Following their 4-2 win over the visiting LA Kings in Game 2, here’s what Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford and forward Patrick Sharp had to share…
Q. Regarding chasing Quick tonight, the other day you said you didn’t want to talk too much about him. Is that not wanting to build up the opponent? Just the idea of chasing a guy like him midway through the game.
SHARP: Yeah, it’s nothing against Quick. No disrespect to him. I think he’s one of the top goalies in the world. He’s tough to play against. But as a shooter, a guy that’s trying to score on him, the more I talk about how good he is, it makes it tougher for me. Wasn’t meant to disrespect him. Trust me, I think he’s a good goalie. As far as tonight, I thought we came out, skated well. Scoring that first goal was big, getting the crowd into it. It was loud right away. We seemed to feed off that.
Q. Corey, defending your captain out there at the end.
CRAWFORD: The guy grabbed him, got a couple free shots. I figured it was enough. I just decided to go in there and grab his head (laughter).
Q. 10 days ago you were on the brink of elimination. Has that comeback kind of awoken you?
SHARP: A little bit. This time of year you try to carry momentum as long as you can. Every game presents different challenges. We felt great about coming back in that Detroit series. Game 7 was a huge high for us. That seems like a long time ago now. We’re past that and we’re focused on the Kings. We’re happy to win the first two games at home. We know how well the Kings play in their building. The series is just getting started really.
Q. Patrick, the last five games the guy to your right has been the biggest stopgap in hockey.
SHARP: Yeah, he’s awesome. Been answering questions all year about Corey, if he’s the No. 1 guy, if he can do it. Said the same answer all along. There’s no question in our locker room. He’s the guy we want in net back there. He’s proven it in the past. It’s nice to see him finally get the credit that he deserves.
Q. There’s a measure of satisfaction when you beat Quick four times. But beating him on three clean shots with traffic in front of net, does that surprise you at all?
SHARP: Haven’t really thought about it really. Things happen fast out there. A couple two-on-ones, a couple in-tight goals. I don’t know. He makes saves that you think you have an open net, he’ll come out of nowhere and steal it from you. That kind of screws up your confidence. I don’t really think too much about how the goals go in. You just kind of play. Been playing hockey our whole lives. Just kind of react out there.
Q. I know you’re playing against the rest the Kings, not one-on-one with Quick. Do you take any motivation about going up against the Conn Smythe winner?
CRAWFORD: Yeah, it’s competitive. You want to beat the other guy on the other side obviously. Like you said, my focus is more on their players, what they’re doing. But yeah, I definitely want to beat him.
Q. Patrick, Brandon had two assists tonight. Obviously not the goal scoring. What does it say about him that he’s still grinding?
SHARP: Yeah, he was great tonight. He’s been solid all playoffs. Tough to believe he’s the age that he is. He’s one of those players that he doesn’t really need to show up on the score sheet to be effective. He’s such a powerful skater, plays well defensively, creates loose pucks. He creates so much for his linemates that, as I said, he really doesn’t need to be on the score sheet to play a great game. Tonight he stripped a lot of pucks, killed a lot of plays. This time of year, that’s really important.
Q. Corey, seems to people on the outside you’ve gotten better, increased your confidence with every game. What is the reality to you?
CRAWFORD: I feel like I’ve been pretty strong, pretty consistent this year. I’ve taken pride in that this year, to have the same game every night, give our guys a chance. With a team like this, you know, we have such a great offense, just give our guys a chance and make sure it stays within a goal or two, and we’re in good shape.
Q. Corey, what is your reaction when you heard fans chanting your name?
CRAWFORD: It’s pretty cool. We’ve had great fans for a while. It’s obviously nice when they’re chanting and not booing you (laughter).
Post-game comments from Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville have been posted here.
We also have comments from Kings coach Darryl Sutter, forward Tyler Toffoli and defenseman Rob Scuderi up here.
And, if you missed all the pre-game fun, several members of the Kings and Blackhawks had plenty to say. See the links below for more information.
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Pre-Game 2: Sutter on Richards’ health, Stoll’s play and the re-match with Chicago
Pre-Game 2: Blackhawks’ Toews on Brown’s late elbow, leadership of Doughty and Richards
Pre-Game 2: Chicago Blackhawks players talking Penner and the Kings
WCF Post-Game 1: Comments from Kings coach Darryl Sutter
WCF Post-Game 1: Blackhawks coach on Chicago’s 2-1 win over LA
Flash quotes from the Kings’ locker room after 2-1 loss to Blackhawks in Game 1
VIDEO: Dave Bolland’s questionable hit on Mike Richards
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