Finals Notebook, June 3: Quenneville Refuses to Point Fingers

FanHouse's Christopher Botta and A.J. Perez are on the road with the Blackhawks and Flyers, following every development of the Stanley Cup Finals. Each day, they'll be posting news and notes in this space. They'll be updating throughout the day, so keep checking back.

Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville understandably was not about to throw any of his players or fellow coaches under the bus after the less-than-smooth line change that was partly to blame for Claude Giroux's overtime goal in Game 3. "I don't want to get too technical," said Quenneville. "We don't want to point fingers. When you are trying to match lines, sometimes you're going to be vulnerable to a tough change. Sometimes there's too many men. Sometimes a guy gets a late change coming off the bench as well. So that's all part of it. In a situation like that, I'll take the hit for it."

Norris Trophy finalist Duncan Keith was a little less forgiving. "It shouldn't happen," said Keith. "I'm not really sure what happened or why there was a change there. Sometimes whether it's matchups, or guys are tired, we need to be a little bit smarter when we're changing. At the same time, they made a nice play. I think their D joined the rush there and really created it all."

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-- Andrew Ladd, who has missed the first three games of the Stanley Cup Final, skated on Thursday at Wachovia Center. As he has done throughout, Blackhawks Quenneville said he did not have an update on Ladd, but would discuss him after Chicago's skate on Friday morning. We'll see about that.

-- In an interview with FanHouse TV, TSN analyst Ray Ferraro said he believed young captains Jonathan Toews and Mike Richards were worn down after the long season that included the playoffs. In his press conference on Thursday, Toews said fatigue is a state of mind. "It's not about what your body is going through. It's about what you got in your head and how bad you want it. How many guys are lucky enough to be in this situation where they can play some important games like some of the guys on our team have this year? It's been a lot of fun. It's not about the amount of games that you play. You just keep pushing because you know what's on the line and you know how special it could be if you are lucky enough to win a Stanley Cup. It's worth it in the end."

-- In talking about the inspiration Peter Laviolette brings to the Flyers, forward Daniel Briere acknowledged the coach can be a little, uh, confident. "He's been there before," said Briere. "He's won a Stanley Cup. So we really believe he knows what he's doing and what he's talking about. He's a very good motivator. His speeches are great. He brings a lot of calmness, confidence that is borderline cockiness, which you need. You don't want to cross that line. But you need to be a little bit arrogant and have confidence in your team and your teammates. That's what he brings to the team.

-- The Flyers penalty kill stopped all three of the Blackhawks' power-play chances in Game 3, making Philly 27-for-28 on the kill over the last two rounds. "[Assistant coach] Craig Berube does an excellent job," Laviolette said. "Ultimately, the players have to go out there and run the routes in the system. Really, [there have been] no changes from us [compared to the regular season]. It's just been well-executed so far." The Flyers are successful on the penalty 88% of the time in the playoffs, a rate that's five percentage points more than the regular season when Philly finished 11th overall.

-- As good as the Flyers have been on the penalty kill, they have gone against their aggressive reputation by not taking a whole lot of ill-advised trips to the box. The Flyers have put the 'Hawks on the power play six times through three games, a count that's a little too low for the liking of some Chicago players. "I don't really remember any calls in particular where we should have got a penalty when we didn't," Flyers forward Scott Hartnell said. "You can't slash sticks anymore because they break so easy these days. I think we've been doing a great job of keeping the sticks off their hands. You can look at both sides."

-- The NHL has used replay for nearly two decades, taking some of the human element that Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga knows all too well after he was robbed of a perfect game by a now-infamous blown call. "I think it's a necessary thing," Toews said of the NHL's replay system that was used twice in Game 3. "Why not? You have the technology to get the play right. Obviously, to get the fair outcome, it's what everyone wants."

-- The National Hockey League Players Association announced Thursday the formation of its very own charitable ice cream flavor with Ben & Jerry's. "Caramel Hat Trick" ice cream will be sold across Canada with proceeds going to the NHLPA's Goals & Dreams program to support grassroots hockey programs across the country. "Caramel Hat Trick" is a triple-threat of caramel ice cream with a caramel swirl and fudge-covered caramel chunks.