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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: KINGS v BLACKHAWKSJune 6, 2013Joel QuennevilleLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game Four THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Will we say Brooks back tonight? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Brooksy is playing. He's been excited to play every game we've played in the playoffs. You have to commend him. He's practiced very well. It's a great opportunity for him. But you got to commend him on how his attitude has been throughout these entire playoffs knowing he hasn't gotten a chance yet to play. Q. In your experience, when a guy hasn't played in five or six weeks, do they come out too hot or rusty? COACH QUENNEVILLE: I can probably evaluate his performance by how he's been practicing. I'm excited about what he can bring to our team. Q. What are the Kings doing to shut down time and space? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Basically in all three rounds, checking has been tight. Not a lot of room for top guys. Not a lot of quality scoring chances with the teams we're playing, and our chances as well. I mean, the playoffs, not a lot of room. Teams check well. Teams are well‑prepared for what they're trying to prevent. Time and space is limited, especially in the scoring area. You're playing against top guys that know how to defend. It's not a real high exchange of chances either way. You look at the three series, the top guys really haven't been productive. Doesn't mean necessarily their play has been poor. Q. How will you miss Dunk the most don't? COACH QUENNEVILLE: I like his competitiveness and leadership. Certainly brings a lot of good qualities to our team in all situations. The quality of ice time he consumes, how efficient he is at it. You're missing minutes. We'll share those across the board. But we know we got him coming back. Q. Knowing how many minutes Duncan plays, five‑on‑five, where do you need to make adjustments within the six who are there? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Well, I think throughout most of the season, the entire six played meaningful minutes game in, game out. As we went along, Dunk's minutes progressed come playoff time. I think everybody is going to get a few more minutes each. Brooksy can absorb some minutes, as well. It's a situation where I think the way the game is being played will dictate how much ice time. But we expect probably a pretty balanced group of six back there. Q. How did Duncan take the news? COACH QUENNEVILLE: I spoke to him. He's where he's at. He's dealing with it. We've all dealt with it and we're moving forward. Q. Since he's so instrumental in getting you into your offense, that was an issue in Game3, are you forced to lean on Johnny and Nick? COACH QUENNEVILLE: We're way more efficient when our whole D is active, be it off the rush, off the point. We had too much standing still, being forwards, defense, the gaps in between. I think they'll be more closer together as a group. But certainly you want our D to be active. Q. Do you just plug guys into the system or does their skill set not allow you to do everything that Duncan can do? COACH QUENNEVILLE: I don't think we want to be Duncan. You got to play your own game, play within your limitations, know we have the structure of our team game. We all have a rhyme or reason how we play without the puck. Everybody has different skill sets. You know, play within what your strengths are, you should be fine. Q. All year long you talked about the luxury you had of difficult decisions. You can't make a run like this without this happening, right? COACH QUENNEVILLE: We've been fortunate. Sometimes they make decisions for you, how things evolve. Had to tell Brooksy a couple times, Be patient, there's going to be an opportunity. It could be the most critical time come the playoffs. I have to commend him on his patience and his approach, knowing that he deserves to be playing. Nice to see him get a chance. Q. Can you discuss Marian Hossa's play and is it at the level you want? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Offensively you like production from him, but at the same time, the way he checks with his backside pressure, complements our team game. I just think the consistency of how he plays really is how we want our team to play without the puck. Offensively we'd like to see more production from everyone. But, you know, like I said before, the top guys, there's not a lot of room. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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