|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
WORLD CUP OF HOCKEYSeptember 21, 2016Nathan MacKinnonAuston MatthewsConnor McDavidToronto, Ontario Team North America – 4 Q. First question I wanted to ask Auston, the first goal you scored, can you describe the feeling, the play? Thirty seconds in, could you have expected anything better than that? AUSTON MATTHEWS: Yeah, I mean, it was a pretty great start, I think, for the team. Kind of just a weird play, kind of able to create some space and give it to Rielly, who was able to get a slap shot, and the puck just found my stick. It was a good start for the team. Q. Nathan, just the goal, can you just describe what it's like scoring on Henrik Lundqvist with a game on the line of this magnitude? NATHAN MacKINNON: Yeah, I was pretty tired actually was my first thought when I got the puck. It was at my feet, so I didn't want to mess that up. Then I was just kind of dribbling the puck, and I saw his stick came up for a poke check and managed to beat that and get it up. It was fun, a fun goal. Q. Connor, I'm not sure if you can describe what you're thinking in the moment, but that opening rush before Auston's goal took you four seconds to go from your zone to their zone. Are you thinking in a moment like that or are you just skating? What's going through your head when you're making a rush like that? CONNOR McDAVID: Yeah, I had a lot of speed. I'm not sure who the defenseman was, made a good pass in the middle, and I noticed both their guys on the outside line and just tried to get the middle as fast as I could and was fortunate to kind of break through there. It was a good play, I guess. Q. Auston and Connor, what was it like for you guys to play on the same line? You seemed to be generating a lot of speed and creativity. After three games what's the experience like between you two guys and what's it going to be like when you have to face each other in the NHL? AUSTON MATTHEWS: Well, I mean, it's pretty easy to play with guys like Connor and Mark Scheifele. I think all of us kind of bring different things to the table. Connor obviously with his speed, his hockey sense, and myself and Scheifele are two big guys who can really protect the puck and create opportunities. I think we've meshed pretty well together over the course of these three games. Q. Auston, did you hear fans chanting your name and what did you feel? AUSTON MATTHEWS: Yeah, I did. It was awesome. It's pretty exciting, obviously a lot of tension in that overtime period, so you kind of try to block it out, but it's definitely pretty fun. Q. Connor, you've got teammates back in Edmonton, same coach, same player in yourself. Is there a chance your club team in Edmonton can play the same version of a game this team played? CONNOR McDAVID: I definitely hope so. It's definitely a lot of fun playing like this with a lot of speed. But ultimately I'm not sure we have quite that much speed. You look up and down this team with Team North America, just guys loaded with speed. I'm not sure we'll be able to play quite the same way, but that would sure be nice. Q. Connor, when you play in a game like that, are you aware that you're maybe playing in one of the greatest hockey games ever played? Does that even occur to you when you come off the ice after something like that? CONNOR McDAVID: No, I definitely haven't thought about that. I mean, we're just excited to get the win. It's been a few games like that now. You look at that game against Russia, that was unbelievable, and even tonight was a great game. It was definitely exciting hockey, and you're going to get that when you play best on best. It's fun to be a part of. Q. If Canada wins tonight and Finland beats Russia tomorrow, it's Canada against North America in the semifinals on this stage. What would that be like in this rink and at this point in your young careers? NATHAN MacKINNON: I'll let you guys take a break here. Yeah, we're hoping for the Fins. Honestly when I scored, I thought we were in. We were talking, maybe we shouldn't have celebrated that hard. But if we lost, we're out, so we gave ourselves a chance. It's fun. It's going to be very stressful tomorrow, but we've got some faith in the Fins to take it away. Q. Connor, three games into this, we don't know if you guys are going to advance, but you definitely left a mark on this tournament. When people look back at this group and what you guys did, what do you think is going to stand out? CONNOR McDAVID: Yeah, I think we definitely have turned some heads. People didn't know what to expect when we came into this tournament, but we've beat two good hockey teams, and ultimately maybe even should have beat the Russians. I think we've definitely turned some heads and opened the eyes of everyone what the future of the NHL is like. We're definitely excited about that. Q. Just want to build on that theme, Connor. You've got a year under your belt in the NHL; what do you think of the chances‑‑ any advice to your linemate here when he starts playing with the elites in about a month or so? Are you giving him any tips? What can you tell him about what to expect? CONNOR McDAVID: No, I haven't gave him any tips or anything like that. He knows what he's doing. Especially in a place like Toronto, he's going to be definitely under the microscope, and he'll have to figure out a way to try and get away from it. There's nights like tonight where they're chanting his name and dealing with all you guys, which is good, but it can be stressful on a day‑to‑day basis. He'll definitely be under the microscope, but he just has to enjoy it, and it goes by fast. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|