NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: BLACKHAWKS v DUCKS

May 17, 2015

Frederik Andersen

Bruce Boudreau

Anaheim – 4

Chicago - 1

THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  Talk a little bit about how you felt, how you thought you played.

FREDERIK ANDERSEN:  Yeah, I felt good.  Felt sharp early on.  They were giving me some shots to feel in the game.

Yeah, it was a good first period.  But then we played a lot better in the second and third, which gave us the momentum a little bit.

Q.  Can you take us through the first period, your read from the turnover onward.

FREDERIK ANDERSEN:  He picked up a loose puck there.  I didn\'t really see how much time he had at the beginning.  I played aggressive, but he was patient, tried to get me moving laterally.

I knew I had to try to throw my stick over and take as much of the net as I could.

Luckily he hit the stick.

Q.  Obviously you have to win four games, but talk about having home ice, how important it is to hold onto that home ice advantage.

FREDERIK ANDERSEN:  Yeah, it\'s always great to win the first game in a series.  We don\'t want to let them take the momentum.  We want to defend our home ice.

Q.  How did you feel before the game?  Did you feel any different than you felt the previous couple of rounds?  Was there any more weight or significance that you felt?

FREDERIK ANDERSEN:  No, not really.  It was just about being ready for the game, focus on stopping the puck like any other game.

Q.  You took a shot there in the third period.  The stick hit you or something?

FREDERIK ANDERSEN:  No, I\'m fine.

Q.  When you make that save with your paddle on Kane, was that absolute desperation?

FREDERIK ANDERSEN:  Yeah, he waited me out a little bit.  Had to try to get something in front of the net and get it close to him when he shot it, take away more of the net.

Q.  What do you take from this series most of all that can help you win the series?

FREDERIK ANDERSEN:  I think everyone in the locker room knows we can beat this team.  It\'s a good feeling that we showed it in Game1.

Yeah, they\'re going to come harder.  We\'ll have to play better in Game2.  It\'s going to be another good game.

THE MODERATOR:  Thank you, Freddie.

Questions for Coach Boudreau.

Q.  Why did you put together the Thompson line the way you did?  Obviously you saw something that would play well for this one.

COACH BOUDREAU:  Well, they\'ve been together for the last series.  I mean, it was more to get Silfverberg with Kesler than it was to get Palmieri with Thompson.

It takes a little while to get a little bit of chemistry.  I thought they played very well tonight.

Q.  Can you talk a little bit about some of the early difficulties.  There were some turnovers in the defensive zone.  It seemed like you were able to adjust.  Talk a little bit about the kind of adjustments you made today.

COACH BOUDREAU:  Well, we weren\'t very good in the first period.  We got lucky a few times that they didn\'t score a couple goals.

I thought we made a couple of adjustments.  We played better in the second and third.  But I still don\'t think it was our A game.  You know, you allow over 30 shots, I mean, we got lucky and scored.  We were opportunistic tonight.  We\'re going to have to play better if we want to continue to stay with these guys.

Q.  The importance of getting off to a start.  You have home ice.  You don\'t want to give that up.

COACH BOUDREAU:  I think it\'s always important getting that first goal.  It makes you feel, oh, like you\'re into it.  They\'re such a fast‑score, quick‑striking team, that I think it\'s important that if you can get that first goal...

They probably had eight chances before we had our one.  We were lucky enough to put it in.

Q.  People talk about Toews and Kane, Getzlaf, Perry.  We watch Game1, the most prolific line is the Nate Thompson line.  Is that the sign of a deep team?

COACH BOUDREAU:  Yeah, I think in all playoffs there\'s somebody throughout history in any sport that comes up and plays better than what‑‑ their numbers are better than what they were in the regular season.

You\'re not going to win unless you have four lines playing.  I thought Palmieri and Thompson and Cogliano were very good today.  There were a couple other lines that weren\'t as good as what they normally are.

So those guys played really good.  You need it if you want to be successful.

Q.  The second power play in the third period when it was Kesler that was penalized, you killed that off.  That seemed to be a big moment in the game.  What did you see in that particular penalty kill?

COACH BOUDREAU:  We cut it down to four penalty killers.  Usually use six.  I thought when we did turn it over in that penalty kill, we got it down the ice.  You usually get in trouble when you clear it and it doesn\'t get out, especially usually at the end of your shift, then they keep it in.  That\'s a troublesome sign.

But I thought we did a real good job of when it was on our stick, getting it down the ice and making them go 200 feet again.

Q.  Bruce, Freddie was seen as a \'question mark\' before the playoffs and even before this series here.  Why do you think that\'s been the case?

COACH BOUDREAU:  I think he\'s getting more confidence.  He\'s played through two rounds now.  He\'s seen the pressure that comes with it.  He\'s had a long time to get ready for this game.

He was very good.  I mean, our goaltender was very good tonight.  But, again, you don\'t win unless your goaltender in any playoff series is really good.  You need it.

He had game confidence.  He looked composed today.  I didn\'t see him look rattled at all.  He handled the puck well.  Hopefully he can continue doing that.

Q.  Coach, Jiri Sekac made his playoff debut today.  Talk about him getting in the lineup today.

COACH BOUDREAU:  Yeah, we\'re using all 15 forwards.  Guys that have come in have done a real admirable job.  Jiri hasn\'t played in a month.  He came in and he looked like he didn\'t miss a beat, but that\'s because he\'s been practicing very hard.

We have been practicing very hard.  To me, it\'s like he\'s not out of step because of the pace of the practices, they\'ve been that good.

He came in.  He added that extra speed, that extra dimension.  I thought Emerson, after sitting out a series came in and did a great job, as well.  Rakell did a good job after having the flu a little bit.

Again, you need that fourth line and third line to play well if you\'re going to plan on going anywhere.

Q.  The Hawks had David Rundblad on defense today making his playoff debut.  Was there anything you did to take advantage of his inexperience, anything you could do to do that?

COACH BOUDREAU:  Nothing at all.  I mean, quite frankly, I didn\'t pay much attention.  I\'m too worried trying to get the proper lines out against their guys to worry about how their guys are playing.

I mean, I\'ll watch the tape tomorrow.  I\'ll look at it.  But during the course of the game, I\'m pretty focused on our group, what we\'re doing, who is going up, who is on next, who they\'re going to put on, rather than what their guys are doing out on the ice.

Thank you.

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