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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: BLACKHAWKS v SHARKSMay 19, 2010Todd McLellanCHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Practice Day Q. Your second line first two rounds was pretty dynamic. These two games not so much. What's been different? COACH McLELLAN: Well, I think the opponent we're playing against, for one. It's a stronger team. We knew that would happen as we got further into the playoffs. The other thing they've got to get going is a little more speed in their game, I think. We'll look at that. We'll talk about it today. We're still confident they can do the same job they did in the first two series, take some pressure off of Jumbo's line. Q. Pavelski's line, have they been tenacious enough? COACH McLELLAN: They have been. They don't come to the rink and decide to take it down a notch. They've worked just as hard. I think the difference is the opposition is that much better. We'll have to find a way to help them. You can see that Chicago is extremely quick and they hunt pucks down. It doesn't give them as much time and space as they've had in previous series. Q. Would you like to see a little bit more nastiness maybe? COACH McLELLAN: Well, it's a fine line. You know, it depends on how you describe 'nastiness.' If we're sitting in the penalty box, we have no chance of coming back in the series. We'd like to be physical. We'd like to get after their defensemen down below the goal lines and prevent them from jumping in. You have to place the puck properly, have some speed on the forecheck. Nastiness, I'm not sure that's going to get us what we want. The tenaciousness is probably a better word for us. Let's go back to Game 1, traffic in front of the net wasn't an issue at all. Game 2, we'll have to look at it now. It was a factor. The Toews' role on the power-play, he wasn't as big a factor as Toews getting his stick on the puck on the side. There's no doubt that he's big and strong. We had a plan. We didn't execute the plan the way we wanted to deal with him. We'll continue with that and try to enhance it somehow. Q. They can get in there and get that traffic a lot of times because you guys aren't controlling the puck. COACH McLELLAN: I mean, time in zone, time in their zone, time in our zone, we see in the first period when we come out and we play the way we can, puts them on their heels a little bit. But there's something that happens in the game that changes it a little bit, and they, in turn, carry the play in our end. Like you said, when you're in your zone, he's going to be able to set up camp in front of the net. Brouwer is very good at it as well. The more you're in your end, the more likely you are to err. Rob Blake and I sat and talked the other day about things we need to change. We are very excited about playing that first period, coming out and getting it going. Yesterday second period was due in large part to the first goal, took a lot out of us. I was disappointed because all playoffs we've been very resilient after a goal scored. Last night it felt like it took a long time for us to get our energy and our heads up again. We have to change that. We're not going to be able to beat this team if we hang our heads at any point. Q. Are your guys not doing something up high they should be or is it coincidence? COACH McLELLAN: Well, I'm going to leave the Detroit series out. We found a way to win. Let's deal with Chicago and move on. They're a very good five-on-five team, tenacious. They have the checking line that's doing a very good job. With that being said, I thought we created enough opportunities to score more. We probably have to get a little more aggressive around the net. We've said that for two games straight now. The other thing he does, good legs down at the bottom of the net. Troy Mitchell had a tremendous scoring opportunity in the game and failed to put it up. We'll look at that and adjust as we go. Like I said last night, I think it's a tactic. Teams looking to time the faceoff and shoot the puck. Ended up riding on the guy's hand. But you're allowed to get frustrated and emotional; you're allowed to be attached to the game, to be passionate. It was good for us to see a bit of that come out a little in the third period. Not a lot different than what happened in Game 4 in Detroit. End of FastScripts |
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