Last hour we heard from Dustin Brown in advance of tonight’s Kings vs Blue Jackets match-up. Here, we went around the locker room and gathered additional comments from a few others…
Anze Kopitar – “We have to worry about ourselves. We know if we bring our ‘A’ game to the table, I like our chances. That’s the big thing. We have to worry about our game and the rest will come.”
Matt Greene – “We have to be ready to work. They work real hard and we have to be ready to match whatever they put into it. They’re a gritty team and we have to make sure it’s a tough game and be ready right away. We can’t wait to ease ourselves into it.”
Jack Johnson – “Teams that are so-called ‘out of it’ have nothing to lose. So, sometimes they’re dangerous to play against – just like Edmonton is a dangerous team because they have nothing to lose. If things are going right for them during the night, they’re tough. Even when you’re out of it, teams have a lot of pride and individual pride. So, they’re going to play hard. But, we have to make sure we keep getting points to stay in the playoffs.”
Kyle Clifford on how he prepares for a team like Columbus – “Our line prepares for a game the same way every time. We just go out and create energy, crash and bang. Whatever happens happens out there.”
Drew Doughty – “We have to make sure we’re not taking them lightly. Even though they’re a little bit behind everyone in the standings, they’re still a good team and they still have some very good players, like Rick Nash and Jeff Carter – who are two of the best players in the whole league. So, we can’t take them lightly. We have to go out there hard and respect them as if they’re a team like San Jose or Detroit. It’s a mandatory win for us.”
Finally, let’s take a look at how several of the Kings have performed against the Blue Jackets in the past…
Kopitar – 11 goals in 20 games
Dustin Brown – five goals in 25 games
Justin Williams – five goals in 15 games
Dustin Penner – seven goals in 22 games
Mike Richards – one goal in six games
Jarret Stoll – four goals in 29 games
Doughty – two goals in 14 games
Johnson – no goals in 15 games
If you’d like to participate in the the MayorsManor First Goal Contest tonight, we’ll be giving away a free pair of tickets to the next home game (2/16 vs. the Phoenix Coyotes). It’s easy to play, simply leave a comment below with the LA player you think will score first vs. the Blue Jackets…or reply to the facebook / twitter updates that will be posted around 7:00pm. All correct answers will be pooled together and one random winner will be awarded the tickets. Good luck!
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