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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: BLACKHAWKS v SHARKSMay 15, 2010Joe PavelskiJoe ThorntonSAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA: Practice Day SCHULYER BAEHMAN: Questions for Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. Q. Joe, did you watch Game 7 last night and what was your reaction? JOE THORNTON: Well, I turned it on about halfway in the first. It was 3-0. I thought, Oh, Game 2 is going to be at 6:00, not 7. Halfway in the second, I turned it back on, 3-3. I was like, Wow, poor guys. But who cares (smiling). Right, who cares? Q. There's 14 Olympians in this series, eight and six. The theory was that teams with too many Olympians might get tired, hurt them in the playoffs. That's proving not to be true. Can you talk about how that experience helped both teams. JOE PAVELSKI: I think we're playing at the highest level. You could feel the intensity level a lot of these players played in that gold medal game. The atmosphere and excitement, it felt like playoffs. It was all there. I think our coaches did a good job of giving us the rest when we needed it afterwards and allowed us to bounce back and proceed with the season. Q. How do you perceive the series coming up with the Blackhawks as compared to what you saw from the Red Wings? Is it going to be gritty, faster paced? JOE THORNTON: Well, a little bit of the same, but it's going to be more intense. I think every series, it's gotten better competition. With Colorado, Detroit, now to Chicago. I think they're probably a little bit quicker than Detroit. Their transition game is probably about the same as Detroit. But I think it's going to be a great series. I think everybody, at least in our locker room, thought it's going to come down to one of us in the conference final going to the final. It's just going to be an exciting series. It's going to be a lot of fun to play in. JOE PAVELSKI: Yeah, I mean, they're a hungry team. You can see that. They've gotten better as the playoffs have gone on. I think we have too. Both teams are learning. Every night, obviously with the schedule, both teams will be rested. That should create for, you know, pretty high-tempo games. But they're a good team. They like to run-and-gun. We have to be smart about that, what kind of game we want to play, understand what kind of team is over there. Q. Big Joe, your coach talked about Bolland and the checking line. You know a lot about Toews, played with him. What did you learn about Bolland's line last series. JOE THORNTON: To be honest with you, I didn't watch -- I tend just to kind of worry about our games in the post-season. I didn't really watch too much of it. I heard he kind of drove them a little bit crazy. I think he's excellent. Other than that, I don't know too much. Probably try to get against their lines as much as they can. We're going to have to win faceoffs and things like that. I guess he's turned into a real good checking forward, though. Q. What do you take of the expectations now on this team, or have been for a few years, not just to get here, but to win a Cup? Is that fair? What do you feel about that sort of things? JOE THORNTON: Well, ever since I've been here, it's Cup or bust. We realize the expectations out here are probably higher than any city in the Western Conference. We set our sights high in the pre-season to get in the playoffs and then do some damage. I think we're finally at that point where we're feeling good. We're feeling comfortable with our team, how we play. But you got to win the Cup or you bust. Q. How much contact have you maintained with Adam Burish since you left Wisconsin? JOE PAVELSKI: Just a few texts beforehand. Obviously, we stay in touch. We're good friends. A lot of respect for Adam. But it's a completely different animal out there now with the post-season, the playoffs, separate teams. He's going to do his best to play his role. You can't worry too much about Adam. Q. Both of you, talk about the friendships you made on those Olympic teams, now you're facing them tomorrow. What was that like to get to know those guys better in such a big tournament and now trying to beat them? JOE PAVELSKI: It's always fun. I think everybody's heart is with their organization. You spend a lot of time with them. For those two weeks, it was all USA and fun. We were competing together, working hard. You understand what type of players they are. You see them in practice, see how good they are. Take that away from it. But, I mean, we're ready to go. JOE THORNTON: I'll be hacking Johnny as much as I can. I loved him for two weeks in February, but, you know, that's different now (smiling). Q. Was there any talk about we'll meet you in the playoffs? JOE THORNTON: I was hoping they'd be done by now (smiling). End of FastScripts |
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