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“I think from the outside looking in, it feels like it’s all on me and I have to say the right thing and do the right thing and tell guys the right thing,” said Pacioretty, who was one of three Canadiens stopped in the shootout, along with Sven Andrighetto and Alex Galchenyuk. “But you know what? Everyone in this room is in the NHL for a reason. It’s because at one point or another they’ve handled situations like this and handled them the right way and we’ve all faced adversity. So I think, obviously, I want to be supportive for my teammates and say the right thing when I have to. But I can’t be a guy that just goes up to a teammate and says something just to say something because that’s fake. I’m learning the balance of knowing when to say stuff, when to speak up, and also when to worry about my game and let other guys take control of their own game.

“When things really get tough, I got to focus on my game first,” he added. “I can’t take it all on my shoulders, and that’s the type of personality I have and sometimes I can’t control it. I tried to put everything on my shoulders, take blame for everything. I’ve stood here for every single game, unless I’ve been told otherwise, and faced the music. That’s definitely tough at times. But I think it’s a great learning experience for me in the sense that I got to know that in situations like that I got to focus on my game. Because it felt like it was eating away at my game. We’re only human, but at the end of the day it was a great learning experience for me.”