Here are some of the postgame quotes after Wednesday’s 2-0 win by the Devils over the Penguins:
Jay Pandolfo:
Was this game played a lot tighter than the previous three matchups?
“It was a big win; I thought we played pretty well as a team. A couple of times they had some pretty good pressure, but they have some pretty good skill over there. Marty played great, again, I thought their goalie played well too. It was a good game, it could’ve went either way, but we found a way to come out on top.”
Did it feel like a playoff game at all?
“A little early for that, but it felt a tight game for sure; playoff game is a stretch.”
They didn’t get any power plays until there was 1:26 left, was that a big key?
“Yeah, that was good; we kept our feet moving and didn’t get in trouble. It was a tough call at the end, to give only one power play to that team is a pretty good (job).”
Martin Brodeur:
Can you tell when you get inside someone’s head, like shutting out Pittsburgh in back-to-back games?
“It’s a fine line; you could be there and one bounce in a game could flip-flop the confidence that they have. I think we respect them, so that’s the reason why we’ve been successful; I think we don’t take anything for granted. We know that if we put our guard down against these guys they’ll take care of us. So we are intense for the full 60 minutes, it was a good game tonight.”
Can you talk about the save on Sidney Crosby’s backhand shot while he was shorthanded?
“He came in and he got pretty good wood on it, I kind of, with the way he was going he had to go towards my glove, so I read it pretty good. After that I was able to bat it out (of the zone) to try and get a break(away) there, and we got a 5-on-3 out of it; but it didn’t pay off.”
Is it mentally draining to play all of these top teams (Pittsburgh, Washington, Pittsburgh and Chicago) in a row?
“It’s not, I think its fun. I think it’s a grind in between sometimes, that’s what is tougher mentally. When you do play top teams I think in your head it is easier to get ready for them, because every athlete, every player in here has a lot of pride; so when we do play against top teams, we want to show what we can do. Again, we have to get focused on playing like that against everybody, and so far this season we’ve been pretty good.”
Are you playing tomorrow?
“If they don’t tell me anything, that means I’m playing (laughs).”
Is 600 wins a possibility by the end of this season?
“Well, there are enough games left (chuckles), so we’ll see.”
Niclas Bergfors:
What did you see on that play that you scored the goal on?
“I don’t know. There was a lot of traffic in front of the net and I just tried to put it on net, to get a rebound.”
Brian Rolston:
Your thoughts on the game tonight?
“It was a good hockey game, a playoff-atmosphere, and our fans were great tonight; it was an exciting game to be in the building.”
It seemed a lot tighter than the previous three games against them…
“It was real tight and we did a great job at the end. They had their opportunities and we had our opportunities and we got that goal early — their goalie played well tonight too, but obviously Marty was the difference in the game tonight.”
Are you surprised anymore with anything Marty does?
“Not really; and you know what it’s almost taken for granted that he’s as good as he is, and as calm as he is in there.”
Will it be special for you going back to Minnesota on Saturday night?
“Yeah, it’s going to be fun. I really enjoyed my time there, it was fabulous. I have nothing bad to say about the organization and the fans were great to me. It’ll be fun to go back and play in that building; it’s always fun playing in there.”
Jacques Lemaire:
Best game of the season?
“I would say close to it. I think we skated well, were aggressive, good with the puck and great in our end. Even though we feel that they had around 11 (scoring) chances, but you know they will get some chances. It’s a good team; they have good shooters, good passers. We felt that we did a tremendous job against them.”
Was this Marty’s best game?
“Definitely; he was controlled, managed to see the shots. Sometimes you get people in front of you and some nights you don’t see them. Other nights you manage to see it and that’s what makes the difference between a great goalie and a good goalie.”
How is (David) Clarkson?
“We’ll get more information tomorrow.”
When you beat a team like Pittsburgh four times in a row, do you have a psychological advantage over them?
“I don’t think that way. I think when you look afterwards, maybe you could say that. I think our players knew they would come out and play a good game; I think it was their best game tonight — they played good, played hard. They could have gotten goals at anytime when they were in our end, the chances they had. Maybe because we feel good about our past outcomes with them, we played like we did. But you still have to work, and I thought our work ethic was more important than anything else.”
Will Clarkson or Bryce Salvador go to Chicago?
“We’ll know tomorrow; well tonight after this.”
What can you say about Bergfors?
“Bergy, well Bergy he’s the same kid playing hard and he’s doing good things with the puck; I think he’s getting better as a player. I think he’s more in control when he has the puck; I still want him to try and find Zach (Parise) or Travis (Zajac) at different times in the offensive zone so he can make that play, so they can get some scoring chances. But he’s learning and getting better — I’m pleased with his progress.”
How do you compare Parise with Crosby?
“Well two hard workers, two good players; myself, I find them very similar.”
Did you see Crosby whack him from behind?
“No, I didn’t see that. I heard it after the game. One of the comments in the coach’s room that they say he could’ve gotten a penalty for that because he whacked him with a two-hander. I didn’t see it.”
Your top four d-men played a lot tonight and the team as a whole only took one penalty, is this something your pleased with?
“This is a good question, I’m glad that you talked about our defenseman because the four guys they played a lot and they played great; very good. Not that (Mark) Fraser and (Matthew) Corrente didn’t play well, but they had less ice-time.”
What do you think about Chicago or is that too soon?
“I’m going to think about this just when I wake up.”
Are you the best team in the league?
“I think we’re among the good teams and there’s a lot of them; about 25 of them.”
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