Blackhawks' Joel Quenneville: 'The Appetite Is Real'
By Chris Emma--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Blackhawks' success late in a postseason series has been well documented. Under coach Joel Quenneville, Chicago is 42-14 in Games 4-7 of a series and 8-0 in Game 6 close-outs.
Of course, the greatest illustration of this remarkable ability hangs in the United Center's rafters -- two championship banners for this core of Blackhawks, who can add a third with "2015" stitched in it with a win against the Lightning in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night.
"The appetite is real," Quenneville said Monday morning.
How is it possible for the Blackhawks to maintain such success when the games matter most? Why are they at their best toward the end of each series?
It's easy to point to leadership and skill, but it's also because of the way their knowledge of each foe increases as the series go on.
"We get to know them better every game we play against them," Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen said.
Tampa Bay entered this Stanley Cup Final as a relative unknown for Chicago. The two teams met just twice during the regular season -- customary for inter-conference matchups -- and split the decisions.
What the Blackhawks did know is that the Lightning could move. They're aggressive on the attack and even more so with the forecheck. But as the series has played out, Chicago has found ways to improve its offensive attack and figured where Victor Hedman is going to be positioned on the ice.
Familiarity becomes a constant as these two teams continue to match so evenly throughout a best-of-seven series.
"I'm not going to say it gets easier," Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya said. "But there are some tendencies you may see, there may be some plays they've tried a couple more times that are a little bit tougher in Games 1 and 2. But it goes both ways."
When standing before cameras and microphones, the Blackhawks constantly tout their experience. In part, they're referring to in-series experience.
Quenneville's line overhaul prior to Game 4 shouldn't have come as a surprise, as it's something he has often pulled in an tightly contested series. It's why he has rotated between Bryan Bickell and Kris Versteeg or plugged in Trevor van Riemsdyk and Kimmo Timonen. As these games play out, Quenneville has learned to adjust his team for the better.
Surely, Quenneville's tremendous track record serves as a credit to those moves.
"Joel has done an incredible job of I think just gauging where we're at throughout some of these series," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "Knowing what our team needs to do, what look we need to change as far as matchups or lineup combinations, things like that. I think he identifies things that will make us stronger going into the later games in the series."
Experience matters, but there's more to the Blackhawks' success late in a postseason series.
This core of Blackhawks clinched the Stanley Cup in 2010 and 2013 with victories in Game 6 and are now attempting to do it for a third time.
Follow Chris on Twitter @CEmma670.
