Quenneville started early, never stopped getting messages to players

It was the most controversial part of a Blackhawks season becoming more special every day. On Oct. 16, after just four games, Denis Savard was fired as coach and replaced by Joel Quenneville.

The decision puzzled many because of the timing, but general manager Dale Tallon explained that the organization felt more experience was needed behind the bench.

It's hard to knock the move now with Quenneville set to lead the Hawks into the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1995.

The next day at practice, Patrick Kane wept while talking to reporters about Savard's dismissal. Now even Kane admits the change has worked out for the best.

"Obviously at that time it was pretty tough on guys like myself, but you look at it now and I think it looks like it was the right move for the organization," Kane said Wednesday. "He brings a lot of experience for us and has won a lot of games as a head coach.

"One of the things is he really knows what he's doing behind the bench when he puts lines out there and the matchups he's trying to get. The other night (in Game 6 against Vancouver), they ice the puck and usually maybe a coach would come back with the top line.

"But we put our so-called fourth line out there with Burish, Eager and Sharp, and they wind up scoring a goal. He does a lot of things like that."

With no disrespect to Savard, who took the Hawks within 3 points of the playoffs last season, this trip to the conference finals likely wouldn't be happening if not for Quenneville pushing all the right buttons.

First and foremost, Quenneville made the Hawks a better team defensively, putting more structure in their game on the defensive side of the puck to the point where they were the fifth in the NHL during the regular season.

"Their defensive game is strong," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "Their structure without the puck is as good as I've seen."

During the first round against Calgary, Hawks senior adviser Scotty Bowman pointed to the improvement defensively as the chief reason for the Hawks' strong 104-point regular season.

"You can have a high-scoring team, but if you don't keep the puck out of your net with some regularity, it's tough to win," Bowman said.

What Quenneville did was get many of the Hawks' offensive-minded forwards - such as Martin Havlat, Dave Bolland, Kris Versteeg and Patrick Sharp - to buy into the concept of defense first. Havlat, for example, was plus-29 during the regular season and Bolland plus-19.

"I think what was important right off the bat, the one thing we tried to work on and concentrate on was how we played in our own end," Quenneville said. "I think our defensive zone coverage was something we wanted to make sure was a stabilizing point for us and foundation for us in our team game.

"I thought the guys were receptive to the commitment of playing in our own end because I always felt this team was capable of scoring at a high rate. You win with defense and you get your offense from how hard you check.

"To win in this league you have to have a rhyme or reason how you check and how well you play in your own end. Otherwise you're going to be either in the penalty box or giving up goals. The more responsible you are to playing in your own end, the more you're going to be out of it.

"We place an emphasis on if we don't have the puck let's get it back."

Queneville also emphasized being a team relentless on the attack, demanding that his defensemen get pucks to the net with the forward causing traffic. All coaches want to play this way, but Quenneville's teams do it.

Quenneville expertly handled a tricky goaltending situation with Nikolai Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet splitting time. He also nurtured the youngest team in the NHL.

"He's been awesome for us," Brent Seabrook said. "He's done a great job of keeping things loose and letting the players do their own thing. He works us hard and makes sure we take care of ourselves, but he lets us have fun and enjoy ourselves, which is good because we have such a young team."

This is Quenneville's 10th time in the playoffs in 12 seasons as an NHL head coach but only his second trip to the conference finals. He took St. Louis there in 2001.

"I think from Day One, when coach Quenneville came in, we respected the fact he had a lot of experience," captain Jonathan Toews said. "He's just a great guy, and I think he understands the lifestyle away from the rink.

"He has a lot of respect for his players and I think in return the players respect him too and pretty much understand and take in everything he says. I think that's the biggest reason we've learned so much from him and play so well in front of him."

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