There were a lot of people who woke up this morning wondering if last night’s 6-5 Blackhawks win really happened, including the players and coaches who were a part of it. The crazy goal fest was not exactly what most were expecting to see how of these two teams. After getting a night to let the events sink in both teams took to the media today.
The Bruins stayed in Boston and practiced at the TD Garden before heading to Chicago. Head coach Claude Julien said they have moved on from the Game 4 loss and are preparing for the next game. “Our mood is fine” he added when asked how the team was doing. Julien said the Bruins need to work on their neutral zone game. “So when we talk about neutral zone, we’re not talking about closing a game up and seeing a boring game. We’re talking about doing something so that we can regain possession of the puck. And when we regain possession of the puck, we want to get that puck moving in the right direction so we can get a good pace to our game.” Julien finished his press conference adding his thoughts on the pace of the game; “I don’t think any coach likes the back and forth exchanging chances. Although it’s exciting for the fans, you’re looking for some zone time. You want to be in the offensive zone a lot longer spend more time there. If you do, you get a chance to score. That also it means the other team has less time in your own end.”
The Blackhawks flew home after the game last night and did not skate today. Unfortunately, some of the reporters must listen to the meatballs on sports radio and Twitter because the actually asked Q if he ever thought of putting in Ray Emery. “No, we’re very comfortable with Corey. Corey has been rock solid all year for us, and when he’s got the ball, he’s been outstanding, and he’s the biggest reason why we’re here today.” Pretty sad that these questions are still being asked. As regards to Nick Leddy, Q really didn’t explain too much. He said they were waiting for the game to unfold and looking for certain match ups. “Later in the game we didn’t go to him too much, but we’ll definitely visit with him as we go along here before the next game.” Q spoke about their success against Zdeno Chara in Game 4. “I thought we did a much more effective job of getting to the net last night. That’s something that we have to do, and I think we should be more prioritized with getting in front of the goalies than worrying about Chara.”
Brad Marchand marveled at the pace the Blackhawks set to open a game. “It’d be nice if, for once, we put the pressure on them to start the game and kind of turn things around.” Goaltender Tuukka Rask gave his thoughts on how the Blackhawks exposed his game on Wednesday. “I don’t know. I mean they got a lot of traffic. They got those rebounds too. I mean I try to control everything, but sometimes it doesn’t happen. I think everybody just has to be better.”
Brent Seabrook was asked to talk about his knack for scoring big overtime goals and had this to say about it: “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.” Biscuit was also quick to sing the praises of Nick Leddy. “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.” When asked about his play on the top line Bryan Bickell had this to say; “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 Kane is dishing and shooting and doing his outside work.”
Jonathan Toews wasted no time this afternoon talking about Seabrook’s leadership and a budding bromance. “Probably one of the louder guys before the game in the locker room, in between periods. He’s always getting the guys going. I think that’s part of his ritual to get himself going, that he wants to be vocally involved and just get that positive feeling, that excited feeling going for the boys. Obviously he’s tried to do the same for me. It was a big night for the two of us last night.” Toews, just like Q, had thoughts on the Boston captain; “He’s not a guy that we should be afraid of. We should go at him, protect the puck from him, make plays around him and through him. We use our speed.” When asked about Leddy’s reduced minutes Tazer added; “That’s a huge sacrifice that guys like that have to make for our team, and we know mentally they’re going to be ready, and those sacrifices aren’t going unnoticed by their teammates.” When asked how he felt about feeling the puck go in the net off his stick Jonathan said; “Just wanted a lucky one, and that was it.”
Both teams will take to the United Center ice for practice on Friday. Game 5 is set for Saturday night in the Madhouse. Going to be a long extra off day, but both sides will benefit from the additional 24 hours of rest.