Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville spoke with media Wednesday prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final.
The two-time Cup champ answered questions about his banged up defensive unit, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane possibly playing on the same line, the high-powered Lightning offence and more.
Below is a transcript courtesy of the NHL and ASAP Sports.
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS: | Broadcast Schedule
Rogers GameCentre LIVE | Stanley Cup Playoffs Fantasy Hockey
New Sportsnet app: iTunes | Google Play
Q. Coach, I’m guessing you’re going with the same defensive setup as Game 7?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: Yeah, very likely.
Q. As far as Trevor van Riemsdyk, where does he sit? Any possibility of him playing?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: Not playing today, but he’s real close. We asked could he play today. He’s sitting there. He’s that close. We expect a very good chance he’s going to be in the series.
Q. Is it strange at all to have a storied defenseman like Timonen to be in the sort of difficult situation he’s been in in the playoffs?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: I think when we acquired him, we knew he was depth. He hadn’t played in a while. He got to play regularly for us. His minutes obviously weren’t very high. I thought he gave us a steady influence there down the stretch. I think in the playoffs, as well. We feel on the back end his minutes as we went along here were okay. An opportunity in Game 6, we made a change. The results were good. I think that’s part of the decision where we’re at today. Not easy for him. But he’s a great pro. I think he wants to play, wants to play more. Very understandable.
Q. Going back to Van Riemsdyk, you said there’s a chance he’s going to play. Do you have any hesitation putting a guy in that hasn’t played since November?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: We saw firsthand what he was able to do when he came into training camp. Surprised us all how well he played, how effective and efficient he is. We’ve been skating him in practice every day. One of his strengths is his reads, positionally aware, decision making with the puck. He’s got a lot of attributes that can help our team. I think he came onto the scene rather fast for us. I think we have a lot of confidence and trust in him.
Q. Kane and Toews, is that something you want to not keep together or is it something you hope to keep together for a series and see how it goes?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: Tough to forecast long-term on that. Last two games, they were so good together, it’s tough to get them apart now. We’ll see how the game goes matchup-wise. Certainly have some balance if you get them apart. Together, pretty dynamic the last two games. We’ll visit that, how the games are going, how the matchup is.
Q. Can you overthink it?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: Overthink it would be breaking them up, is that what you’re saying (laughter)? We’ll see.
Q. Joel, I know you only faced Tampa a couple times a year. What do you think of the Johnson line? Pretty successful these playoffs.
COACH QUENNEVILLE: They’ve been great. As good as any line that’s been all year. Pretty quick, dangerous off the rush. A lot of trickery, movement, anticipation between the three. I think that’s a primary concern going in. You got to be aware of Stamkos and his line, as well. But I think their rush game is something you have to contend with. That line particularly leads the charge.
Q. You began putting Brad Richards on the top power play unit last series. Have you found it to be more effective with him there?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: Couple games there where we scored a couple goals, very timely goals. I think it helped our power play in those games. Coming off the last game where he had good play-making decisions at the point, some tight areas, sustained it. Things materialized. He’s got some good opportunities with Toews, Kaner, Shawsy, Dunks. You have options. On a need basis, we made a change and it clicked immediately.
Q. When another team goes 11-7 in terms of their lineup, how does it affect you matchup-wise? Does it make it more difficult?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: We’ll see. If it turns into a three-line game or four-line game, that is something you keep your eye on, are aware of. I still think the strength of our team is our depth and the four-line rotation is what we look for. Your top guys generally get more ice time anyways. But, you know, he’s probably going to be double shifting a guy or two, keeping a four-line rotation. But we’ll see on that.
Download Sportsnet magazine now: iOS | Android | Windows
