TALKING POINTS: Bowman & Knoblauch speak before the Stanley Cup Final

Oilers General Manager & Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Stan Bowman and Head Coach Kris Knoblauch spoke to the media on Tuesday afternoon to begin Stanley Cup Final Media Day at Rogers Place.

The executive and coach answered several questions from the media about Knoblauch’s success behind the bench, Bowman's roster construction, the play of Edmonton's blueline and more before the club enters its second straight Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers.

Read the entire transcript and watch the media availability in its entirety below:

Bowman on the role that Knoblauch has played in getting the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year:

“I was watching from afar last year, and I was impressed with Kris just with his knowledge of the game and the way he explains things. I got a chance to meet him when I got here, and I've been incredibly impressed with his job as coach. I don't think he gets enough recognition for the way that he's managed this group through this season. It's been a challenging year at times with injuries, and Kris has been able to manage that group and keep things on track all year long. I think he's done a great job.

"I'm really impressed with the way he handles our players and makes adjustments. I think we view the game in the same way, and when we have conversations about our team, I would say most of the time we're aligned on that. Certainly, that makes it easier, but you don't always agree on everything. But I think he's a really smart guy, so when we talk things through, he always comes up with a game plan to prepare our team.

"I think we wouldn't be here today if it weren't for the job that Kris and the whole staff have done. They've done a tremendous job this year. I've really enjoyed working with them and can't wait to keep it going.”

Knoblauch on how much more confident he feels as coach making his second trip to the Stanley Cup Final:

“I don't know how much it’s different from last year. Maybe just the fact that we're more familiar with it. We know the routine, we know the opponents. There were a lot of unknowns last year. Now that we've been here, we're just a little more, I don't know if I would say comfortable, but we know what the routine is. Do we feel we're a bit stronger, a little more confident? Yeah, maybe. However, we also know that the other team is probably stronger than they were last year, so we're going to have to play our best to give ourselves a chance.

“But as for getting prepared, I think it's just more that we’re familiar with what today [Media Day] is like and what the travel is like, and what it's going to be like going back and forth. That's about it.”

Knoblauch on how to counter Florida’s physical and in-your-face style of play:

“Well, we've got our share of players that like that physicality, too. Certainly, I don't think we're shy of that type of play. Even last year, I think our team is a little bit different than it was, but probably the best way to counter that is just moving the puck well. The longer you hold on to it, the more time they have to get in and finish their checks, so I think it's essential that we move it quickly and precisely. If you're sloppy with the puck, then you're probably chasing the game for most of it. A lot of credit to them. They are a good checking team. They finish their checks quite regularly, and we expect to be hit, but we're not a team that shies away from that. We've played a lot of teams last year and this year throughout the playoffs that like that physicality, and our guys are pretty accepting of it.”

Knoblauch on the work of Brett Kulak since the beginning of the playoffs, especially in the Western Final:

“Brett is a very smart hockey player; a guy that really elevates his game. If you go through our lineup, it's nice to know that there are guys who play better in the playoffs. It's difficult. The game changes a little bit from the regular season to the playoffs, and Brett's a guy that's played better in the playoffs.

“I heard it even before I got to the team, or when I joined the team, before we were in the playoffs last year about how good of a playoff player he is. The previous year, because of injuries or whatever happened, they had to rely on him a lot more. Last year, he was on that third pair, played probably 14-to-16 minutes, and then the playoffs rolled around, and it was a much bigger role. This year, the same thing.

“He played quite a bit during the regular season and then the playoffs, and he continued that in the absence of Mattias Ekholm. We needed more from him, and when I say more from him, he was just on the ice more and was able to play key minutes against key players like Rantanen and Kopitar. Not only that, but playing left side, right side and being very versatile. I think a lot of that is because he is a smart player. He's competitive, but also a tremendous skater. He's able to get around the ice very well, and that mobility has allowed him to check players, top players, whether they're physical or fast. It really helps him.”

Bowman on Stuart Skinner and if he ever had thoughts of bringing in another goalie:

“I think Stuart has a good demeanour for a goalie. He's a pretty easy-going guy, and it's probably the toughest position in sports with the attention that they get. You look up and down the lineup and everyone makes mistakes – forwards and defencemen – but when the goalie does, everyone pays attention. A lot of times, a forward will make a terrible play, and you don't even talk about it because it gets broken up by a defenceman or the goalie makes a save. So I think you have to have that ability to shrug things off, and he's a very even-keeled guy.

“He's had some ups and downs. I think people probably focus more on the downs and the ups. I think our team started slowly in October, but in early November and probably until mid-January, he played really well, and our team was on a roll. Then, you saw what he can do when he comes into the last couple of rounds here. He started in LA, and our team wasn't very good in the first couple of games either. We didn't give him much help, and he wasn't on top of his game. But he was able to shrug that off and he came back in, and we wouldn't be here without him the way he's played.

“I think a lot of the goaltending is the mentality, because mistakes happen and goals are going to happen nearly every game, and the ability for him to deal with that has been impressive.”

Bowman on being around McDavid as he chases greatness by winning a Stanley Cup:

“Well, the first time I talked to Connor, I went to see him in the summer after I started, and all he talked about was, ‘I just want to win the Cup.’ That was it. We didn't talk about anything else, so this is his singular focus.

“He's accomplished everything you could accomplish individually in this sport. He continues to dazzle us. Every game, every round, he makes a difference. Incredibly motivated and driven to win. You run out of superlatives to talk about him as a player and describe what he does on the ice. I think the thing that's equally impressive is the way he is, driving our team with his determination, and there's no one else you want to go to battle with than someone like that. He's our leader.

“Not only is he impressive with what he can do on the ice, but his focus is on driving us, so you could see how bad he wanted it last year when it didn't go Edmonton's way in Game Seven. Right now, he's on a mission. I think as much as you get excited when you win, I've noticed it from even the first round, the second round, and even against Dallas that he's still very focused on us needing four more wins."

Knoblauch on dealing with the Panthers’ forecheck and the importance of defencemen like Walman and Klingberg feeding Edmonton’s transition game:

“I think Vegas was a very big, strong team. They relied on their forecheck maybe a little more. They had a little bit more of a rush team than Florida, but they were a good forechecking team as well. The best way to beat that is with good puck movers, and there's one thing about just having a defenceman who can just get it out of trouble and get it out of the zone. But if we're continually just getting it out of the zone, we're giving the puck back, and then we have to defend, and we just defend, defend, defend. It's not a good recipe.

“You think about the way our team has played, especially our defence, and they’ve been great at moving the puck, especially with the additions that we've had. Fortunately, we made some really good additions thanks to Stan's knowledge of what we needed and the possibility of that depth coming in at an important time in this season. We were never prepared to lose Ekholm, but we were able to play really well as a group because of the additions of Walman, Klingberg and Stetcher playing incredibly well when we needed them. But I think going back to the additions that Stan made through trade and free agency, we’re able to get the puck in our forwards’ hands because we feel our strength is obviously our McDavid and Leon. Our identity is just being a good puck-moving team, and if you don't have the defencemen who can make those good plays and pass the puck up to the forwards, you're not a puck-moving team.

“I think they were great additions having Klingberg and Walman added to our team, which right now, they've been doing a phenomenal job as a group, and now we've just inserted Ekholm back into our lineup. It's been great. We also have another couple of guys that aren't playing right now with Stecher and Emberson that we have a lot of confidence in if we needed them. But just to alleviate that pressure from the forecheck, it usually starts with the back end, and we feel very confident with it.

Knoblauch on Connor Brown’s availability for Game 1 after missing Tuesday’s practice:

“He'll be a game-time decision.”

Bowman on having a good idea of how to improve the Oilers after watching from a distance during last year’s Stanley Cup Final:

“Yeah, I [watched] as a fan. Edmonton's always been such an exciting team to watch, and it was an incredible final last year. Just from a pure hockey perspective, they were intense games. I was watching it through a bit of a different lens.

“I refer back to the month of October, we had a slow start. We weren't playing our best, which happens sometimes. It's hard to get your best game when you were just in the Stanley Cup Final a couple of months earlier, but watching our team early, I felt that that was the one area we weren't as good as I thought we needed to be in helping our forwards out. I do think Kris just referenced it – the strength of our team is that we've got some really talented offensive forwards, and they do their best work when they have the puck in transition.

“It reminded me a lot of the successful teams I saw in Chicago, and I think similarly we had great forwards there – Hossa, Kane, Toews, Sharp and it goes down the list – but I think the thing that really made that team go was Keith and Seabrook on the back end. They probably never got the proper recognition for their role, and even Johnny Oduya and Hjalmarsson. We had four defencemen who were all really good at not only defending, but helping support the offensive side of it, and I felt we didn't have enough early on in the season, so that was sort of our goal.

“We still did a good job of winning games, but you look ahead to the playoffs and you think, ‘If we want to be able to withstand really good teams for four rounds, you're going to have to support your forwards probably a little better than we were at the time,’ and that's what ended up working out.

“So far, it's worked well.”