Sniping quotes highlight NHL conference finals animosity

It was the epitome of the “mic drop” — well, as far as post-game press conferences go.

Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer appeared even keeled at the podium following San Jose’s 6-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final. But when one media member asked what the opposition had done differently to get the better of the Sharks, DeBoer cracked a not-so-kind smile and directed his answer toward Blues coach Ken Hitchcock:

“I’m sure Hitch will tell you he made all kinds of great adjustments and that every one of them worked tonight. Hats off to ‘em.”

Before the question could be rephrased, DeBoer stood up and quickly exited the room.

The exchange between the two coaches has been a highlight of the conference finals portion of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Here are a few more golden quotes from the two series.

“What we’re relying on is the officials to do their job. St. Louis is one of the most penalized teams in the league… They need to call the game accordingly.” —Pete DeBoer after Game 1, via Comcast SportsNet California

DeBoer made it clear that he wasn’t happy with how Game 1 in St. Louis had been officiated, from the lack of punishment for David Backes after he pulled on Joe Thornton’s beard onward.

His critique also reflected that the Sharks wanted more opportunities on the man advantage after their power play, which had been rolling for the better part of the postseason, couldn’t find the back of the net in Game 1.

“We were told not to whine for calls, so we’re not going to whine for calls. If Pete wants to do it…” —Ken Hitchcock’s response, via Comcast SportsNet

Of course, DeBoer couldn’t take a shot at the opposition without Hitchcock getting his two cents in as well. Besides, why would he complain about refs that only penalized his team three times in a hard-hitting Game 1 in which the Blues emerged victorious?

Interestingly enough, St. Louis ended up skating to the sin bin five times in the second tilt of the series, and San Jose was able to capitalize, with Brent Burns notching power-play goals in the Sharks’ 4-0 victory in Game 2.

“If I were Sidney Crosby right now, I’d watch the work ethic that Jonathan Drouin has a nightly basis.” —NBC analyst Jeremy Roenick, via The Washington Post

While the Eastern Conference Final series doesn’t have the coach-on-coach spat, it had one broadcaster’s commentary lighting up social media to the point of almost dethroning the “crying Jordan” meme.

Sure, Crosby hadn’t found the back of the net since Round 1. All the same, Roenick’s blunt comments about the Pens captain were not well-received. Comparing Crosby to the youngster Drouin, who notoriously tried to force Steve Yzerman’s hand during the regular season, probably didn’t help the matter.

So naturally, when Crosby then scored Pittsburgh’s game-winner in overtime — notching the fastest OT goal scored — the jabs at Roenick couldn’t come fast enough.

“You guys (the media) were all over him and then he scores the biggest goal of the year." —Patric Hornqvist, via Chris Johnson of SportsNet on Twitter

The  Pens got wind of Roenick’s criticism of Crosby, and winger Patric Hornqvist wasn’t about to let it slide. Granted, the jab wasn’t directly toward Roenick and covered a broader body of reporters,but it was a great example of how much the Swede has his teammates' backs.

“Quite frankly, what you guys report, it’s really boring… Sending you folks on a wild goose chase is really fun sometimes.” —Ken Hitchcock, via ESPN

While it’s hard to pinpoint any of Hitchcock’s sayings throughout these playoffs as being “the best,” his exchange with the media in St. Louis ahead of Game 5 is a pretty strong candidate.

The Blues’ coach reportedly went on to explain that giving the reporters off-ice banter to write about is a kick for the coaches. In addition, he admitted that his off-ice chirps are good for taking pressure off the players “so they can just play hockey” and that he will seize the opportunity to do so whenever he can.

Who knows how DeBoer will respond to that one.