|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: BRUINS v BLACKHAWKSJune 18, 2013Joel QuennevilleBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Practice Day THE MODERATOR: Questions for coach. Q. What do you need to be better in the faceoff circle? How important is that in Game 4? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Very important. Two areas we weren't effective in last night were the power play and the faceoff circle. Bergeron had one of those nights that you like to have in a career. I think across the board, we've been watching the group of centermen here, digesting it, dissecting it, knowing we have to be better as well. Q. You touched on the power play. The entries on the power play, what are they doing to muck it up for you guys? COACH QUENNEVILLE: It's tough to get a clean entry. I think we might have to get a little indirect plays to get possession on our entries. It starts losing the draw initially. That's the area we have to get better. Hopefully you don't have to resort to the entry. We're still going to have to find a way to get through it and find ways to have possession off it. Might have to go indirectly to get it and have puck battles to get more retrievals, start off with the puck more. Q. Why didn't Ben Smith take the warmup last night? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Ben was ready. I knew he was doing everything.  We were hopeful that Hoss was playing, and Ben was doing everything to get ready. He was ready. Q. Getting back to the faceoffs, what is Bergeron doing specifically that's making it tough on your guys? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Well, he's one of the top guys in the league. Give him credit for having that night he had last night. I think we're looking at ways that we can at least get it closer to a 50/50 chance for us on most draws. Q. Is this as much about belief? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Well, I think there were some areas in our game last night we were positive about. I think what we gave up as far as quality chances, five‑on‑five play was very comparable. I think special teams last night, they won that war. Certainly we came into this building here, I thought we played the right way to start the game. But now we got to find a way to win here tomorrow night. I think we're in a tough spot. In the Detroit series we found a way to get ourselves to get back into it. That's what we're looking for.  Tomorrow is a very important game, like we have to win tomorrow night. Come up with a good result, we're right where we want to be. Q. Can you update us on Marian's status? Was it injured during a game? COACH QUENNEVILLE: I'm not going to get exactly what the injury is or where it occurred but I'm going to say he's likely to play tomorrow night. Q. After watching the video last night, make you feel any better or worse about the team's performance? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Well, pretty straightforward as far as what you saw, what we saw. The game was a fast‑paced game. Obviously giving up that first goal, losing momentum a little bit on our power play. Like we said, the five‑on‑five game was pretty even. Both ends had their turns. But certainly they cashed in on their power play and our power play slowed us down a little bit. Not starting with the puck was part of that, too. Q. Game1 you spoke positively about what Bolland was giving you. Do you need him to walk a better line, being aggressive? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Yeah, one of those nights. Tough night. Certainly can't take three. I think you got to be smarter about it when you do take one, that maybe you put yourself in that spot again. Let's make sure we learn from that. Q. Joel, I'm a little confused on the Ben Smith thing. Was he a late decision by you in terms of did you and your coaching staff decide maybe at 3:00, 4:00, if Hoss can't go, you'd go to Ben? COACH QUENNEVILLE: He would have taken warmup if we wanted him to. He knew there was a chance he was going to play. He was getting himself ready. I just didn't want to tip our hand that there's something going on. Q. Was there a decision in terms of Ben Smith or Jamal Mayers or was Ben your guy? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Ben, we were very comfortable if Hoss was out, he was going in at that time, yeah. Q. Obviously we can all look and take that Toews is working as hard as he always has. The numbers aren't there. Has it reached the point where it's a frustration thing for him? What do you do as a coach? COACH QUENNEVILLE: I think we do a little bit of everything. Johnny is a great pro. He's a competitive guy. I think he's finding ways to contribute in our team game. He started well last night. You got to make sure if you're not scoring you're doing other things well. He had the puck a lot. Defensively he's responsible. I think right now whether it's him or our power play, offensively I think we're all a little gun shy in that area. We want to make sure there's some composure there, get a spark on our power play, go five‑on‑five. One thing with Johnny, you can always measure how he's going to be competing, because game in, game out he leaves it out there. Offensively maybe pressing in that area. Certainly it would be nice to get some production and finish to show for it. Q. When you've needed some scoring, at times you've loaded up with Toews, Kane and Sharp together. No goals in 120 minutes, are you getting to that point now? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Scoring, we're talking the last couple days here, it's scoring chances and scoring goals, not a lot of room, not a lot of space. We'll take them anywhere in any way, we'll see how we go along here, what the lines will be. Q. Your guys seem very calm and confident even in the face of a loss. Would you almost like to see a little more raw emotion, frustration, urgency? COACH QUENNEVILLE: I think exiting that game last night, you lose back‑to‑back games, it gets your attention. We're in a hole right now. We want to make sure tomorrow we prioritize the importance of that game and it's a different level. We're in a tough spot Games 5, 6, and 7 against Detroit. We're looking at it like that. Q. When Patrick Kane has been dynamic, it's obvious. Is he doing something different? Is it all on the Bruins? What do you need to see from him to get him back to what you've seen earlier? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Kaner had stretches last night when he had the puck. When he has it, he's dangerous. The more he has it, the more efficient and effective he is. We'll find some things that can get him the puck more. But I still think last night he had more puck possession. Q. With all due respect, why do the details of Hossa's injury have to be so secret? What's the detriment to the team if that becomes public knowledge? COACH QUENNEVILLE: You mean the media and everybody? Q. Yes. COACH QUENNEVILLE: I guess we'll go back to history on that one. We don't disclose injuries, particularly come playoff time. Q. What is the strategic disadvantage? COACH QUENNEVILLE: I think that's self‑explanatory. Q. You've talked in the past, every coach talks about getting to the front of the net. The Bruins protect the net very well. How do you get to the front of the net against these guys? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Well, non‑puck area, got to be willing to travel there. It's tough to get the puck, but we've got to be willing, the non‑puck area, to get there. I thought we did a real good job in the L.A. series. At times in this series we've had more presence at the front of the net. That's what we've got to be looking to do, travel, get there, make sure he doesn't see the puck. Conveniently we put a lot of pucks right in his mitt. We have to have better puck placement, as well. Q. The Paille/Seguin/Chris Kelly line has gone well. What challenge has that presented for you guys? COACH QUENNEVILLE: Four series we've been in, a lot of the games the top lines seem to be neutralizing one another. Those lines score meaningful goals and have meaningful stretches where they're the difference‑makers in the outcomes of games. That's what playoff hockey is all about. We have to make sure that every shift is huge. Puck management is going to be important going forward against this team. Guys that can make plays across the board. Let's make sure that at the end of shifts, let's try to manage the puck more efficient. Let's be more respectful of not only the top lines but across the board. Q. After Game3, what positives can you bring into Game4? COACH QUENNEVILLE: I thought the pace of the game was the way we wanted to play. I thought we were more involved in our attack. I think we can do a better job in certain areas, be it spending more time in their end. I thought defending‑wise we didn't give up a ton five‑on‑five. I just think the positive is we can get ignited by making sure our power play can give us a lift and make sure we don't lose the momentum in the game, be comfortable and confident on it, move forward off of that area. Q. Given the way you guys play, you want to control the puck, more offensively oriented, is there a natural disadvantage when you get in a playoffs like this against a team like the Bruins who are predisposed to being defensive oriented, to be physical? COACH QUENNEVILLE: I think every team's makeup play a certain style. Whether more so predominantly a defensive team or offensive‑type team, they've got a little bit of everything. You have to commend them. They're a well‑balanced team. They defend well. They have offense as well. We have to make sure that just trying to go one side of it, trying to outscore them, doesn't play to anybody's strengths except your opponent's because they counter‑punch well. But we want to make sure that when we do get our opportunity, whether it's on a power play, whether it's five‑on‑five, we have to bury our opportunities. We have to score some ugly goals and make sure that it doesn't have to be pretty. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|