Quote Roundup: Game 4 (Blue Jackets)
By
Sam Kasan and Michelle Crechiolo @PensInsideScoop / Pittsburgh Penguins
ON THE FOURTH WIN BEING THE HARDEST TO GET
Crosby: "I think just the desperation of the team you're playing against. I think that you always expect their best with their backs against the wall and for us, we've got to make sure we continue to get better with every game. I thought last game was a good step there. But we know that they're going to be at their best here tonight."
Fleury: "I think we're all aware it's not over. It's something that we talked about after last game. Coach had a good talk about it. We know they're a feisty team, they're playing on home ice, they'll have energy from the crowd. It's not over till we win that one."
Bonino: "When your back's against the wall, that's when you play your hardest, when you play your best and got to have that killer instinct if you want to win the series and we need that tonight because we know how good they are and how dangerous they can be."
Hornqvist: "They've played pretty well. We got some bounces. They have a good team. We have a good team. It's a good matchup. We all look forward to the game tonight and see where it goes."
ON IF THEY EXPECT THE GAME TO GET OUT OF HAND
Crosby: "No. They're going to try and be physical. Emotions and the intensity are high in a playoff series as it is, so I don't expect anything that hasn't happened already. I think both teams were trying to be physical, they're intense games but I don't see either team looking to do anything more or less of that."
Hornqvist: "It's been a really straight-forward series. They want to go after us with a lot of hits and get their forecheck going. We have to be aware when they're forechecking, but it's been a really fair series."
ON THEIR EXPERIENCE HELPING THEM IN THIS SITUATION
Crosby: "I think you kind of go about it the same as you normally would. We understand the circumstances, but as far as what you have to do and the goal, it doesn't change. I wouldn't say it's any different than it typically is, but I think that's a good thing. You prepare the same way and go out there understanding that this has got to be our best game."
Daley: "We've been in this situation before. We know who we're up against. It's a great team over there that has a lot of pride and we're going to see their best."
ON WHAT THEY LIKED ABOUT GAME 3
Hornqvist: "Our last game was our best game by far. I think we controlled the game. We were hard to play against. It was a good game overall. They came hard in the first 10 minutes but then we took over the game and played a really good game."
Sheary: "We played a lot in the offensive zone and made plays all over the ice. Our power play was pretty good throughout the game. Overall it was a pretty strong game. We had a lot of chances."
Schultz: "Our forwards did a really good job in the offensive zone of holding on to pucks and creating chances, wearing them down. We did a good job of breaking out cleaner and getting the puck up to them. That's what we want to do. Get the puck to the forwards and let them go."
ON HOW THEY IMPROVE IN GAME 4
Sullivan: "We're trying to get better. We're trying to push these guys every day. I don't think you ever arrive as a team or as a player. I think that's part of the fulfilling part of our game and our job, is constantly trying to strive to get better and improve either as an individual or as a group. We will push these guys every day to try to get our team and our game to another level. And we believe we have that. We believe we can continue to improve in aspects of our game. We certainly were pleased with the effort we had in the last game. We think that was one of the most complete games we've played in the last month, month and a half. And that's the type of Penguins hockey we think makes us competitive and we think makes our team difficult to play against. But certainly we're going to strive to get better in other aspects of our game."
