Courtesy of the NHL and FastScripts, here is what Jonathan Toews and Hawks' coach Joel Quenneville are saying before tonight's Game 2 of the Chicago/LA series:
JONATHAN TOEWS
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Jonathan.
Q. With Bryan Bickell playing with you and Hossa, looked like it
went well for you?
JONATHAN TOEWS: Yeah, we played games together against Detroit, too.
He's a big body and he knows where to go. He creates space. Made a nice
play on Hossa's goal. I think we're working well right now. We kind of
have the physical element with him running around and hitting guys.
The three of us together, we're getting some good scoring chances, as
well.
Q. What are you expecting from the Kings tonight? Talk about not
having a day between games.
JONATHAN TOEWS: It's the same thing for both teams. The way Detroit
came back in the last round, we know L.A. is going to do the same and
they're going to be much better than they were last night. We'll be ready
for that.
Q. Back to Bryan Bickell, he says the biggest improvement he's made
in his game has been his consistency. What else have you noticed in his
maturation?
JONATHAN TOEWS: I think that's certainly a huge part. I think just
the way he thinks the game, he makes smart plays, he keeps things simple
when he has to I think he realizes more and more. He's got the confidence
as a player to make some moves, make some nice passes. But more and more
he's understanding, especially in these playoffs, there's some situations
where less is more. You just have to keep it simple, get the puck deep.
His work ethic is there every single night. You're seeing with the
ability he has, the physical presence that he has, a lot of ways that he's
noticeable as a player out there.
He scored some big goals for us, laid some big hits. He's
contributing in a lot of little ways as well.
Q. Why have you been successful in back-to-backs and how is this
different?
JONATHAN TOEWS: I don't know. I think we're just happy that we're
going to get into more of a routine in this series, we're going to be
playing more often. I'm sure they want to bounce back and be better than
they were last night.
I think we have room for improvement off of Game 1, as well. We're
excited to have a chance to get right back into it.
Again, to make any comparisons to the regular season never really
means a whole lot to us. We have to be ready to work and be better
tonight.
Q. You talk about the difference between Game 1 and 2 of the Detroit
series. Do you think a team learns from past experiences?
JONATHAN TOEWS: Like I said, a lot of it has to do with the other
team improving their play. We got to know that having these first two
games at home is an advantage. We have to use that.
I think we played pretty good. We did some good things as a team
last night. But we have to build off of it. We have to not be satisfied
with being up 1-0. We want to keep control of the series.
These home games are huge. We didn't really do that in the last
series. We kind of put ourselves in a tough spot. That's something we can
learn from.
Q. Do you expect things to get nastier quicker?
JONATHAN TOEWS: For sure. We know it's going to be a physical
series. That's what we expect from them. They're a team that wants to
win. They're willing to do whatever it takes. We have to be the same way.
For the most part we want to be smart and stay out of the stuff after
the whistle. That gets nothing done for us. We'll continue doing that.
Q. On that note, that hit late in the game, because it was so late
by Dustin Brown, any other effects? Did you have any issues with that hit
on you?
JONATHAN TOEWS: I don't really know how late it was.
Q. Final minute.
JONATHAN TOEWS: Yeah, yeah, but we know that he's going to be
looking for stuff like that. Just got to be aware of it.
I think they were maybe a little frustrated we were moving the puck
around the outside without even two minutes left to go in the game, just
trying to kill time on the power-play. I kind of expect him to do
something like that.
We have to be aware of what they're going to try and be physical on
us.
Q. You played with Doughty and Richards at the Olympics. Did you
gain any knowledge now that you're playing them in a playoff series?
JONATHAN TOEWS: You know they're competitors, there's a reason why
they're leaders on their team. They're a huge reason they've been
successful this year in the playoffs. Obviously winning a Stanley Cup last
year.
There's no coincidence there. They're guys that want to win.
They're not going to be ripping up the stat sheet all year during the
regular season. When it's time to play those gritty, hard-nosed games in
the playoffs, they're there every single night.
Those are guys you have to find a way to out-compete.
Q. Hossa had the goal on the deflection. How good is he at that
particular move?
JONATHAN TOEWS: Not a whole lot he can't do. He went to the front
of the net, got his stick on one just like that. He can make things
happen. Great shot by Dunks. Hossa's stick is on the ice, you give him
the puck, you never know what he can do with it. He'll always come up with
something.
He goes to the front of the net, big body. Goalie can't see it.
He's got a great stick. It's going to go in.
Thanks.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports
An interview with:
COACH JOEL QUENNEVILLE
THE MODERATOR: Questions for coach.
Q. Coach, obviously with the quick turnaround, how do you gauge your
guys' feeling today, and how much easier is it coming into a back-to-back?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: We haven't had many lately. We'd like to win the
games closer together throughout the year when we did have it in some of
the rounds here.
Back-to-back games, we want to make sure we don't take anything for
granted. We want to make sure we get off to a strong start and utilize
everybody early in the game and set a faster pace than we did yesterday.
Q. How important was that lesson you learned in the last series?
Relatively simple Game 1, then they came back.
COACH QUENNEVILLE: Well, I still think we're trying to get to that
level of consistency of our team game. Let's get to where we have to be
come playoff time. I thought the first round things came relatively easy
for us. Seemed like in the first game against Detroit.
Starting Game 3 and 4 in Detroit, I still liked the way we played. I
think we've gotten better every game. We captured the playoff intensity
that's needed. We need to improve to try to improve off of last game's
efforts.
Q. A lot of big hits on both sides. Do you think it will escalate
quickly?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: I think you want to make sure you're playing hard
within the whistles. We want to be smart with the physicality, make sure
we bring it. We expect a hard forechecking game. We want to make sure
we're smart and disciplined and staying out of the box is priority.
Q. Considering how much of a north-south team LA has a reputation
for, what were you doing so successfully that was forcing them into
east-west tactics in the first period?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: I thought we advanced the puck well. I thought
we got some pucks in their zone there. I thought we got on the forecheck,
had some offensive zone time, puck possession in that area.
If you can make a team play defense, you can draw either penalties,
chances or shots.
With him, sometimes you're going to need more than that to get to
him. But I think that's going to be a work in progress.
Q. Hard hits, has the organization or Dave heard from the league
about the hit on Richards?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: I don't know anything about that.
Q. When did you as a coach find Fro and Krueger were going to be so
successful?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: I think it was experience from the first game of
the season. These guys carve out a niche for themselves, get more ice
time, get these guys involved. They seemed to hit it off right off the
bat. They have some quickness, anticipate well together. Starting to
communicate a little bit more right from the outset.
When we got them on the first, third and sometimes fifth rotation of
a PK, they relish that extra ice time. Took quality ice time away from our
top guys, but helped in the five-on-five play.
They've been a real nice fit for us. Since day one, it's been
positive for everyone.
Q. Joel, at what point did you realize or start to see that Bickell
could become this kind of player?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: Five years ago when he was called up. We played
him with Toews and Kaner that year. Might have been four years ago, sorry,
when he first got called up. We gave him a little bit more opportunity
with the Nashville series, played a little bit. There's ability there.
You like his size, his speed. He can shoot and be physical.
He's got all the elements that you look for in a power forward.
Putting it all together has been a process.
Thank you.
*
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