SAN JOSE -- The Sharks held an optional practice Tuesday morning, just hours before they face the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals (10 p.m. ET, VERSUS, TSN, RDS).
Some players opted out of the skate, including Dany Heatley, who spoke to the media inside the Sharks' dressing room at HP Pavilion.
Q: Eighty-five shots total in the first game. Would you be surprised if you saw the same thing in Game 2?
Heatley: No. I think you have two offensive teams that really like to shoot the puck.
Q: Do you still have the fire burning in your stomach at this point of your career?
Heatley: That's always there each time you get to the playoffs. You realize how hard it is to get a chance to do it. To get through each and every round is a tough battle. We feel we have a real good chance this year with a real good group of guys.
Q: What do you expect the Sharks to do differently in Game 2?
Heatley: Not much change in our game. Maybe a little bit better attention to detail. I think we can do some things against them in the neutral zone and in the offensive zone. But I thought, overall, we played a real good hockey game (in Game 1) and we had our chances to win. Tonight it's attention to detail, get as many pucks to (Chicago goalie Antti Niemi) as we can and that hasn't changed for us all playoffs.
Q: Now that you've had a chance to face Antti Niemi (Cristobal Huet played all four games against the Sharks this year) what are your impressions of him?
Heatley: He played well the first game. Obviously he's a big guy. Similar to a lot of big butterfly guys, takes away the bottom well. We got to make real good shots to beat him.
Q: Coach Todd McLellan was quick to defend you Monday when he was asked about your lack of scoring in the postseason, just 2 goals. Does it make you feel good to know he's supporting you and your line with Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau?
Heatley: He's been great all year; he's shown a lot of faith in us. Obviously our job is to produce and score goals and put up numbers and that's what we got to do.
Follow Dave Lozo on Twitter: @DLozoNHL
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