May 22 media availability: Muzzin, Toffoli

Jake Muzzin, on whether they felt the floodgates would open for them offensively:
I don’t know if we could tell the floodgates were going to open. We needed to make a push. We were down going into the third period and it was ‘now is our time to make a push.’ We came out and got a power play and we capitalized on the power play. We responded well.

Muzzin, on if he can remember a game’s momentum changing so drastically:
I think when we were down in San Jose, they got a couple quick ones on us to turn like that. But not that quick from us, anyways, to get a couple quick goals like that. It was huge for our club to kind of kill their momentum and kill the barn. We kind of took over the game after those two goals.

Muzzin, on his offensive production:
It always feels good when you contribute offensively. Goals – some shots are going in right now. You have to up your play to win in the playoffs. I think playing with guys like Kopi and Dewey kind of helps because they’re upping their play as well and it’s good. Get the big goal last night, big goal for our club and it feels good to contribute.

Muzzin, on the mental impact of getting a win in Chicago:
We talked about that actually going in that no one has won a playoff game in their barn yet this year. In between the second and third, it was let’s put a push here and win the game. The guys responded well and Quickie, like Toff said, made some big saves to keep us in there and we capitalized on the power play. It’s good for us to obviously come home 1-1. To get a win in their barn, it’s been a while.

Muzzin, on how the defensemen have had to make adjustments because of injuries:
I mean you have to adapt and it creates new roles for some guys. We’re all professionals and if an opportunity comes, we want to take advantage of it. It pushes us to be better, the guys in and out. I think we’ve responded well as a D-corp.

Muzzin, on what was said between the second and third periods:
I think our leaders in the room kind of got us together and made us realize that this is our time to make a push. You don’t want to go down and come back [home] 0-2. We kind of said let’s do this. Like I said before, we capitalized on the power play and that kind of got us going and big goals. It was nice to see everyone respond and kind of get that little extra and get the win.

Muzzin, on whether there was an emotional lift from the power play goal:
We look for our power play to give us momentum, not just goals but momentum in the game. They have a lot of good shot blockers and stuff like that. So we had to get pucks to the net. We were working harder to find the lane and get some traffic in front of their goalie because if he sees it, he’ll save it. We had Carter in front there with the tip and I kind of used the screen there. Get pucks to the net and more bodies to the net I think. We obviously capitalized on two to get two goals and get the momentum we needed.

Muzzin, on what responsibilities he has taken on because of injuries:
I had to obviously play a little penalty kill and stuff like that. I’ve been ready for it and I’ve seen those guys and been learning from them. I was excited for the opportunity. Obviously you want to play in all situations and I got that opportunity and I wanted to take advantage of that.

Tyler Toffoli, on whether they felt the momentum was turning as the game progressed:
I think when Justin scored that goal, that gave us a little momentum going into the third. It was a huge goal for us and once we got that third period, like Muzz said, that power play and things just got going from there.

Toffoli, on the play where his stick kept the puck out of the net:
I saw it go in the air and I figured it would bounce right in. I think Mitchie kind of pushed Regin in and it went off his helmet and off his stick. Thank God my stick was there. It just bounced off my stick. We got a penalty on the play, but I guess it’s better to take a penalty than them scoring a goal. [Reporter: Not the kind of play that happens every day.] No, it’s pretty lucky. I’m really surprised at how it happened but I’ll take it.

Toffoli, on whether it is difficult to stay the course when trailing in a game:
It’s playoff hockey, anything can happen. Obviously that’s a really hard rink to play in and they came out fast and were up 2-0. We stuck with our game and kept pushing. Quickie made some huge saves and, like I said, Stick scored that goal and things just started going our way. We capitalized on our chances.

Toffoli, on whether anything changes in his game when he plays Chicago:
No, I think with some teams you have a little more confidence playing against them. The past two games here I’ve scored a goal. I don’t think it’s really just scoring goals. It’s the way you play and being confident to make plays and doing those little things that help the team win. I’m just trying to do whatever I can.

Toffoli, on what it’s like playing with Jeff Carter:
I think he really showed to everyone in the world what he can do in the Olympics this year. It’s incredible to play with him. He’s a really easy guy to play with. I’ve said it a lot of times, he’s very honest and will let you know if you’re doing things right or wrong. I think that’s what’s making our line successful so far. I think we’ve got to keep moving forward and keep making plays and working hard. Just keep playing the way we’ve been playing.