	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: BRUINS v CANUCKS

June 8, 2011

Claude Julien

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Game Four

Boston Â– 4
Vancouver - 0

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Julien.

Q. Claude, obviously your intuition on Rich Peverley filling in Nathan's spot turned out to be not bad.
COACH JULIEN: We had different looks. We saw Ryder go up there a few times as well when Rich was killing penalties. I said I'd use different players at that position.
Pev's got good speed. Their line had forechecks pretty well with Lucic on one side. We thought we'd keep that going. He still has pretty decent hands.
We thought we would start with that. Michael is another guy who can fit on that line as well. Certainly Tyler was a consideration. His skill and speed level on that line at times also.

Q. This is a market that there's lots of armchair coaches. Does it ever bother you where people are second-guessing?
COACH JULIEN: No, because honestly I don't hear it. I really don't. I stay away from that stuff. I need to come to the rink with a clear head. I discuss obviously all the stuff that's done. It's not just about me. It's a coaching staff, management, stuff like that. We talk about different things. Of course, the final decision always goes to the coach. But it's not like it's all about me.
So those kind of things don't really bother me because, as I mentioned, I don't really hear it and I don't know about it, unless you guys remind me.

Q. Claude, would you talk a little bit about Tim Thomas, not just his play in the net but the way he approaches the game, the attitude he brings on the ice.
COACH JULIEN: Well, it's indicative of the way he's had to battle to get here, number one. Anybody that knows the story of Tim Thomas, he's taken a real bumpy road to get to the NHL. He's had so many obstacles in front of him that he's overcome, it makes him a battler, it makes him the perfect goaltender for our organization because that's what we are, we're a blue-collar team that goes out and works hard and earns every inch of the ice that you can get.
Tim fits well in regards to that. Again, the way he battles, he never quits on any pucks, even to the point where he can let a bad goal in every once in a while or a couple in a game, and you know that when the game is on the line he's going to be standing on his head again because he battles through it.

Q. Over the past three seasons in the playoffs, it seems like the other team has gotten the key goal at the key time. This year your guys have answered the bell time and again. What do you attribute that to?
COACH JULIEN: I'll tell you, you don't get to where you are without going through adversity, whether it's in the past years, whether it's through the seasons. That's how you grow. When you've been through a lot of different things, you're capable of learning from those things and growing through those things. That's what I'd like to attribute this to. We've been through some tough times in the playoffs or the regular season. We've had our ups and downs. You have to battle through those moments. When you do that, you certainly become a better team.

Q. As we go now to Vancouver, is there something the team can take west, something you saw here in Boston, that can carry over?
COACH JULIEN: I think we got to bring our game with us. Simple as that. We have to bring our game. That has to continue in Vancouver. It doesn't matter where you are, you got to play the same way whether you're at home or on the road.

Q. Can you talk about what Rich Peverley has brought to this team, not just tonight, but since he got here?
COACH JULIEN: We obviously had to make some deals at the end, obviously balance the cap situation. We needed some depth. He was certainly one of the guys that was targeted obviously in those deals. We just felt like his versatility, whether he plays wing or center, he has speed, we wanted to improve that area of our game.
We've used him on the power-play, we've used him on the penalty killing units. He moved up on the Horton spot and moved well. He comes to play every day. He's a very serious athlete, takes good care of himself. Right now he's being rewarded.
I know he's been through some tough years where he hasn't played in the playoffs. But certainly he's been a guy that's certainly enjoying the moment and giving us what we need.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297