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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: BLACKHAWKS v SHARKS

May 18, 2010

Jonathan Toews

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA: Game Two

Blackhawks Â– 4
Sharks - 2

SCHUYLER BAEHMAN: Questions for Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews.

Q. John, at various times you've had to be a shut-down center. Talk about how difficult a role that can be to fill and the quality of job that David Bolland specifically in that line are doing against a pretty good line.
JONATHAN TOEWS: They've been a huge part of our success, against all three teams we played so far. They don't sell themselves short. They know they can play smart defense and frustrate the line they happen to be up against for the most part.
They've always found a way of taking advantage of some scoring opportunities. It was a big goal by Ladder to get us going tonight. Great job by them. We need them to keep that up.

Q. Jonathan, you have 11-game point streak in the post-season, which ties a franchise record. What do you think is going so well for you right now?
JONATHAN TOEWS: Well, you know, I don't even really think about scoring, getting on the board going into some of these games. You know, you want to kill penalties, you want to play with energy and create as much as you can in the offensive zone when that happens to be your role.
I've gone into some of these games, focused on working hard. A lot of offense has just clicked. Byf has been great on our line with Patrick and I since he's been playing with us. Whether it's on the power-play or five-on-five, we're working hard.
We're not taking any shortcuts for offense. Just been lucky to have a lot of pucks go in and be in on a lot of these place that are happening for us.
So just want to keep working hard and not really going to focus on that too much.

Q. The chemistry that the three of you have right now. The two of you play with different wingers last couple years. Is this as good as it's felt as a top line, in your opinion?
PATRICK KANE: Yeah. Byf seems to be a playoff performer. It's exciting for us to play with him when he's getting a lot of pucks back. Usually with myself and Toews, played with each other for a while, so we have some chemistry.
I think it's a tribute to our whole team. Sometimes it's tough for teams to match up against us because we have so much depth and so many lines that can score.
When you have four lines, it's tough to pick who to defend, I think that helps out a lot.

Q. John, your goal, looked like Byf was also in front of net. Byf's goal, you were in front of the net. How key is it to have the extra man there?
JONATHAN TOEWS: It's great. Byf is a big body. You know, it's nice to go to the net, have that success when he's creating, you know, a lot of traffic and good screens in front of the goaltender.
Kane is out in the open ice dangling around while we're in front picking up the garbage. It's nice. We'll take them any way we can. Tonight we got a couple ugly ones in front of the net.
You know, like Kane said, the pressure is not just on our line to score. That's why we're working hard. I think if we keep doing things right the way we have, we'll keep having success.

Q. Jonathan, you guys got the best-case scenario, two wins in two games here. How do you prepare for Game 3 and guard against a letdown?
JONATHAN TOEWS: I think we can totally forget about these two games and really try and redeem ourselves at home. That's the motivation, I think. We know we haven't done near what we want to do at home. So we'll motivate ourselves that way and get really pumped and excited about playing back at the United Center.
We're really happy about having a 2-0 lead. That's great for us. We're not used to being in this situation, some of these series we've been in the past little while. We'll take advantage of it and focus on what is to come.

Q. Patrick, can you talk about how you guys, this year as opposed to last year, maybe at this stage of the season, are handling this a little bit differently. You're not as up, if you will. You're still focused on what you need to do.
PATRICK KANE: I think last year, the goal was probably just to make the playoffs and see where we went from there. We had a lot of success. Once we got to this point, it was almost like, you know, I wouldn't say we're not supposed to be in this situation, but it was kind of just a thrill. We knew we were playing a tough team like the wings, where they've had so much success and so much experience. We thought they would be tough to beat. Can't really have that mindset.
This year, I think from the first game on, we've had the expectations to get to this point. We wanted to prove ourselves. We pretty much have the same team with a couple different changes.
Sometimes it's just nice when everything is going. I think the biggest thing is, once we got to this point, it was almost like, you know, our season was just starting. There's a long way to go.
So especially seeing how long of a season it's been, it's pretty good to say that about our team. So a lot of good things have happened. You know, nothing is done yet. There's still a really good team we're playing against over there and you can't take anything lightly the rest of the way out.

Q. You tied the record for consecutive road wins. How do you explain the success on the road?
JONATHAN TOEWS: Just haven't taken anything for granted. We go into these games just putting all the pressure on the other team. You know, we go out there and play loose, play hard, simple, the right way. You see in some of these games, it's a recurring trend, I think, where we start out, maybe have a 1-0 lead, we're down a goal or two coming out of the first period, whatever it is, we've found a way to stick with it and really be patient.
We feel that we've kind of slowly taken over these games eventually in the third period. It's the right way to play on the road. But, you know, we want to keep that simple mentality when we go home. We'll be excited to play, but it doesn't mean we have to go out there and get flashy and make the big plays in front of our own fans. Still want to keep it simple and work for that offensive success we've had on the road, as well.

Q. Jonathan, getting in front of the crease, three tip-ins. They talked about tying up your sticks more than moving you guys out. Has it been a little bit easier to get there compared to the first two series?
JONATHAN TOEWS: I don't think so. I think they got big, strong D men, guys that can skate, that are smart positionally. We've had to work to get in front of that net. I think looking at these past two games, there's still much more we can do to get there, whether it's getting rebounds or just trying to test their goaltender a little more often.

Q. Do you take any pride in winning seven straight on the road, setting a team record, tying an NHL record?
PATRICK KANE: Yeah, I think so. I think especially the way we've been playing on the road, it just seems like everything has gone right for us. It's probably the way we need to play at home, to be honest with you.
I think sometimes you get on the road, it's just a simpler attitude. We've had a lot of fun with bonding in the hotel and different things. Sometimes you do that, it's almost like you're clicking before you're even on the ice.
You know, I think going into Games 3 and 4, we probably want to play with that same mindset.

Q. Patrick, might be hard to answer with John there, but is he playing at a level you haven't seen him play?
PATRICK KANE: I don't think I've ever seen him this good. Even in practice.
JONATHAN TOEWS: Come on.
PATRICK KANE: No, but sometimes as an offensive player, you're just feeling it. I think this is the biggest time of year. I think you saw in the Olympics how well he played. Seems like the guy is a big-time player. He's fun to play with. Things are clicking for him, for our line, pretty much our whole team.
It's not just one line doing the scoring. We seem to be having a lot of success. But contributions from everyone. I think it starts with him, to be honest with you.
SCHUYLER BAEHMAN: Thanks a lot, guys.

End of FastScripts

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