|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NHL STANLEY CUP FINAL: PREDATORS VS PENGUINSJune 8, 2017Matt MurrayJake GuentzelConor ShearyPittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Postgame Pittsburgh - 6, Nashville - 0. Q. This is for Conor. If you could just describe the scoring play and to the extent that any play can be drawn up, is that the way you would draw something? CONOR SHEARY: Yeah, we had a little offensive zone shift there. Guentzy actually gave me a chance just before that and I hit the D-man's skate and Sid picked me up and found the back door. It was a pass right on my tape and the pass beat the goalie, so I just had to put it in the open net. You can't really draw that up, when Sid makes that play, but it was a great play all around. Q. Also for Conor, what led to that spectacular start you guys had? It seemed like every shift was in their zone, you were backing them off, and was that any kind of an extension from Game 4 with some of the chances you were able to create? CONOR SHEARY: Yeah, I think we obviously weren't happy with the result we got from both games in Nashville. We wanted to come out on our home ice and use momentum and use our crowd to get behind us, and I thought we did a great job. We drew a penalty on the first shift and that power play got us going, so hopefully more of the same coming up next game. Q. Conor and Jake, from your viewpoint, how did you see that penalty kind of develop and the play that Sid made to create it? Seemingly, when he entered the zone, the players were probably in a pretty good spot and then suddenly they weren't. How did you see that sort of unfold? CONOR SHEARY: Yeah, I think Jake made the pass to him and I think he got a little step on that D-man and just kind of split them. And he's so strong with his skates he was able to use leverage and get a mini breakaway and an opportunity, and yeah, that's what I saw. JAKE GUENTZEL: I mean, yeah, when you block a player like that when he's full of speed, he can do dangerous things. You knew he had the jump right in the early game there. Q. Matt, you've been pretty clear about your performance the last two games, what you thought went well, what didn't? Any criticisms with what you did tonight? MATT MURRAY: Yeah, there's always ways to improve for sure. I thought the team played a pretty solid game overall. You know, that helps a lot, obviously, but there's definitely things you can take from any game no matter what happens. Try to be better going forward. Q. Conor and Matt, also Jake if you can add any insight, do you notice anything from Sidney different, whether it's at the morning skate or in the room before the game? Because on nights like this, when he comes out with that seeming intent to just establish his will on a game, do you guys notice anything that something like that is coming? And when you see it happen early in a game like that, what does it do for your team? CONOR SHEARY: I mean, I don't think he does anything different. I think he prepares for every game pretty much the same. I think even going back to Game 4 and into this game, I think he's playing some of his best hockey. He's obviously producing and he's giving our team juice. But that's what a leader does, and he's been great for us. It's good to see him playing that way. Q. How much does that set the pace for the whole team when you see someone make a rush like that and draw the penalty on the first shift of the game? MATT MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, like Conor said, I think whether it goes in for him or doesn't, I think he prepares the same way every game, and he does these things every game. So sometimes he may get a lot of points, sometimes he may not, but at the end of the day, he's doing the same stuff and seeing little things like that for the whole team that definitely provides a jump, I think. And he's our leader, so everybody kind of follows what he does. Q. Matt, your teammates say all the time you're a competitive guy, you don't like to lose. Does that make you relish or enjoy more the opportunity of a game after a loss to come back and prove people wrong but relish that opportunity even more because you have that competitive streak in you? MATT MURRAY: Maybe, I don't know. I try to -- I mean, of course you want to win every game. So, sure, you want a good bounce-back game after a bad one, but at the end of the day, you just prepare the same way each and every day and try to give yourself the best chance to be successful. Yeah, I definitely am a competitive guy, but I try to take things one step at a time and not get too far ahead of myself. Q. Conor, could you speak to Evgeni Malkin's ability to sort of look inward and sort of make predictions and come out and deliver seemingly routinely in these Playoffs and even before, years past? CONOR SHEARY: Yeah, he's obviously having a great Playoffs. I think he's one of the few players in the league that has the ability to kind of take over a game individually, and he kind of showed that tonight with a goal and maybe an assist. I think he's one of our key players, and when he steps up in big games, it's important for us, just as it is Sid, when you see a guy like that playing that hard, and it was good to see him score one tonight and help us win. Q. Matt, when you're up 2-0 late in the first period and then you get the third one, what does that do for a goaltender? Does it just give you a little bit of breathing space going into the dressing room coming back out? MATT MURRAY: I think it's good for the momentum of the team, yeah, but from a goalie's perspective, again, it doesn't change my job, you know. I have no control over whether the puck goes in the net at the other end of the ice. I just have full confidence that our team is going to score, but my job stays the same no matter what, and that's just to stop the puck. I don't really think like that to be quite honest with you, and really no matter what happens out there, my mindset is just to stop the next one. 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
|