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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL: LIGHTNING v PENGUINSMay 26, 2016Sidney CrosbyMatt MurrayPittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Game Seven Pittsburgh – 2 Q. Sid, just wondering if you guys were at all concerned about the emotional lift that Tampa would get from having Stamkos in the lineup. SIDNEY CROSBY: I don't know about concerned. It's just he's a world class player, and they're adding to their team. So you look how dangerous he is, and for even missing the amount of time he did, he looked pretty good out there. Fortunately, we were able to stay out of the box. You know how dangerous his shot is and what that brings to a power play. Yeah, I think we weren't sure what was going to happen. I think we just tried to worry about us, but it's hard not to know if he's out there and be aware of that. Q. Sid, seven years is a long time. There's a few guys that have been around waiting to get back, like you have. What was going through your mind during the final minute, during the trophy presentation, and what now? SIDNEY CROSBY: I think just nerves, excited. You know, it's not easy. Having gone through a couple of those early on, 20 and 21 years old, playing The Finals, I think you have more of an appreciation for it now. Just love the opportunity to be able to get back. Q. Matt, practicing against Bryan Rust, being his teammate down in Wilkes-Barre and also up here, have you seen the hands developing with the speed to the level that we've seen the past couple games? Have you seen this -- the way it coalesces with his speed in his development? MATT MURRAY: Yeah, definitely. He's a focused guy. He's always working pretty hard in practice to get better. I think with every young player you see development if they put in the time, and he definitely does that. He had a real breakout night tonight. It doesn't really surprise me. We all know he's a really good player. Q. Sid, I know the job's not done, but how proud are you of this group considering everything you guys have gone through, and things looked shaky in December to actually get into this -- at least to this point? SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, it hasn't been easy. That's probably been a big reason why we've been able to get to this point is having gone through that and built that trust. I think that we found a lot of momentum there in March and just built off of that. I've continued to get better, I think, throughout the playoffs. We played different styles with different teams here, and we've been able to adjust and still get to our game. We know the biggest challenge is ahead of us here, but we've got a great opportunity. Like you said, it wasn't easy getting to this point. So it would be great to finish off the right way. Q. Sid, you mentioned your appreciation for the moment. Was there any point in the last six springs that you maybe kind of scratched your head and wondered maybe if you wouldn't get back here with this group or this corps, as it was constituted? SIDNEY CROSBY: No, I mean, I didn't look at it that way. I think you just -- every year you look at the opportunities you have, and we were in pretty good spots for a number of those years going into the playoffs. I think that -- yeah, I don't think the thought was with the group. It was just maybe the opportunity that just missed, maybe what could that have been? You look at the Eastern Conference final, we lost to Boston. Everything seemed to be going well, and we got swept in the conference final. I mean, there was just different situations where I felt like we had good momentum and it didn't work out. I think, as far as the guys that have been here for a while, I think we've always believed in one another. Just trying to get back is not easy. Q. Matt, does that third period compare to anything you've been through in your hockey career? MATT MURRAY: Probably not, no. I keep saying this is my first time going through something like this. So a lot of new experiences. But I've said it all along, I'm just trying to enjoy myself and stay in the moment and appreciate the moment. Like I said, just try and have fun. That third period was the most fun I've had playing hockey. It's an exciting environment. So, yeah, I had a lot of fun. Q. Sid, the Rust, Malkin, Kunitz line, just as a whole, what have they given you the last three or four games they've been together? SIDNEY CROSBY: Just a lot of speed, a lot of zone time. You see how quick they transition. With Rusty's speed, he's really able to push the pace, and he's shown he's able to finish too. Geno is holding on to pucks, he's making plays. Kuhny is going to do the same thing regardless of who he plays. He's going to go to the net and do his thing. But I think Geno and Rusty are making plays. Rusty's finishing, and Geno has really just possessed the puck every time he's out there. Q. Sid, did you know there's a superstition around touching a conference championship trophy? Why did you decide to touch it, and was there any thought to it? SIDNEY CROSBY: I think in the '90s, when they won, they touched it. Then in '08, when we didn't win, we didn't. So in '09, we decided to go ahead and touch it and tried to keep that same kind of thing. So kind of everyone's different. You see teams that don't touch it, but it's gone well when we've touched it here. So we went with that. Q. Guys, this is for both of you. Coach has talked about responding the right way, playing the right way in Game 6 and 7, and you did that. He also talked about resilience all the time. What is it about this group that fits that word so well? MATT MURRAY: I think it's just we're able to stick to our mindset, and that's -- just play, whether we're up, whether we're down, whether we get scored on early. No matter what the circumstance, we stay resilient, like you said. Once a play happens, you can't get it back. So we don't worry about it once it's over. We keep looking forward. Like I said, we're able to just focus and play. SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, I think there's just a lot of belief in everyone. That's really what it comes down to. We've been in a lot of different situations, a lot of different type of games -- high scoring games, low scoring games, some wacky games. You look at the Washington one, three delay of game penalties in two minutes. I think those experiences build a lot of confidence in the group and a lot of belief, especially when you come on the right side of things. So I think that helps as far as building that trust and going through different things, and it's worked for us. Q. Sid, did tonight feel like about as complete a game as you guys can play? And if so, what was telling you that? What did you like about the subtleties and intricacies of your game tonight? SIDNEY CROSBY: It was really similar to Game 3 Tampa in the second period. It generated a lot. They're just one of those games that they don't need much. So even though we were getting those chances, it was tough. We weren't able to get a good cushion. We only had a one-goal cushion, and they tied it. And we were able to get it the next one, which was huge. They did that all series long. They were so good at just hanging around. It seems like they're not getting much and they have so much skill and they generate something. I think it was a different game for us, where we had to be a little more patient, and just understand that we were doing a lot of good things. It wasn't showing up on the scoreboard necessarily, and I think our game felt good. And the fact it was a one-goal game probably allowed us to be pretty aggressive in the third too and not sit back. Q. For Matt, you mentioned this is the most fun that you've had playing, but is this also kind of a -- Tampa kind of a nerve-racking opponent in the sense that they don't need 40 shots or 30 shots to be so dangerous, and they kind of showed that in the third, right? MATT MURRAY: Yeah, for sure. I think they showed that all series. They're a pretty opportunistic group. I know we outshot them pretty heavily most games. Like Sid just said, they were able to kind of just stick around, keep kind of a one-goal deficit. A couple of times, I know in Game 1, they were able to come back and -- or Game 2, I think it was. That's the kind of team they are. They're not a team that's going to throw a lot of pucks on you from a blue line on a rush. They look for grade "A" opportunities, and they've got a lot of skill, and they're able to score when they get that chance. So it's definitely a challenge as a goalie for sure. Q. Matt, the save on Boyle in the third period, that toe save, do you remember it at all? Do you think that was pretty much part of that third period? MATT MURRAY: Yeah, I think, if that goes in, obviously, it's a different game. I just tried to hold my feet as long as I could. He had it on his backhand, so I kind of knew he was going to try to pull it to his forehand. So I just tried to stick with him as long as I could and had to go kind of desperation and was able to just get my toe on it. Q. Sid, I know this just ended, but what do you think of facing the San Jose Sharks in The Finals? SIDNEY CROSBY: It's going to be fast hockey. From what I've watched, you know, just watching the game even last night, two teams that want to play the exact same way, that want to get their "D" involved, their power play is really dangerous. So we'll have to be -- you know, we'll have to find a way to stay out of the box. Very similar to Tampa. They did a good job of that being disciplined. So we'll need that again. But just two teams who want to play the same way, and whoever gets their game the most often and the best is going to win. But it's going to be quite the series. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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