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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL: PENGUINS VS SENATORS

May 12, 2017

Sidney Crosby

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Practice Day

Q. What do you like so much about what you guys did in Game 7, and how do you go about getting it to translate into Game 1 against Ottawa?
SIDNEY CROSBY: I think we were on our toes. We moved our feet. I think the situation too, it's important in a big game like that, that you're playing that way, that you're not sitting back. I thought that was something that we were able to find in that game. Another level of desperation that we probably missed in the couple of games prior, so we need to keep that.

This Game 1's important. You've got to turn the page and make sure that you start off the right way in the series.

Q. Can you talk about the matchup? You guys are a team of speed, and they're a team that likes the slow speed. Can you talk about that play and the matchup in this series?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, they're really good through the neutral zone. So they try to slow teams down there. They're not a slow team by any means, though. They like to play pretty fast in transition. I think both teams are the same in that they want to play quick, but through the neutral zone, they're pretty stingy. You've got to make good decisions coming through there.

Q. Jim Rutherford a couple of minutes ago called Marc-Andre Fleury maybe the best team player in sports. Could you just talk a little bit about the team aspect of his game?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, I think it's a pretty good assessment. I think that everything that he's gone through and the attitude that he continues to have and had all year, I think, was really important. It would have been easy to go the other way, and he didn't.

He's a team guy. He cares a lot, loves the game. And he's showed that all year long. It's great to see him doing well.

Q. Is it almost crazy to think about having to guard against a letdown in the third round of the playoffs, or is it understandable because of the teams that you've beaten and what they did in the regular season already?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, I don't know if it's because of that. I think it's more because you come off of an emotional game and you have to quickly turn the page. It's not like you have three, four days to kind of move on and turn the page. It's a pretty quick turnaround.

So I think that can help you if you use it the right way, the fact that you're in those intense moments and that desperation level is there. You want to carry that over. But like you said, that's a big challenge, and I think because of that reason.

Q. (No microphone)?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, he's a guy who shows up in the big moments. He's done that for as long as he's been in the league. I think that that's important. We want guys to elevate their game in the playoffs. I think, when you can rely on that, depend on that, I think everyone trusts and believes that whatever it is you bring, this time of year you're going to bring it. I think that's really important.

Q. (Inaudible) guys are watching you, being high profile in a sense (inaudible). Can you talk about the pressure of maybe carrying the torch for a nation?
SIDNEY CROSBY: I don't know. It's probably something you'd have to ask him about how he deals with it, how he uses it. Whatever he does, he's doing a good job at it. I would just say that he handles it well, and I think he puts a lot of pressure on himself anyway. So I think that alone is probably enough. He understands his responsibility and the position he's in. He's been around long enough to know that you don't get opportunities like this all the time. So I'm sure he wants to make the most of it, too.

Q. When you guys played Ottawa in March, you had the Methot injury and the Melnick comments, stuff like that. Do you think any of that is relevant, carries over, anything you need to think about or address heading into this series at all?
SIDNEY CROSBY: No. I'm worried about playing hockey; that's my focus. There's always story lines and series and things like that. I think that this time of year, with how important these games are, I got more than enough on my plate as far as getting ready to play.

Q. When you think back to, I think it was '09, when you played Ottawa in the first round, I think Karlsson was either a teenager or a rookie or both. How has it been to see him develop into the type of player he is? Did you see that back then, that he had that ability and that he could blossom into one of best?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah. Oh, yeah. I want to say the first time I played against him was a preseason game in Ottawa. You could tell that he was a special player, a special talent. I think just the way he's continually gotten better. And you see the minutes he consistently plays, that's so difficult to do, especially when everybody knows that you're the guy with the puck. They're trying to finish their hits. They're trying to do a lot of different things. So he's a big part of their team.

Q. Do you remember him standing out in that playoffs that season?
SIDNEY CROSBY: I'm trying to think. I think every time we play him, he stands out. With how much minutes he plays and the way he works their power play and controls the game, I think he's always a guy that stands out when you watch.

Q. Sid, back in the Eastern Conference Finals, is it getting close to where you can taste how close you guys are to getting back to achieving the ultimate goal?
SIDNEY CROSBY: I mean, I don't think we're thinking that far ahead, to be honest. I think we want to build off the last round. We know that it just gets tougher and tougher as you move along. But I think that it's whatever motivates you at this point, but I think that we did some good things, and we want to build on it. We know that we're going to be tested here.

This is a team we need to get through if we want to move on. We've got to find a way to be consistent and even be better.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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