Quenneville gets $10,000 fine for comments

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville got his money's worth in his postgame comments Sunday.

The NHL fined Quenneville $10,000 on Monday for ripping referees Marc Joannette and Kevin Pollock following the Hawks' 6-1 loss to the Red Wings in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

Quenneville called the roughing penalty on Matt Walker at the end of the first period probably the worst call in the history of sports. Quenneville also blamed Joannette and Pollock for ruining a good game.

Quenneville on Monday didn't want to dwell on his comments.

"What happened, happened," Quenneville said. "We want to move on. I know that what I said yesterday, it's over with and done with. We'll handle what we're going to be facing on Wednesday."

Quenneville denied trying to take the heat off his team's poor play with his comments.

"I think after games, sometimes you're more emotional than other games," he said. "We have a young team. We've overcome a lot. The nice thing about our group, we seem to just move on and handle the next challenge. We obviously have a huge challenge ahead of us.

"So that's what's good about our group. (Tuesday) when we all get in here for practice, fly to Detroit, we got an extra day here to recapture some enthusiasm. And knowing what we've got to face is a gigantic task."

Sammy Pahlsson said the players felt Quenneville had their back after the loss.

"Everyone's got to do their role. That's how it is," Pahlsson said. "Maybe sometimes he tries to help in different ways. It might be good for us. We need everyone to help out. If the coach can help out when he's off the ice, why not?"

Evaluating Huet: Joel Quenneville was asked Monday to assess Cristobal Huet's play in Game 4.

"Huey was fine," Quenneville said. "The second (goal, by Johan Franzen) was a tough one. At the same time he did a good job the game before. We got him playing in the third to get him some playing time, get him feeling good about himself going forward.

"He's been effective for us all year, been a big part of our team."

Injury update: The way Joel Quenneville sees injuries, it's more important for Nikolai Khabibulin to practice Tuesday than Martin Havlat if they hope to play Wednesday in Game 5.

"For goalies, you like them to have some work," Quenneville said. "You've got a better indication to know they're game-ready. It's tough not being on the ice for three, four, five days, then play a game.

"We'll see if he skates (Tuesday). If he doesn't skate, we'll see on the morning skate (Wednesday). There is that possibility. I don't want to rule him out if he doesn't skate (Tuesday)."

One and done: Wednesday's Game 5 is the first elimination game the Hawks have faced.

"I think the thing we have to do now is focus on the first game, on the next game coming up," Sammy Pahlsson said. "We can't try to think about the game coming up after that. We have to do it right now. The first period coming in, the first shift, that's where our focus has got to be."