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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: BLACKHAWKS v SHARKSMay 19, 2010Jonathan ToewsCHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Practice Day SCHUYLER BAEHMAN: Questions for Jonathan. Q. Not to downplay what's gone on for the previous six and a half months, but are you and your teammates finding another level here as the playoffs go on? Do you feel you're playing better, too? JONATHAN TOEWS: I guess you could say that. We're slowly getting better and better. It's not like it's just happened all at once. You saw a slow, steady improvement over the season. I think you're seeing it right now as the playoffs have come along. We spent a lot of time with each other on the road. We're having fun playing hockey, whether it's hanging out in the hotel or going for dinner. Done a lot of bonding as a team and it's showing on the ice. We're having fun. We understand what makes us successful as a team, that one guy can't get off his game or else we're not going to win that way. We're slowly getting better. But we're still working to that next level. Q. You personally, though, do you feel you're playing as well? JONATHAN TOEWS: I've been asked a lot of questions like that just because I've been in on a lot of goals, whether it's a power-play or five-on-five. Again, just things seem to have really clicked around the net. I don't think I've changed that much from the regular season. Obviously, you raise your play at both ends of the rink. You try and play the right way. But just when you feel really confident, things click, pucks will go in. That's the way it's been right now. But, you know, you got to understand as a player that you stick with what works and you work hard for that success. Just haven't taken shortcuts. Haven't changed my game. It's continued to go that way. So hopefully I'll keep scoring goals and contributing that way because it's a lot of fun when it's working that way. Q. Do you feel the whole town pinning their championship hopes on you? Do you feel that vibe? JONATHAN TOEWS: I mean, we'll find out. We've been on the road for a little while. It works out great for us now. We know we want to play better at home and enjoy playing in front of our own crowd and playing well. But, you know, there's been a lot of pressure on us all year. Everyone talks about our team and how special we are, what we're capable of doing. We understand that. We know there's pressure. But we focused on the right things, that's what we need to do as a team to be successful. We're going to continue to focus on that. Q. Can you explain why this team plays so well on the road? JONATHAN TOEWS: I don't know. I mean, we've been good on the road. Just haven't been good enough at home. I think that's where the comparison comes in. You know, we're happy about what we've accomplished so far in this series. But we're motivated about what more we can do at home. Really hope we take advantage of these next couple games here. Q. You got off to a fast start on the road. Is that what you have to do at home? JONATHAN TOEWS: I wouldn't say we've had fast starts. I mean, we definitely survived some storms. You know, obviously San Jose is one of those teams that likes to come out hard in their own building. To come out the first period with a 1-0 lead yesterday, that's big for us. We know as these games go along, we can keep using our speed and energy. All four lines have been balancing the load pretty well. So we stay fresh as a team when we do that. As games go along, I think we get slowly better and better. That's the type of thing we want to do at home a little more. Q. How do you do that at home? Check into a hotel and play Mario Brothers all night long? JONATHAN TOEWS: It could be one solution (laughter). We've said a lot of good things going into the locker room going into the game. We go in there just focusing one shift, one period at a time. We're just breaking it down and not looking at it as a 60-minute game. Because sometimes it's a little bit of an overwhelming job if you're trying to dominate 60 minutes. You know, go in and get a great start, and then you just kind of build off that. Definitely what we want to do in a couple days. Q. You played a lot of the season without David Bolland. The fact he came back and raised his level, what has that meant to you? JONATHAN TOEWS: He's been awesome. I mean, over the course of the year, we learned to play without some of our best players, whether it was Bolland or Hossa or Bryan. You know, you learn to play without guys like that, I think it makes you better as a team. When you get those guys back in your lineup, he's been awesome for us in the playoffs. You can go look across our lineup right now, some guys that don't get as much recognition, guys that are stepping up their game and are huge. We all realize how important these guys are within our locker room, but they don't necessarily get the glory. That's what you need to win games this time of year. Q. The Bulls said they bonded better on the road. They didn't have the distractions like at home. Have you found the same thing? JONATHAN TOEWS: I guess so. I mean, there's a lot of expectations from family and friends, people want to be a part of this whole thing. When you're on the road, it's just you and the guys. In that way, it's a little bit easier. But no one's looking at that as an excuse. Like I said before, we can be happy about the last two games we played on the road because that's big. It's a huge disadvantage to play in someone else's building, especially in San Jose, with the noise in that building. But I think we can all forget about that and really get excited about what we can do and how good we can play in our own building. Q. What specifically has worked so far against San Jose in the first two games to build the lead? JONATHAN TOEWS: Just playing great against their top players. Again, we try hard to make it difficult on their goaltender. I think there's still quite a bit more we can do there. But, again, it's still about out-competing them. Whether it's in the penalty kill or power-play, we've got to be better and better against their best players. End of FastScripts |
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