have the same goal in mind, that's for sure. Q. Antoine, you were brought in to be a difference‑maker. Is this what you were expecting of yourself? ANTOINE VERMETTE: I was hoping to have an effect positively on the game at that point obviously. But that being said, if it comes with goals, great. If not, the details of the game matter so much we talk about at that point. It makes a big difference. Like Patrick mentioned, you know, you want to focus on the team structure and the team play. If we do that consistently, eventually the things will happen. It came down with goals, which is great. You take it. But I think it's more about the focus on the process and the way you establish your game, play the details of the game. Q. Corey, it's been pretty simple. You hold them to one goal, you guys win. Is that the feeling? COREY CRAWFORD: I mean, tonight was a pretty solid effort by everyone, especially the third period. Once we got that goal, everyone was coming back hard. We were able to keep things out of the slot. Any rebounds or plays into the slot, guys were there to get in and clear it. Just a great team effort I think at the end of it. Q. Corey, talk about being one win away from a Stanley Cup, the ride that you have gone on since the beginning of this playoff series to right now. COREY CRAWFORD: I mean, I think you go through the ups and downs obviously every playoff run. Didn't start out the way I wanted, but was able to stay with it. It's been great up to this point. With the chance we have now to go back to our building and have that game in our building, I think everyone's pretty excited about it. We can't get ahead of ourselves. We got a lot of work to do here. It's going to be an even harder battle. Q. Besides scoring, what do you think was happening on your line to make such a big impact? ANTOINE VERMETTE: We've been talking in this series the skill and speed on both teams. With reason, I think there's a great amount there on both sides. But I think the capacity of playing defensively. To come back to your question, as a line, we try to move our feet, be in position, try to minimize time when they have the puck, close it as quick as we can. It's something we keep remembering ourselves, try to play with speed, being effective defensively, and hopefully things will usually come up on the right side from that. Q. Patrick, in the fourth game, you guys were having a tough time getting out of your zone. Tonight it seemed like you were able to get out of the zone a little bit better. Was there an adjustment made, something that was the difference between the previous game and this game? PATRICK SHARP: I wouldn't say anything major. Comes down to a lot of puck battles, a lot of one‑on‑one battles, putting the puck in an area for your teammate to make a better play. They do a good job of smothering you in all three zones really, not so much the defensive zone. They apply pressure everywhere. The idea is to get better and better as the series goes on for both teams. I think both teams have done that. We'll see what happens the next couple games. Q. Patrick, the Blackhawks haven't won a Stanley Cup on home ice since 1938. You were there in the bad times, gone through some really great times. Can you reflect a little bit on what it might mean for the people of Chicago to be able to see you guys, if you can do it on Monday night? PATRICK SHARP: We'll talk about that if it happens on Monday night. But I can tell you that our fans back in Chicago are extremely passionate. You guys have been in the city throughout the series. You see the red jerseys. You see the support we have behind us. The United Center is a big building, we pack it every night, whether it's a pre‑season game, playoff game. Can't wait to get back there, use that energy. I know it filters down through the team. As these guys mentioned earlier, we're not getting too far ahead of ourselves. Enjoy the process. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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