On the penalty kill:
They were getting a lot of power plays. Some dumb penalties we took, especially myself on that one. I guess it’s a good thing that our PK stepped up to the plate and played the power play. But at the same time, we can’t be taking that many penalties. We won’t win games that way.
On tying the franchise mark of eight consecutive road wins:
It’s huge. Being good on the road is a key thing to winning and especially when going into the playoffs. If you can get a few games on the road, that’s huge. But right now, we’re not very good at home. I think more of our focus is being better at home and winning games there.
On Alec Martinez:
He’s just getting shots. They’re not all getting through. Some will get blocked, but the thing is he’s shooting and some get through on the net and they go in. Other things get tipped and they go to other guys and that’s what you need from your defensemen. It’s just to get the shot by the first guy and get it down towards the net and then it’s our forwards job bang in rebounds or get tips.
On how the team is performing:
We’re happy with the way we’re playing for sure. We’re coming together at the right time. We’re playing hard. We’re scoring goals, which we sometimes struggled to do and we’re playing good defensively like always. To be hitting our stride at this point and beating some very good teams that we had to play in the East right now, that’s a huge confidence booster and we need to carry that momentum throughout the rest of the regular season into playoffs.
On the new schedule allowing for an east coast swing late in the season:
I love the way the schedule is now, because we don’t get to see guys like this. Come here and see Crosby and go to Philly and see Giroux, and Washington D.C, Ovechkin. It’s fun to step up and have to play those guys, such high level players and coming to those cities. The atmosphere at some of those arenas is just amazing. I’m really happy we’re able to do that and to come here and win all three games, that’s huge for our team. We just wanted to get at least two-of-three and we got three-of-three.
On winning a game with a lot of special teams play:
I thought we weren’t that bad five-on-five. I didn’t think they really created too much on five-on-five. They mostly created off the power play. But we obviously have to be better five-on-five, but I think the main thing is they obviously had the puck a little more and we were taking some penalties because they had the puck. We need to keep that possession up and get in on the forecheck, turnover pucks and get the cycle going.
On Pittsburgh’s disallowed goal:
It was clear interference. He pushed Joner’s pad right into the net. Yeah, I gave him a few shots from behind, but he still – that had nothing to do with his stick and pushing Joner’s pad into the net. So it’s a great call by the refs and the people in Toronto or New York, wherever it is.
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