PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pens promise with a pair of games ahead with Boston and the Capitals, they won’t sleep on hosting the Devils Saturday afternoon at 12:30p.
“We have to stay in the moment,” said Pens head coach Mike Sullivan. “We talk about this daily with our guys, making sure our focus is on the task at hand. Nobody is getting ahead of themselves in our locker room. We understand how difficult it is to win. We know how important the one game in front of us is. That’s where our focus is.”
“Just because we are where we are in the season, I think it’s an important mindset to have if we are going to have success moving forward.”
“Our focus is just about ourselves and playing the right way and getting those points when we can grab them and climb the standings,” said forward Kris Letang.
The Pens won five of the seven meetings against New Jersey, including four straight. All by multiple goals except for nearly blowing a 6-0 third period lead on Tuesday.
It’s the definition of a trap game with playing Boston the next day and again Tuesday, then a pair of games at Washington. The Caps are in first place currently by a point over the Pens and Islanders with Boston four points back with two games in hand.
“We all know we have those two big series coming up against those tough opponents,” Letang said. “We are looking forward to it, at the same time we know what’s on the line (Saturday). They are two really important points.
“You just take it one game at a time,” said defenseman John Marino. “We know what we need to do. We know how tight the race is now. You need everything you can get. We have big games coming up, but we have a big game (Saturday) first.”
“Our first priority is to make the playoffs,” Sullivan said. “The best way to do that is to just focus on the game in front of you. It’s a very short-sighted focus and our coaching staff is adamant about that approach.”