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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: BLACKHAWKS v DUCKSMay 16, 2015Joel QuennevilleANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA: Practice Day THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. The penalty kill got better in the second round. What is the challenge you have to deal with on that kill facing this power play? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Stay out of the box first. Two real good units. Got different looks. They shoot the puck. They've got some presence at the net. Got good patience level and good play recognition. They're a threat off the rush. All areas of our penalty killing need to be aware of their options and try to deteriorate clean entries. It starts even on faceoffs. They're dangerous in a lot of ways. Let's make sure we don't give them too many opportunities. Q. Joel, when you have a long layoff like this, for coaching, do you change what you try to do? Are there specific things you work on each day? Do you change the routine of your coaching because you have so much time to work with? COACH QUENNEVILLE: No, we try to keep it fresh, as best we can.  We came out of the last series with a couple days off, then two days on. I wanted to make sure we have some drills on some of these days, try to make it game‑like. We scrimmaged a little bit, did some drills. 10 days, we didn't know exactly when we were going to start, as well. It got a little lengthy. There's no plan in the past when you have 10 days off to try to prepare for a game. I think it's on a need basis. We had two really good practices prior to flying out here yesterday. I liked our practice today. But we want to play hockey, play real games. I think our team gets measured way better on how we play than practice. Q. After all these deep runs after all these years, how do you think Duncan Keith is able to play all these minutes? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Dunk's in amazing condition. He's got one of those bodies... Some guys have different metabolisms, how they can deal with heavy workloads. He's got some of it probably in his genes as well as the way he works out, trains, takes care of himself. But he likes to play. He has no problem playing 30 minutes. A few years back when he was playing big minutes, we tried to get him down to a little bit more balance in our defense where he got down to the mid 20s. Some of the games this year he's been a little higher. But I think he doesn't change the approach. I think the score sometimes dictates us going to him a little bit more often. The importance of playoff games, he probably gets a little bit more. Doesn't change at all. Doesn't show any effects during or after. But a special, special player. He has a special, different type of conditioning than most players. Q. Joel, back in the day, the league was probably more defined by trios or great lines. Seems to be more about dynamic duos now. There's two in this series here. Why do you think the league has evolved towards that, where it's more about great pairs or great duos? COACH QUENNEVILLE: I think salary cap might have something to do with that. Today, you have three top players playing together, you might not want to have all your eggs in one basket, as well. You might want to have a little bit more of a balanced look. You could say that, as well. Certainly you look at the pair of Perry‑Getzlaf, as good as any pair in the league. You know, their synergy as far as where they are around the rink, around the net, their awareness of where they are with or without the puck is high end. That's going to give us a challenge. I think we got some balance in our lineup, as well. It's going to be a great matchup every time we play these guys. The pace of the games are pretty amazing. The endings are always unpredictable. So it's going to make for a great series. Q. Joel, it's one thing for the guys on the ice to be a little jumpy, nervous, have adrenaline flowing at this point in the season. What is it like for you behind the bench? COACH QUENNEVILLE: I always get excited getting into a series, especially being off as long as we were. I mean, I can't wait to start again. Look forward to it. I always find I get nervous, excited for the first regular‑season game or the first playoff game. As you get going, get a little deeper, I think it's more not nervous, I think you're more excited. Once the game goes, you're a part of it, you're a little more comfortable. Buildup going into the games, you're a little anxious to get going, maybe a little bit more with this one being off so long. Q. Joel, Bruce was talking earlier this morning about he was going to try to out‑wit you, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to. Were you teammates at some point? Curious about your observations of him as a coach. COACH QUENNEVILLE: He's done a great job as a coach. He's got some personality there. He's won here. He's won in a lot of places. Did a good job in Washington, as well. Won in the American League. He was one of those players that was dangerous. He's got some personality to his approach. We played together a couple years ago in Monkton, 1978. We were teammates back in the day (laughter). No, he's done a good job. As a player and as a coach, he's evolved to being at the top here with this team. You know, he's put them in a good spot as well. I commend him on the job he's done. He's a good coach, as well. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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