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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: BRUINS v BLACKHAWKSJune 20, 2013Bryan BickellPatrick KaneBrent SeabrookCHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Practice Day THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Bryan, this is for you. We talked to Patrick and Jonathan about that line last night, and just your thoughts on how good did you all feel together back in that line? BRYAN BICKELL: I felt good. We had some success in the LA series putting us three together. I felt we had a good first, but we didn't vary when we had our opportunities. But we stuck with it, and we got a couple goals, and it was nice. Q. Patrick and Brent, can you guys maybe address early in the game, Bryan got a pretty good shot in on Chara. He was down on the ice. Just that physicality early in the game against Chara, when you see him being played physically like that. And Bryan, just address that shift and wanting to be physical on him. PATRICK KANE: Yeah, he's a big body, and not really a guy that many players on our team can probably engage physically, but Bicks is one of them. We've seen it throughout the Playoffs where he's had big hits and has created momentum for our team. I think any time you can get a chance to lay the body on him, one of our bigger guys, it's big for the team and can spark us and get us going. Bicks has done that all Playoffs. BRENT SEABROOK: Kaner nailed it. BRYAN BICKELL: Beyond physical, just it's important for me to open the ice up for my line mates. He doesn't like getting hit. Not a lot of guys attempt it, but to get a hit on him and to see him fall down, it's rare, but I just needed to keep it going. Q. Pat, you've seen these games have been 2‑0, 2‑1 and then 6‑5. You've got Game 5 coming up. Where does it go from here? Can you have a sense of where this series can go after a 6‑5 game? PATRICK KANE: Yeah, I don't really know. I guess it's good for the fans to keep watching and keep them guessing for what's next. But we feel we're in a good position. It's a best of three series, two of them in our building. It's been one of those series that's been pretty bizarre so far as far as overtimes. Every game has been close, obviously some have been low scoring, some have been high scoring, so we'll see what happens next. Q. Brent, you scored an overtime winner to keep your team in the Playoffs. Is there any way to compare the two or if they feel the same? Patrick or Bryan, what it felt like to see the puck go in and suddenly you're tied as opposed to down 3‑1. BRENT SEABROOK: You know, they were big goals. I thought they were big goals for our team as a group. Our team fought so hard in both games. I was just, I guess, the lucky one to have it going off my stick. But this team has battled all year. We had a great regular season, and we've been playing well in the Playoffs. It's just nice to get that one last night and even up the series. I thought going into the game there was a lot of talk about 2‑2 or 3‑1, so it was huge for our group to even up the series and get back to Chicago with the series tied. PATRICK KANE: I think for me just watching that play, after Seabs' shot, I kind of saw him turn, I didn't know if he knew it went in and I just started chasing him. But it was a huge feeling. I think everyone was really excited after the game. It's probably the most excited I've seen us after a win maybe this whole season. It was nice to get us back in the series. Q. Brent, you seem to have a bit of a history and a bit of a penchant for scoring these kinds of goals, and I'm just wondering, are you an ice‑in‑the‑veins kind of guy, or what is it that seems to bring you to the fore? And I'm wondering, Patrick, if you can talk a little bit about having a guy like that on your team and what that means. BRENT SEABROOK: I don't know about that. You know, I've just been shooting the puck to be completely honest. You get a chance, you get a lane and you try and put it on net, and they've gone in. I don't think I've got ice in my veins or anything like that. I'm just playing a game. I love overtime. I think it's such a great part of the game, especially in the Playoffs when you play until one team scores. I think it's such an exciting part and such an exciting part of the game. I grew up loving it, and just to be able to get opportunities and play in games like that, they're a lot of fun, and everything is right on the line. I think I definitely try and raise my game in overtime and try and be better. Q. I know Duncan seems to get a lot of the accolades and everything, but I'm wondering if Brent probably maybe deserves a little bit more. PATRICK KANE: Yeah, I mean, he's a huge part of our team, definitely defensive core, and he's had some big goals obviously this Playoffs. But I think one of the things about our team is our depth. We've talked about it the whole year where contributions from everyone is huge for our team's success. You seen that last night with guys like Krüger chipping in and Seabs scoring the overtime winner. We've seen that shot from Seabs before on Quick in the LA series, too. It's huge to get those contributions from anyone. Q. This is for Brent. I was wondering, was there a point where guys on the bench were starting to say, like, Hey, we're going to get our space, we're going to have space tonight, there's room out there? And why do you think that was the case? Why did you have so much time and space? BRENT SEABROOK: I don't think anybody was talking about it on the bench or anything like that. It was something that we wanted to try and establish early, was playing as a group, playing as a five‑man unit on the ice, tight together, close, moving with speed, moving the puck well. Our forwards were doing a great job of back checking last night. They were unbelievable. They really got the game going for all of us. I don't think we were talking about anything like that. We were just trying to play and play our game and play with speed. Things did open up a little bit, but I thought we did a good job of opening up and coming back for support, supporting the D. We were able to hit the forwards with speed. Our forwards are unbelievable at skating through neutral zone with speed, making little passes, give‑and‑goes and things like that, and I thought they created a lot for themselves. Q. You guys wear one of the most famous uniforms in all of sport. What does it mean to you guys to follow in the footsteps of Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita, guys who have statues outside this building? BRYAN BICKELL: No, you know, growing up to be a Leafs fan, original six, and then you look at this Hawks jersey, it's a great honor to represent it. I believe it's the best logo in sports. You know, to have these guys beside me and then you mention Hull and Mikita and those guys have a statue out here, it's a great history we have here and it's great to be a part of it. PATRICK KANE: Yeah, I think Bicksy nailed it. I think it's one of the best logos in hockey and in all of sports. I think we have a lot of pride playing here. It's got a lot of great history. I know growing up for myself playing in Vancouver as a kid and everybody wanting to have a Canucks jersey, we played a summer hockey team when I was nine and we were the Blackhawks. It just goes to show how many people love the uniform and want to be associated with the uniform. I think the colors along with the logo are just awesome. Q. For any or all of you, Corey Crawford has had so few off nights, he's been so good so consistently. What's his mindset after yesterday and what makes you think he'll be able to bounce back as he has been? PATRICK KANE: Yeah, he's been great for us all Playoffs, all year. A couple tough breaks last night, especially when we had the lead at 3‑1 or 4‑2, Boston is going to open up a little bit. I think for us that we can play better defensively, maybe get in some shooting lanes and block some of those shots. But I don't think we're worried about Crow at all. Just talked to him afterward and he seemed to be in a good state. He just seemed to be happy we won the game, so don't worry about his confidence at all. Q. Brent, at times in the Playoffs already this year we've seen you go over the blocks and calm Jonathan down when he was kind of losing it a little bit. He talked last night about you sort of giving him the daily pep talk leading up to the last few games as he's been in a little bit of a slump. We don't think of him as a guy that lacks confidence or ever gets too high or too low. But can you talk about the relationship that you have and why you've felt that that was a good thing to do? BRENT SEABROOK: I don't know. To be completely honest, I was sick and tired of hearing everybody talk about everything that Johnny is doing right. He's a great player. He's one of the best in the league, and I just told him that he's got to stop thinking about that, too. He's got to stop thinking about everything that he's doing right and stop worrying about not scoring goals. I mean, he's got to score goals for us. He's a big part of our team. When he's going, we have a chance to win as well as Kaner and Sharpy and Hoss and Bicksy, all our forwards have to be going, and I knew he was going to be playing great. It wasn't about the little things that he does. It wasn't about his leadership that he brings. I just thought that maybe he needed to start thinking about scoring goals. You know, it was big for him last game. I thought it was huge to get that goal, and then I think it definitely lifted up the boys and sort of got him rolling there. So it was good. Q. Brent, Nick obviously has had his minutes reduced a little bit and you went through that early in the year. It's obviously tough for a veteran, but for a young guy, I imagine it's even more difficult. Do you try to relate or encourage him that maybe we can still use you and keep your head up throughout this series? BRENT SEABROOK: Yeah, Nick is a great player. He brings a lot to the table. You know, that was a coaching move last night that happened, and Nick is a great kid. You know, he works hard. He battles, and he's got to keep his head up, like you said, and just keep going. He's got such a great talent that anything can happen when he's out there on the ice. He's got great legs, he can shoot the puck real well, he's got a good hockey sense. I think for Nick, just in talking with him and a few of the boys, just told him to keep his head up and keep going, and I think that's the biggest thing for Leds. Q. Patrick, to go three games and especially in games 2 and 3, to play defensive games and then to finally get that goal last night, what's it like to see the puck get in the net and know that you dented the score sheet? Does it loosen you up, take a little pressure off? And then for Bryan, when you get your line mates, both Patrick and Jonathan both scoring, what does it do for the morale and psyche of the team? PATRICK KANE: Well, first and foremost, it's always exciting to score goals, especially in the Stanley Cup Final. So that being said, I think it was a big goal for our team, especially going up 3‑1. You feel like you're in good shape at the time. Obviously we didn't know what was in store for us the rest of the game, but it's always good to score. As an offensive player that's what you want to do and what you're supposed to do on the ice is produce. You know, our line was on the ice for three goals that we had yesterday. I thought all of them were pretty big goals, Toews, myself and obviously Seabs in overtime, so it's good to be out there and contribute. BRYAN BICKELL: Yeah, I need to be physical, give them open ice, give them time, get in front. I think the first three games we were pretty easy on Rask to let him see the puck. For second and third opportunities last night, me and Jonathan were in there mixing it up, and Kaner is dishing and shooting and doing his outside work. But to see those guys score, I know it sparks the bench and definitely the team. Q. Pat, and if it applies, Bryan. A lot of people talk about different line combinations. How often do you go to Joel or an assistant and say, Try this and put me with Johnny or whatever. PATRICK KANE: No, I didn't do that. I don't think anyone does that to be honest with you. You let the coaches figure that stuff out. There's different match‑ups and every team you're playing against is different, especially as the Playoffs go on. You can see from their mindset what they were thinking the first three games. But it was fun to play with these guys last night. Whoever we're out there with, we think we have a great team. Pretty much all of us have played with each other throughout the past few years, so everyone knows each other's strengths and what they can do out there. So you get used to it. There's been a lot of line changes and switches the past few years. This year not so much. But whoever you're out there with, it doesn't really matter. You just want to contribute. Q. Patrick and Brent, you guys talked a little bit about back checking and defense from last night. How big of a priority is it to get back to limiting chances on the other end as good as you are in transition? BRENT SEABROOK: Huge. It's big for our team to play at both ends of the rink. You know, we've taken pride in our defensive game all year. I think some penalty kill goals last game, I think that's uncharacteristic of our group, and we've got to shore that up for the next game. We're not going to be able to score six against Boston every night. I said it last night, we've got to be expected to come out and win a Game 1‑0, 2‑1. Those are the kind of games that are going to be going forward here, and we've got to be better in all zones. Q. Patrick and Bryan, you scored five goals last night when Chara was on the ice, not even close to happening in any other game. What did you do differently against him? Seemed like you forced him to turn a lot, forced him to move a lot. Is it fair to say that's part of the game plan? PATRICK KANE: To be honest with you, we didn't really talk too much about him before the game. He's a tough player to play against. He's got a huge reach, and obviously he uses his size to his advantage. But against him, I think sometimes you worry so much about who you're playing against that it goes to your disadvantage. You just want to play the game. It so happened we scored five goals against him. I don't think you'll see that in any other game this series. But you look at Frolik and Krüger's goal, that was a great play two‑on‑one, you get a great goal five‑on‑three, five‑on‑four there and a couple lucky breaks off rebounds and point shots. I guess the biggest thing is just try to get to the net and see what happens. BRYAN BICKELL: Yeah, it is kind of funny that he had five goals, but he's a great defenseman. For us, I think we executed our game plan against him with his reach, just get pucks behind him, just to try to get him moving in front. I know he's a big body. If he's in front, with me or Toews or whoever, it's going to make it harder for the goalie to see it. I think we got inside the box and got our second and third opportunities. It was huge, and just finished our checks. I know he doesn't like to get hit, so we just need to keep that up. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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