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Sharks Locker Room: Couture on What DeMelo & Dillon Told Him, Quinn Holds Back on Sturm High Hit

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Credit: San Jose Sharks

At least the San Jose Sharks can go into their bye and All-Star break feeling good about themselves.

After a heartbreaking 5-4 OT loss to the Carolina Hurricanes last night – the Sharks were up 4-2 with two minutes to go – San Jose showed some mettle in the Steel City to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-4, led by captain Logan Couture’s career-high five-point performance.

Couture talked about not being able to sleep after the Canes loss and old friends Dylan DeMelo, Brenden Dillon told him about Mikey Eyssimont. Kaapo Kahkonen, who stopped 37 of 41 shots, talked about his save of the night, a sprawled out pad on Teddy Blueger with five minutes left. Noah Gregor shares what Couture has meant to his career. And San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn praises Couture and Kahkonen’s performances, touches on Nico Sturm’s injury and Kevin Labanc’s scratch.

See Logan Couture’s interview here

Logan Couture, on getting over Carolina loss:

Last night was tough. Going to sleep was very difficult, not gonna lie. You get in here late, you’re up for a few hours thinking about how that one ended last night. But to the guys’ credit in here, we forgot about it pretty quickly.

Couture, on what Mikey Eyssimont has added to his line:

Tenacity, speed, work ethic. He was all over the puck tonight. I thought this was his best game with us and he’s had some pretty good ones on this trip. So I think he’s feeling comfortable. He’s learning the system. He plays like a pest. He’s in the other team’s best players’ faces. I think it’s been a great transition for him. He’s a good player.

When we got him, I got a few texts from guys that I know in Winnipeg, Dylan DeMelo and Brenden Dillon, and they said you’re gonna love this guy. It’s unfortunate that he didn’t stick there, but it’s fortunate for us.

Kaapo Kahkonen, on if things that he’s been working in-season are showing up in-game:

Yeah, I think I’ve felt good and I’m executing those things. Or have been for the last, I can’t tell you an exact number of games, but I’ve felt pretty good, let’s say after Christmas every time I’ve been in the net.

Kahkonen, on the Blueger save:

I just tried to stay patient. Then once he made a move, just try to seal the ice, and stretch. And it worked this time.

See Noah Gregor’s interview here

Noah Gregor, on what the San Jose Sharks captain has meant to his career:

He’s been great. We’ve gotten pretty close here ever since I’ve been in the league. Even when I was first coming into the league, he was always talking to me through the summer. And as a young guy, that’s great to have your captain keep in touch with you.

Now as I’ve been in the league for a little bit longer here, he’s helped me along the way. We’ve become great friends. He’s a great teammate. So he’s been great for us.

Gregor, on his recent performance and scoring tonight:

I think my game has been pretty strong since I’ve been back. I think my first, probably two or three games back in the line-up was really good. Two games where I wasn’t as good. But I think last night and tonight, I’ve had two pretty solid games in a row and always nice to get a goal.

See David Quinn’s interview here

David Quinn, on Kahkonen:

The way he battled, especially in the third period, we make it 5-4, and they have a push there. Seemed like a sumo wrestling match in front of our net with a minute and a half, seemed like 10 minutes. But to survive that. And I really liked the job he did on the 6-on-5, being aggressive, attacking. And obviously he made the big saves he needed to make.

Quinn, on Couture:

He’s a great example of what you want your franchise to be. It’s not easy situation for him. Certainly, the season hasn’t gone the way any of us thought we would. He’s voiced his frustration to me on a couple of occasion, feel like we played a lot better than our record, and he can’t believe we have the record we have as a lot of us have alluded to, but we do.

But he keeps coming to the rink everyday and putting forth an incredible effort. He’s got so much respect not only from the players, but from the coaches, staff, and anybody around our organization.

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