|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: KINGS v BLACKHAWKSJune 1, 2014Alec MartinezTyler ToffoliJustin WilliamsCHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Game Seven Los Angeles – 5 THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Can you describe the winning goal. ALEC MARTINEZ: I think it started in our own end. Greener had a big breakout to Willie here. Skated in. Got around the net. Saw me at the point. I just tried to get the shot through. Fortunately it went in. We had good net presence by Stolly, I guess a good bounce. Q. Justin, what does it mean to you to be so productive in a Game 7? JUSTIN WILLIAMS: Really wouldn't have meant anything if we didn't come out with a victory. The story is how we were able to come back and how resilient we were, how awesome this series was to play and be a part of. It was just fitting. It ended in Game 7 in an overtime. Q. That resilience really applied to you, Justin. The early penalty. How demoralized were you from that moment, then to come back for the goal? JUSTIN WILLIAMS: I mean, games have their own storylines. Every single game does. Every series does. Obviously we're looking around after being down 2‑0, saying, This wasn't it for us, it wasn't going to end this way. Heck, we've battled back so many times this year, so many times so far in these playoffs. We said, Why not again today? Total team effort. Every single guy gave everything they got. I think the emotion at the end of the game spoke to itself. Q. What would it say about this team if you win the second Stanley Cup? JUSTIN WILLIAMS: Well, I think within the past few years, we've tried to earn the respect of the league. L.A. is not just a place to come and play a hockey game and work on your tan. It's a tough loop in California right now to play. We want to put L.A. on the map, and put it significantly on the map with regards to hockey. We can obviously do that with the win tonight. Moving forward, looking at the Rangers, try to get that done as well. Q. Alec, how do you describe everything that you went through over the last two weeks, what this series meant. ALEC MARTINEZ: Well, I think the playoffs are obviously a very emotional time of year, but I think we've got a good group of guys in here that have been through it before and know it can be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. But it's real important to stay even keel, not get too high and too low. I think it speaks to the character of this hockey club that there are quite a few times throughout this series that we could have gotten down on ourselves. But the resiliency that Willie just spoke of is really evident in this team. Q. What went through your mind when you saw it went in? ALEC MARTINEZ: I didn't know it went in until I saw Stolly going bananas there. He was getting pretty excited. That's when I just started celebrating, too. I didn't really see it go in. I know it went off a couple bodies. I just tried to get it through and fortunately it went in. Q. Justin, when Darryl was in here he said, Right now the road through the Western Conference goes through the Blackhawks. With how tough the series was, do you expect that's going to be the case for years to come? JUSTIN WILLIAMS: Well, if we win, they're going to have to come through us. It's the whole 180 thing. Obviously it wasn't a rivalry until we won. We won the series. But, hey, listen, this is three‑quarters of the way. This isn't the whole way. We have a big, big challenge ahead of us. We're proud of the way we've performed so far but won't be satisfied. Certainly have a lump in my throat if we don't follow through with our ultimate goal. Q. Looking ahead to the Rangers, any initial thoughts on them as you're ready to face them next week? TYLER TOFFOLI: I'm pretty excited. It's my first chance to win a Stanley Cup, play in the Stanley Cup Finals. The guys in the room are excited. We just want to get it going. Q. Justin, as time was running out in the third, you were down a goal, what were the thoughts right then? JUSTIN WILLIAMS: I mean, the series, it was up and down, it was emphatic, it was very emotional. Having game‑breakers on the team certainly helped us. Gabby getting goal, Brownie doing a lot of good work. He had a heck of a game tonight, had a lot of shots, was tenacious around the nature. Just having a game‑breaker on our team like that really allowed us to tie the game and ultimately win. Gabby has been such a huge piece of this puzzle so far. He wants that Cup just as bad as we do. 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
|