Courtesy of KingsVision, here is the formal presser with Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, and Jonathan Quick.
It’s all well worth watching, but here are a few quotes I found most interesting.
Brown on what the Kings need to do to have success:
“We have big strong forwards that like to get in on the forecheck, and I think that’s a big key to our success. And the challenge that Chicago poses is they’ve got some big guys on their team, and they also rely on their speed and quickness. So for us to be successful in our physical aspect of games, we need to put pucks into good spots, and make it hard — they got a lot of good puck moving defensemen who can maneuver really well back there, so it’s a matter of ultimately putting pucks in the right spot.”
Kopitar on whether they have ever faced a team as “fast and skilled” as the Hawks before:
“…It’s not gonna change a whole lot to what we have to do to make us successful. As Brownie was saying before, we still want to be a physical team. We still want to put pucks in good places where we can forecheck, and at the end of the day, spend as much time in their zone as we can, and make them defend.”
Kopitar on what Stoll coming back would mean for the team:
He’s been our best faceoff guy all year, so that’s another strength…and on the PK, and even on PP if he does play. It gives us a righthanded faceoff man that we didn’t have when he went down. We did have Trevor for a little bit, and he’s been great, but getting Jarret back — again, if he does come back — [he’s] a valuable penalty killer, too.”
Sutter and Lombardi
Sutter on whether this boils down to the Kings’ size countering the Hawks’ speed:
“Their size, if you actually look at it, their lineup that they had last game and the lineup that we had last game–is identical. Their size is the same, so I guess we. Q: How do you deal with that? “Use our size. [Laughter] I mean, everybody’s fast, and everybody’s big. …I think both teams got to this point because they have some size and they have some speed.”
I also love how Sutter cracks up in laughter at the nonsense question on style and so-called lack of “attractiveness.”
“Well, I don’t really care what you think. […] Is that what they’re saying to Boston, too? I really don’t understand the question, to be quite honest.”
Per the LA Kings Insider, Joe Quenneville singled out the Kings-Blues series for praise when asked about this issue as well: “I watched that first-round series with St. Louis. Out of all the series, that probably was the most exciting and competitive to watch, first-round series.”
Can we finally let this non-existent “storyline” die? I hope so. The first two rounds were close, hard hitting, nailbiter series — and that’s the real consensus.
Discussion time: What did you think about the other questions raised? Is the Hawks’ speed really a “non issue”? Does the adversity the Kings have faced this year help prep them for a series? Can Doughty step up as a big game player once more and make a difference?
What do the Kings need to do to hope to win?