Dustin Penner conference call – Monday May 7

Last hour we heard from Kings captain Dustin Brown, now we turn to Dustin Penner – who had five points (one goal, four assists) and was a plus-5 in the sweep of the St. Louis Blues…

– On how he’s feeling today – “Dustin and I talked about it after the game last night. We thought it would be a good chance to regroup mentally and physically, but more importantly, just that mental aspect because of the grind and the stress you go through on a daily basis when you’re focusing in on the task at hand.”

– Are you helping with the leadership in the room, given your experience in 2007? “I try not to stick my nose in too much. Maybe I look for the opportune times. For me and the guys who have made long playoff runs before and won the Cup, I think we help out in a similar fashion. It’s more with more of the mental side of things. I see a lot of similarities between the Ducks run and this run we’re currently on. There’s still eight more wins to go. But, the mentality of the team, the focus and intensity we have each shift and each game – even at practice, the way we’re moving the puck – it’s breeding confidence. That’s a byproduct of our success. We’ve all bought in. You can tell by the way we carry ourselves as a team and as individuals on a daily basis.”

On Brown as a leader – “He was named captain a while ago for a good reason. Everybody is becoming privy to that now. He’s a relentless, tireless worker. It helps open up the door for his skill to shine through. He’s a quiet leader, in terms of how he talks to the team. But, they say actions speak a lot louder than words and he’s yelling his leadership on the ice with the way he plays. We get the same Dustin Brown every night. It doesn’t matter who the other team is or if it’s (Daniel/Henrik) Sedin or (David) Backes or whoever, he is making them work for every inch of ice when he’s on it.”

On if he’s watching tonight’s game – “I’ll probably watch it, I can’t guarantee it. I don’t know what my schedule is yet today. But, I will keep tabs on it. Obviously now because I have twitter, I’ll be able to see the updates…So, I’ll keep up that way at least. As for preference, the only reason I’d say Phoenix is because it would be nice for travel. Either time will pose a uniquely, individual challenge from the other. So, pick your poison basically.”

On moving from the third line to the second line – “I thought I played well with Stolly and Lewis. We had a good series with Vancouver. Yet, the one thing I think a team does when they make a long run is they adjust and adapt to each individual game and series. I was moved up to play with (Mike Richards and Jeff Carter) and we’ve worked well together as a line. They’re really good players. They’re both multi-faceted, talented players.  It’s really easy to play with them and I’ve tried to step up my game so I could adequately support the line.”

On what type of linemates he needs to bring out the best in him – “I don’t know. I’ve always thought I needed a big centerman to play with. That’s not the case, Ricky (Richards) plays big. But, it’s just learning as you get older, learning to adapt to different styles of players that you play with. That’s what I’ve done with Ricky. He’s a great centerman, he’s great on draws, he’s a defensive specialist, he has high-end offensive talent and the same goes for Carts. They’re both guys who have played center and know the game well. So, they’re easy to read off of.”

If you missed the transcript from the call with Brown, click here.

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