Quenneville Demands More Tenacity, Hints at Lineup Changes

Throughout the Stanley Cup Final, Joel Quenneville (right) has said little during his daily press conferences. At times, the media has come to expect so little from Quenneville, his briefings have only lasted for four or five questions. On Saturday at the United Center, the day after his Blackhawks lost Game 4 in Philadelphia and day a before they host Game 5 in Chicago with the series tied 2-2, the head coach opened up a little more than usual.

Based on your expectations of your team, where do you think you are for the first four games of the Series?

Quenneville: I think we have had stretches where we know we can be better. I thought the first game was one of those games where there's a Finals jittery-type of game. But I thought we progressed in the second game. Had some good stretches in Games 3 and 4, but not to the level we need to be effective. I think there's another level for us to get to. And I think it starts more in the battle areas and having the puck more.

You spent some time in the third period mixing up your lines. It seemed to have some positive effects. You generated some offense and skated well. Will you go that way early in Game 5?

Quenneville: We'll look at the line combinations as we go into tomorrow's game. We might make some adjustments as far as who is who.

Series tied, 2-2
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Would you like to see this team get back to playing with the kind of altitude they had in Games 2, 3, 4 against Vancouver? Kind of more brash, in-your-face type of thing?

Quenneville: I think that is kind of what I just said about the battle areas. I think we can be more tenacious in there, and I know we've been taking more than our share of penalties. It doesn't mean we have to be undisciplined by being more competitive in the puck areas and winning more of our puck battles. I think that goes with why they are a little more effective in having more power plays than us. But certainly I think we have to draw penalties by how competitive we are in the puck areas.

Antti Niemi said he's actually trying to be the quietest guy in the room. What can you tell me about his demeanor? What's he like off the ice, and why has he been so successful in these playoffs?

Quenneville: I think that's his demeanor. He quietly goes about his business, worries about what he has to worry about -- stopping the next puck or getting ready for the next game and not bringing too much attention to himself. That's just the way he is. He's a very likable teammate, a fun guy to have around. It's a situation where you have to commend him, how he's approached these playoffs and how he has progressed and how he's handling the Finals.

Would it be a mistake to think of a couple of the turnovers by Hjalmarsson are isolated incidents and flukes? Or are there reasons behind it because of the way the Flyers play and you have to adjust?

Quenneville: In the first period I thought "generous" would probably be a way of describing all three goals. You can say all four goals in the game against us were uncharacteristic of the type of goals we gave up all year. So it was -- you look at those isolated incidents and it's like a big factor. We have to be stronger in those areas.

Did you split up Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to try to get one away from Chris Pronger, and did you like how it worked in the end?

Quenneville: I thought there was more pressure in their zone. Whether it's a difference of them being concerned with a couple of different lines, that might be something we'll be looking at. But I thought it was a little more effective in the third period.

Do you think going into Game 5, your concern is more strategically or psychologically with the guys in the room?

Quenneville: I think, technically, there are adjustments we'll look at. Going into every game there's some variances in all areas of what we're trying to do in all zones. But I think the excitement of the game, the motivation that's in place, the excitement of being in the United Center tomorrow is in place. I don't think we have to tweak too much. It's a battle going forward, and we have to raise our level.

As a coach, making lineup changes, are you a patient guy?

Quenneville: When you're winning, I think I'm very patient. When you come off a couple of games like that, you look at doing different things. I think as we've gone along all year we're not afraid to mix it up. We have a lot of options at forward. A lot of guys can play with each other and it gives you some versatility. You always want your top guys out there in key situations.

He's not the only one struggling right now, but with Patrick Kane, what's your approach with him in terms of sitting down with him today or do you leave him alone? How do you usually deal with him when he's struggling a bit?

Quenneville: With Kane, you have a pretty good sense of him -- how he's approaching in-between game days and in the morning skates and going into games. I think we have a good rapport as a staff with him, making sure he's ready and getting the most out of him that we can. He's a competitive guy and he wants to be the best he can be. We expect him to move forward in this series and welcome the challenge.

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At the start of the series there was a lot of talk about Dustin Byfuglien and Pronger. He's gone from being the dominant player to looking like a timid guy. I don't want to say intimidated, but timid compared to the last series. What advice can you give him? What is he supposed to do differently against a guy like Pronger in the series, because so far it hasn't gone well.

Quenneville: Whether it's Buff against Pronger, whoever is against Pronger, I think that's something we'll see if that will be a matchup going forward. I still think we have some versatility as far as who is going to be against him or something they have to consider as well. We still want to be hard against him. We still want to make him turn and make him play defensive and make him play from the back end. He is what he is. We have to be more physical and we have to be
harder on him and make it tougher.

Can you talk about the decision to play Nick Boynton and why you went there and what he brings to the team?

Quenneville: Nicky, we liked his arrival to our team. He gives us some bite. He gives us some personality. His positioning is strong. His anticipation is high-end. I thought he played a very good game. Great off the bat in the Finals, he looked like he belongs. I think going forward, Nick took advantage of a great situation and we just like the way he practices and waiting and waiting and all of a sudden he got his chance and did a good job.

In each of the last two games you gave up a goal shortly after scoring a goal and losing the momentum. Is there anything you can do differently in the way of focus on those shifts?

Quenneville: Well, I think the critical goal yesterday was the third goal. Made it 2-1 last minute of the period. You can't give up that type of goal at that time. So certainly it's something we address, key shifts in games, be it last minute of periods, after goals. Could have been the factor in winning or losing the game. Those shifts we should all welcome being out on that ice, taking pride in it and getting the job done. Throughout the year that's something that we've been very effective at.

He plays limited minutes, but the team is 13-2 with Adam Burish in the lineup in the playoffs, 1-4 without him. Is that
telling in any way to you? And does that impact you going forward knowing that?

Quenneville: It's tough to measure something like that. Burish is a big part of our team. He's a big part of the group as far as bringing some excitement and energy to our game. He's a factor. You have to make tough decisions. (Andrew Ladd) coming back, I thought he played a good game. You could argue for every single guy, but I think at the end of the day we always make all the considerations that gives us our best chance. We'll visit with whatever we have to do to get the best lineup.