Kopitar, Richards, Mitchell on tonight’s Frozen Fury game

As most of you know, the Kings did not have their traditional morning skate at MGM Arena in Las Vegas today. Instead, they stayed back in SoCal after their 3-1 win in Anaheim last night and then took a flight over this morning.

However, prior to departing for Sin City, I gathered a few thoughts on tonight’s 14th annual Frozen Fury…

Anze Kopitar – “I haven’t had any bad things happen to me in Vegas yet. Hopefully I can keep it that way. The best thing is just the atmosphere around the game. Obviously, it’s an exhibition game – but, it has so much hype to it, with lots of build up before the game. So, it’s pretty fun to play in the game every year.”

Willie Mitchell – “You’re asking the wrong guy. I’ve only been to Vegas once and it was last year for Frozen Fury. Go figure, the only time I ever went was when I had to play a game! This will be my second time and we don’t even get a night in Vegas (because they’re leaving for Europe immediately after the game). So, my favorite part was getting to Vegas and my second favorite part was leaving because that’s all I remember (he tried to blurt out while laughing).”

Mike Richards on any disappointment about not getting to spend at least one night in Vegas, like most years at Frozen Fury – “I don’t think I need any time in Vegas right now. That’s more of a summer city. But, I’ve heard a lot of good things about the game actually. I’m excited to see what it’s all about.”

Richards on what teammates have told him about Frozen Fury – “It’s as close to a regular season game as you can possibly get. So, I think it’s going to be an exciting game to be part of.”

Tonight’s projected Kings line-up:

Simon Gagne – Anze Kopitar – Justin Williams
Dustin Penner – Mike Richards – Dustin Brown
Kyle Clifford – Jarret Stoll – Ethan Moreau
Brad Richardson – Trevor Lewis – Trent Hunter

Willie Mitchell – Slava Voynov
Alec Martinez – Jack Johnson
Rob Scuderi – Matt Greene

Jonathan Quick – Jeff Zatkoff

If you haven’t already done so, be sure to take today’s Frozen Fury Trivia Challenge – 10 questions, how many can you get right?

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/MayorNHL
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor