April 8 postgame quotes: Chicago

Joel Quenneville, on closing out the regular season:
Yeah, yeah, I think that our last two games we did some decent things. Would’ve been nice to win today but we put ourselves in a position we wanted at the start of the year. That was the motivation, just try to be first in our division and we’ve got the confidence but that’s a lot of hard work and there was some ups and downs along the way but we had a stretch here at the end where, I don’t know how many games, where [inaudible] was sealed so it was almost like, ‘Ok.’ Let’s get ready to play for keeps and we’ll find out, who knows if we’ll find out tonight or not.

Quenneville, on Panarin’s goal:
Yeah, a great pass by Kaner and it was a big goal. Big time for a goal as well. So I think it might turn out ok.

Quenneville, on whether he feels “pretty fortunate” to be entering the playoffs with a healthy roster:
Yeah tough to comment on that stuff because we know the depth’s always going to get challenged and tested and hopefully we have a lot of options there but we don’t like touching that question too much.

Jonathan Toews, on not being able to close out the Kings in the third period:
…I think our motivation was right in front of us. Obviously we wanted to find a way to get that win in that sense but at the same time, just be able to play smart and protect the lead. There’s no reason why we gave up a couple chances like that against late in games.

Toews, on whether he feels like the Blackhawks are in a good position at the end of the season:
Absolutely. I think that energy, that ambition, that motivation is back. We have that feeling again that every single moment, every single game matters. It’s a lot of fun to play this time of year so it’s why we work all year, to get to this point, and as we’ve said in the past, the real season begins. Obviously we want to see what we’re made of and I think we’re all pretty confident with what we’re able to do. Whether you’re a new guy and you haven’t been to the playoffs or you have limited experience or maybe even part of those teams in the past that have had success in this locker room. I think everyone wants to get back to playoff hockey.

Toews, on being able to get through the last week as a healthy team:
Yeah, it’s great. We’ll get Hammer and Anisimov back and guys that are maybe getting a little bit of mental and physical rest the last couple games, too. So regardless of the results the last few games here on the road I think we like where our team’s at. We like how everyone’s feeling. Like I said, we’re excited to go forward next week.

Toews, on an perceived change in the energy around the team before the playoffs:
For sure, it’s a lot of fun. Even getting a chance to watch some of the other series’ and see how teams match up and just the energy in every crowd. We’re looking forward to feeling that at the United Center and just getting back to it. And like I said, it’s what we play for and there’s no time to waste. We’ll get as ready as we can this week and jump right in.

Toews, on whether he changes his rest and recovery routine in the playoffs:
There’s no doubt in that sense. Every day is a sprint. You’re doing everything you can to feel 110% or the best you can the next game. Whereas during the season, it’s almost, if you’re dedicating every single day, five, six, eight hours – whatever it is to recovery, it gets a little tedious. It gets maybe a little mentally exhausting but I think in the playoffs you’re willing to do whatever it takes and that not only includes every game but obviously what you’re doing between games.

Corey Crawford, on whether it’s time to “flip the page” for the Blackhawks:
Yeah, I mean, that was a great game by us to get the right habits to get in there. I mean, tough finish, but this team’s going to be excited. We still don’t know who we’re playing so we’ve got a few days to figure that out.

Crawford, on how he would evaluate the Blackhawks regular season:
It was pretty good I would say. Finished first in the West so we have home ice and, I mean, you can’t ask much more than that, I would say. I thought our top guys did the job all year and scored a lot of key goals at key times. It was a great, great season by us. We’ve just got to build off that and have a good start here.

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