San Jose was really pushing hard, but that goal gave us some much-needed breathing room for the remainder of the game.
It obviously was a big game for us. We know how good the Sharks have been on home ice and we wanted to come away with a split here at SAP Center. I can't say enough about how well the guys are playing.
It's obviously a big win for us, but we know we still have a lot of work left to do. They are a great team and winning the last game of a series is always the biggest challenge.
We didn't travel home after the game. We stayed the night in San Jose so we didn't arrive home at 5 a.m. ET. Leaving the next day allows us to get a good night's rest to recover and a day off for travel and time to adjust back to the Eastern time zone.
I know a lot of the boys like doing it that way, especially Matt "QC" Cullen, since he's a little older. He's 39.
We call him "QC" for "Quirky Cully" because he has quite a few quirks he has picked up over the course of his career. He uses tennis grip wrap on the top of the stick. I guess that explains why he has a backhand similar to that of Roger Federer.
Honestly, though, Cully has been remarkable for us this season. He's been a rock in our lineup. Constantly winning big draws, blocking shots, and scoring timely goals.
I wish I had 18 years in this league to develop that many quirks, but that would require me still playing close to my 50s. I just don't see that happening. Disadvantages of being a late bloomer.
It will be nice to have a day off to recharge. A lot of work still left to do.
