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NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL: PENGUINS VS SENATORS

May 20, 2017

Sidney Crosby

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Practice Day

Q. You're playing again short a man and contributed two goals.
SIDNEY CROSBY: I think that's a lot to ask, playing with five guys for a good chunk of the game. They handled it well, then the chip-in with a couple goals is a huge boost for us. That's what I need this time of year. Those guys stepped up big-time last night.

Q. As banged up as they are, do you feel like you can take the pressure off them by spending more time in the other end?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, I think that goes a long way, especially when you're short of "D" like that, that can help you out a lot.

Yeah, we did a better job of that in general last night. But that probably took some pressure off of them as far as having to play in the "D" zone too much.

Q. What does that do for you guys when you see guys like Olli and Dumoulin scoring goals like that? How happy are you for guys like that?
SIDNEY CROSBY: It's a big boost. You're happy to see those guys score a goal. Then on the other side you want to make sure that those goals go a long way. It's not too often that both of those guys score in the same game. You want to make sure you find a way to get the win.

But, you know, they've been doing a great job on the defensive side. It's great to see them chip in offensively.

Q. A lot of guys credit you for keeping people even. Do you have to be vocal in the locker room with these guys? Is it just your leadership on the ice?
SIDNEY CROSBY: I think everybody's pretty vocal. I think, you know, a good chunk of us have played together for a while, been through different situations. I think everyone relies on each other. There's a certain level of confidence that in different situations the group will respond.

I think we have that confidence in one another. We find ways to make sure that we bounce back.

Q. Was there something personally you tried to do differently last night?
SIDNEY CROSBY: No. I think you just make sure that you go out there and compete. I thought as a group we probably didn't have that same level of desperation in Game 3. I think we wanted to make sure we established that right from the start last night.

Q. Is that the biggest key, carrying that level of desperation over into Game 5?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah. We need to find a way to maintain that sense of urgency, that desperation. We're deeper into the series now, so that's got to be there.

I think seeing the way we played, hopefully that's something we can build off of.

Q. Given the difficulty of each series so far, coach keeps asking you to dig deeper, how much more can you dig deep? How hard is it to go find that place where you develop the killer instinct?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, I mean, I think we have to take it one game at a time, especially the circumstances. Even last night when you lose a defenseman, it doesn't get any easier.

I think we just make sure we stay in the moment and make sure that we find a way. We did that last night. I think just bringing that same mentality to the next game, not thinking too far ahead, that will probably serve us best.

Q. How do you, as leaders, pass that down to guys that are rookies or guys that haven't had that playoff run, guys with injuries?
SIDNEY CROSBY: I think in our case, it's a pretty good scenario because those guys have a lot of experience. Maybe they haven't been in this specific situation, but they've been in a lot of different ones. I think that helps in handling it.

I think no younger guys, hopefully we've got a group that collectively is showing that on a nightly basis. But especially game to game, when you see that desperation level rise, I think they feel that, and they understand.

Q. What did you see from your PK last night that was so effective?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Probably different things. We did a good job on clears. That was important. Some faceoff wins. Able to relieve pressure pretty quickly. Even up the ice, we were pretty good at being aggressive, forcing some mistakes. Sometimes you're able to get those mistakes. Sometimes you don't. I think we were pretty aggressive that way. That probably helped.

Q. What is the talk among the power play guys on converting chances?
SIDNEY CROSBY: I think we go out there with the same intentions. At the very least, you want to make sure you keep momentum. I think we're getting more pucks to the net. We're executing a little bit better. That's big. You want to make sure that you're capitalizing when you get the opportunities out there.

Q. Were you impressed how much time you had on your goal last night?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, I mean, sometimes those plays feel like forever. In that case we had just a little two-on-one there down low. Yeah, I think you're just more focused on the puck than how much time you have. I didn't really realize how much time I was going to have there. It worked out.

Q. When you have guys like Guentzel and Sheary struggling to score goals after being so good at it during the regular season, what kind of advice do you give them? How much do you try to put the puck on their stick?
SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, I think you just have to stay with it. It's not easy to score goals this time of year for anybody. They do so much other than just score goals, you know, with the way they forecheck and create things.

I think just stay with it is the biggest thing. You don't know when you're going to get that chance. When you do, you have to make sure you do the same things you typically would, keep competing to get to those tough areas.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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