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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: BLACKHAWKS v LIGHTNINGJune 9, 2015Niklas HjalmarssonBrent SeabrookCHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Practice Day Q. Niklas, this team under Q in playoffs series, Game4 through 7, is really good. Is it getting a better sense of a team, more of a sense of an urgency? Why do you get better as the series goes along? NIKLAS HJALMARSSON: It's a tough answer to question. We always want to start off the series good. I don't know, I just I think it's a thing we have on our team. When the game is on the line, it matters more, we usually find a way to elevate our game a little bit. Hopefully we can do the same thing here in the last couple games. Q. Brent, when Johnny went down very briefly last night and you were rotating kind of five defensemen there, how difficult is that? What is Johnny's value to the blueline? BRENT SEABROOK: Johnny is huge. He's been a huge player for us all season long, last couple years. Rotating five defensemen, we've done it before. I think we got a good group back there that knows how to manage their ice time and play the right way. As it goes for last game, that's what it is. Q. Brent, the scores that happened quickly after you have scored, is there any common factor in them, something you have found that you really need to look at, or is it just mental lapses? BRENT SEABROOK: I don't think so. They got a great team. They come hard and they're able to make a play shortly after we scored last game. We got to be better in situations like that. It's happened a few times throughout the playoffs. You know, in those situations, I think Q said it last night, we want to be out there in those situations and be prepared. Q. Trevor van Riemsdyk, a rookie, what did you think of him last night as a player? NIKLAS HJALMARSSON: It was impressive to see. He hasn't been playing in a long time obviously. Had two pretty big injuries. That was impressive. He made some really, really nice plays and showed patience and calmness with the puck. To just come in like that in the Stanley Cup Finals, play the way he did, was nothing else than impressive. To be honest with you, he had a great game for us. Q. Brent, talking about elevating the game at the most important time of the playoffs. Does that just happen organically or by magic? Is there stuff you actually do when you're in these situations? Is there stuff that actually gets done that allows you to have that success at these moments? BRENT SEABROOK: I don't think there's one thing you can put a finger on. I think, you know, the guys in the room, we want to be out there and win. We want to be out there in those situations and play in big games. For whatever reason, I think we play our best games when our backs are up against the wall. We're focused on tomorrow night's game and looking forward to coming out and having a good start. Q. Brent, you haven't had the lead very much in this series. Does that make it more taxing? Is that making your job more difficult? How does that change your mentality? BRENT SEABROOK: I don't think it changes much. I think we want to continue to play the same way whether we're up, we're tied, or whether we're down. We got to focus on playing our game, having a good start, being prepared. Q. Brent, some of your teammates were saying last night that they felt they really noticed Bishop laboring. When you do see a goaltender that appears to be playing through something, how do you take advantage of that? BRENT SEABROOK: I wasn't paying attention to it as much. I don't know if I just didn't see it or what. You know, I think you want to continue to do the things that we do, get bodies to the net, get pucks there, try to get good looks, get it moving a little bit, shooting pucks. It's pretty much just directing pucks and bodies at the net and trying to make them work in there, trying to make them move. Q. Niklas, about Victor Hedman. What was your reaction when he was left off the Swedish Olympic squad? Secondly, how do you feel he responded to having been left off that team? NIKLAS HJALMARSSON: Great question. Well, I was surprised that he didn't make the team. Obviously he's a good player. I think he's had a tremendous year for them. He's really become an elite defenseman this year. He's been playing great on both sides of the ice defensively and offensively. He's been playing real big minutes for them, coming up with big plays in the playoffs here. Like I said, he's a good player. Q. Brent, Jon Cooper is calling this Victor Hedman's coming out party. Has he opened up eyes in your room? BRENT SEABROOK: I think he's playing great. Hammer said it well. He's a big guy that can skate, move, pass, shoot. He's got all the tools. We don't see him much being out in the west, them in the east. The games we've played against them, most importantly in this series, he's been a big part for them. Q. How do you guard against fatigue, particularly when you're shorthanded like you are right now? NIKLAS HJALMARSSON: I don't understand the question. BRENT SEABROOK: I think just rest. I think just taking care of yourself. It's been a common theme for the last two rounds talking about this. Our trainers do a good job. I'm going to continue to say the same thing. The trainers do a great job of taking care of us. Coaches do a good job of giving us rest when we need it. It's the Stanley Cup Finals. We're excited to be out there. We're looking forward to playing in the games and doing what we can to help our team win. Q. Brent, you said you guys play best when your backs are against the wall. What changes in how you play when you're in that situation? BRENT SEABROOK: I don't know. I don't know. I think that question was asked. You know, you can't really put your finger on it. It's just for whatever reason we got to come out and play the best game of our lives. We've been in those situations before, against Boston, against Anaheim last series. We got to come out and play our best game. Q. How much or how little does it matter who is in goal for the other team? You have said over and over again it doesn't matter who scores. Toews and Kane not scoring, Stamkos not scoring for them, is that a testament to how good these two teams are? BRENT SEABROOK: I don't think to defensemen like us. We're trying to get shots from the point, trying to get shots through. That's sort of our job. Help our forwards out that way. I think as far as those guys you mentioned not scoring, I think both teams are great teams. They're both playing good defensively. They're both obviously watching out for those three guys. Q. Brent, how hard is it to find shooting lanes out there? BRENT SEABROOK: It's tough. It's tough. Anaheim was doing a good job, Minnesota, every team we played. I think both sides do a good job of blocking shots from the point. It's one of those things we got to find lanes and try and get it through. It's tough sometimes, but we got to do a better job with that. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, guys. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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