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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: KINGS v BLACKHAWKSMay 31, 2013Patrick KaneJonathan ToewsCHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Practice Day THE MODERATOR: Questions for Patrick and Jonathan. Q. Patrick, what is the key to solving Quick? PATRICK KANE: I think with him, he takes away the bottom of the net very well. He's very fast moving side to side. I think we all know that he likes to challenge just from watching him. You want to get traffic, make sure he's not seeing the puck. And when you get the second opportunities, elevate the puck in the upper half of the net to eliminate him taking away the bottom of the net. He's a great goaltender. Been playing very well in the playoffs a couple years now. Seems to be getting better and better. We definitely have our work cut out for us. Q. Jonathan, how difficult was the Red Wings series? JONATHAN TOEWS: We're fine. We're ready to take on another challenge. We know it's going to be just as physical, probably even more against L.A. You know, it's what we expect from every team. They're going to try to slow us down. We're a fast‑paced team. They'll try to get in our way, interfere with us. I think, like I said earlier on in the previous series, something we can learn from and do as well within the rules of the game to get in guys' ways, make things a little more frustrating and tiring for the other team. Obviously it was a tough seven games against Detroit, but more than anything, we're fueled by the emotion and excitement of the Game 7 win. We're excited to get a good start tomorrow. Q. You went through some things in the last series that went against you. How much does that make you a stronger team? JONATHAN TOEWS: I was saying this the other day, you don't draw it up, you don't plan to win a seven‑game series coming back from 3‑1. Looking back, I think it is a good thing for our team to have gone through what we just went through, to kind of be pushed to the end, for a moment feel like that was it. You have certain negative thoughts that kind of creep in. You try not to think about them, that you're up against a tough team and the odds are against you. But we stayed positive. We stuck with it. We just had that attitude that you take it one shift at the same time, you win one game at a time, anything can happen. I think we're taking a lot of confidence out of that experience. So just goes to show, any situation we may come into in this next series, we'll welcome the challenge. Q. (No microphone.) PATRICK KANE: Yeah, nothing to really take from that game because it was so quick after the lockout. The other two games, they played us tough, beat us late in the game. Just watching them in playoffs, that's where you really can get your best scouting reports. It's almost like they're a better St.Louis Blues. They play physical, have players that can score. When they do play physical, it seems to work to their advantage. Against them, we'll try to worry about what we have to do. If we play our game, play the fast‑paced game we've been playing the past few games, it should work well for us. We're excited about doing that, especially after last series, finishing off three strong games. Hopefully we can use that momentum to take it to Game1 and Game2. Q. (No microphone.) JONATHAN TOEWS: I don't think it's an advantage or disadvantage for either team. It's the same for both teams. We're both coming into this third round off of big highs, off of winning those seventh games. I don't think it really matters. I think for the most part we know the urgency, the need to take care of ourselves and our bodies, recover after every single game. At the same time, I think we like getting into that groove as a team. After we played this back‑to‑back, playing the every‑other‑day type thing, we enjoy that routine a bit more. Q. Is there a motivator? You talk about the regular season. You accomplished a lot of things. Can you use that? JONATHAN TOEWS: Well, we said that in the first round and the second round, it really doesn't matter. A lot of people still want to talk about our accomplishments during the regular season. Teams that we're up against would love to knock us out of the playoffs, just show us that it really doesn't matter, that everyone is going to forget about it pretty quick. We put it behind us. We did it in the first series. Doesn't matter. Same thing went for the last round. Same thing for this one. Q. Patrick, what did you learn about Corey Crawford maybe that you didn't know before? PATRICK KANE: I don't think, too much. Last year in the playoffs he got a couple tough breaks. People maybe wanted to point the finger at him. He's a competitor. Even in practice, he tries in every shot. He's been great. Q. (No microphone.) JONATHAN TOEWS: Yeah, I mean, it's one of those things, whether it's on the rush, five‑on‑five in the zone, you can have guys crashing far side. I think our D men, when they're shooting it‑ not just shooting it‑ guys are trying to block shots, they're looking for our sticks. We got to get traffic, not pass up on opportunities to shoot the puck, if we get a second or third chance to put it in there. Hopefully keep pucks alive and not let them gobble it up or freeze the puck in his glove. There's no perfect way to score on him. We just got to find a way. Q. How much of a physical presence can he bring? JONATHAN TOEWS: He's a big body, shown some poise with the puck as the playoffs go along. No coincidence that he's been putting up the points he has been. He's the type of guy that has been bringing it every part of the game. With the shot he has, the ability he has to score goals, we'll try to get him the puck as much as we can. He's going to do his thing, be physical, throw his body around. It will be fun. Q. (No microphone.) PATRICK KANE: Against Detroit, in that series, they seemed to kind of latch on, really hold you, not give you much space. To their credit, they did a great job. Sometimes against more physical teams, maybe they're running around a little bit, you can catch a little extra space. Especially against them, it seems like they want to finish a lot of their shots. We'll try to do the same thing to them, too. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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