May 9 afternoon quotes: Dustin Penner

On what the team has been doing differently over the last three games:
“Maybe there’s been a few different things. It’s a game of inches. I’ve said it before. Those games – St. Louis could easily have won. We felt that if we might have had a couple of more fortunate breaks in the first two we could have won a couple of those games. It’s just one of those things where you just keep doing the same things over and over again hoping you get the result you want.”

On whether the team has gained confidence and swagger over the last three games:
“Confidence is a big thing. It creates off momentum. We’ve had some big plays – Slava, obviously, with two goals. Toffoli came in last night and played really well for us, and playoff time is about stepping up and having different guys step up that don’t usually do it.”

On how this series compares to previous series he has played in from a physicality standpoint:
“I don’t remember all the statistics from series in the past, but from what I read, there were 370-something hits going into the last game. I’d have to think this is the most physical one I’ve been a part of so far.”

On whether it feels as physical on the ice, outside of any numbers compiled:
“Yeah, I think so. When you’re inside the game as players, you don’t maybe notice it. But when you hear it from other guys around the league, like ‘Wow.’ [Reporter: Have you been hearing it from people?] Yeah. Just friends on different teams. So then that’s when you kind of take a step back…is it as physical as they’re saying? For us it just seems normal.”

On the potential for the physical play to continue with St. Louis on the edge of elimination:
“Yeah, when you have a team up against elimination, they’re going to throw everything at you. They’re going to go down swinging, not without a fight. So we’ve got to be prepared to match their intensity.”

On how the mentality changes with the opportunity to close a series out:
“It’s tough to put my finger on one thing. But I think there will be a couple different moments tomorrow where we’re tested…where our resolve is tested. Whether it’s a big kill or getting a power play goal…things like that that just push you over the edge, because it’s never easy to close out a series, even though…the last playoffs might have been a different story from the outside looking in. But we know how hard it is, and how hard we have to work in order to do it tomorrow.”

On whether he feels more responsibility as one of the more “physical” players:
“Yeah, it goes to everybody, whether it’s taking a hit, giving a hit. We all have to collectively play to a physical level that we’re capable of, and maybe even that we don’t know we’re capable of.”

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