Merrill: 'This team is dedicated'

LAS VEGAS - Defensemen Jeff Petry and Jon Merrill spoke with reporters via Zoom on Thursday morning shortly before the Canadiens departed for Montreal.

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They were followed by interim head coach Dominique Ducharme.
Here are a few highlights from their respective chats:
Petry on the condition currently affecting his eyes and the reaction of his kids to his appearance:
It's all related to the incident that happened. I won't go into further detail on that. My kids were at school when I came home. My wife gave them a warning. They came in and didn't want to look at me. They decided that I would be the villain and they'd be the superheroes, and we started playing. That got them to relax and feel a little bit more comfortable now.

Petry on the progress of his recovery from injury and his decision to play in Game 2:
It's come along. It's just something that I need to give time, talking with the doctors, getting a timeline, and coming up with what made sense and what was realistic. I tried to push through and see, and I tried more and more things in practice to see if they'd be comfortable or if they'd be manageable. For me, it was just a matter of when I felt like I could play without hurting the team. That's when I gave the coaching staff and the trainers my opinion and my want to get in the lineup.
Merrill on the dynamic inside the locker room in terms of leaving everything on the ice:
We're all sacrificing our bodies every night, putting it all out there and laying it on the line. It definitely creates an intensity and a will to want to do whatever it takes to win.

Merrill on the incredible effort of the group night after night:
This team is dedicated, it's bought in, it's together right now. We're really happy with a big win last night. It'll be a fun plane ride home. We're hoping to build on that going into Game 3.
Ducharme on returning to Montreal with the series tied 1-1:
That was our objective. We lost Game 1 and we wanted to make sure that we left Las Vegas with the series tied. We're in a good spot, but there's still a lot of work to do. It's great that we'll have more fans in the Bell Centre. Of course we'd like to have the building packed like it is here, but it's a different situation.

Ducharme on the importance of Wednesday night's victory from a mental standpoint:
There's always a mental aspect to the playoffs. We want to be better every game. We want to build a certain rhythm from one game to the next. A mental aspect always comes into play. We really wanted to get a win here. Vegas plays well at home. They had success here all year, especially with a full building in the playoffs. It proves what we believe. We're here to win.