Henrik's Thoughts on Stanley Cup Playoff Games

“It’s the same feeling every year. You get anxious, nervous, excited. A lot of emotions going into the playoffs. I always put a lot of pressure on myself. But I hope I can help the team and make them feel confident and if I need to, just step up at the right time to be there for them. So we’ll see how we do.”

”(Laughs). I like it. I liked going down the stretch the last month and a half. It’s been fun. A lot of intense games. And you just have to be on top of your game, otherwise it’s over real fast. So it would be a great feeling to have a good run. It’s been a while since we’ve had a good run in New York, so that’s what we’re working for now.”

“I feel pretty good. There’s no time to really … you know, if I would sit down and think, ‘Maybe I’m tired, maybe I’m not’ … but I don’t go there. There’s no time for it. And now, it’s so exciting to be in the playoffs. When you get out there tomorrow and feel the energy and excitement from the guys and the crowd, it’s not going to be hard to be ready to play.”

“Especially when you have a long run in the playoffs, if you have that—I’ve experienced it back home and a couple of years ago here—you might be tired, but when you go out there and feel the energy and excitement it’s like you can keep going forever, it feels like. Hopefully we can feed from that energy. I don’t think anybody’s tired right now and we shouldn’t be tired.”

“I think right after our last game, I kind of landed a little bit—‘OK, maybe it’s over, maybe it’s not.’ And then after that game, Tampa won, it’s like, ‘OK, it’s on again.’ For a few hours you’re like, ‘Maybe it’s over.’ You kind of let your shoulders down a little bit. But right after that (Tampa) game is over, I started thinking about tomorrow and about Washington and about what’s coming, what I need to do. So now it’s back to hockey 24/7 again and trying to do everything you can to get your game going.”

On watching the Tampa game:

“They tried to calm me down, but it was tough. It was very tough. I’ve never been in that position before. You know, I just kept thinking about all the work we put down and what happened last year, being that close, and being that close again and just missing. It’s mentally really tough. It’s a great feeling when you realize you’re in and all the work paid off.”

“I think it was our turn, though, after what happened last year and the way we played. We should be here. We deserve to be here, and we should just grab the opportunity and try to do something good here.”