Quotes of the Day: Drouin, Suzuki & Julien

TORONTO – Coming off a 4-2 exhibition loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, Jonathan Drouin, Nick Suzuki and Claude Julien addressed the media via Zoom on Wednesday morning.

The trio notably discussed the adjustments to be made ahead of Saturday’s start of the Qualifying Round against Pittsburgh – as well as the new reality of arenas without fans.

Keep reading for the best quotes from the bubble.

Jonathan Drouin on his line with Joel Armia and Nick Suzuki:

“We have a line with speed and intelligence. It’s tough to jump into a game after four months, especially with everything being new – the arenas the way they are. We know we can be better than yesterday, but we still have some things to work on. It’s a matter of consistancy for us. We don’t have time to look at everything and make a ton of corrections, but we do need to be ready for Saturday. We have a good test coming up against the Penguins.”

Video: Drouin and Suzuki on preparations for the Penguins

Drouin on the ambiance during games without fans:

“It’s not so much that things look and sound different; it’s that there’s no ambiance at all – there’s nothing going on. There was more ambiance at my Atom BB games in Mont Tremblant. We’ll need to find a way to create energy between ourselves to stay motivated, because it’s hard to get motivated for a game with no fans.”

Nick Suzuki on his assist to Tomas Tatar from the right half-wall against Toronto:

“I think both sides have their perks, obviously. I’m just a little more comfortable on the right side. I played a lot more of that in Junior and found pretty good success there during the regular season, too. I think both of us are really good on the half-wall, we just need to make plays and find ways to use each other more.”

Julien on the adjustments to be made to better support Carey Price:

“We need to make better decisions in front of him. The first goal was a 2-on-1. Carey’s job is to stop the shot, the defenseman’s job is to remove the through-pass. Carey did his part, but we unfortunately did not play the 2-on-1 well. So, we’ll need to adjust things on that end. On the penalty kill, he makes the first save, but it’s up to us to clear the rebound.

Video: Claude Julien on preparations for the Penguins

Claude Julien on the need to create energy from within:

“I can’t say it more often than I already have, but it’s the same for every team. It’s going to be up to us to create our own energy. Four months ago, we thought we’d be on vacation right now. Our chances of making the playoffs were slim back then. We’re one of the lucky teams who get to participate in this, and it’s up to us to take advantage of the opportunity. If that doesn’t get us motivated, I don’t know what will.”

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