As reported earlier, the Kings did not take to the ice for a morning skate today. So, in advance of Game 2 with the Blackhawks, several players were made available for questions when the team arrived at the United Center. Here’s what Jarret Stoll and Dustin Penner had to share…
Q. A day after, first game in two weeks, how do you feel?
STOLL: “Fine. Just looking forward to getting a win, helping the team win. We came here to win one, maybe two. We still have an opportunity to win one. We got to play a lot better than we did last night.”
Q. Dustin, what do you need to do early in the game here?
PENNER: “We got better towards the third period. We have to play like we did in the third period for 60 minutes. They had their way with us in the first. We have to get the D go back, get bodies on them, get them in their own end.”
Q. Jarret, do you feel you were chasing the puck a little too much last night?
STOLL: “Yeah. Like Penn just said, time in their zone, lengthy shifts, three, four shifts in a row, didn’t have that. Didn’t make Crawford work nearly as hard as we wanted to.”
Q. Bryan Bickell said he modeled his game off of you. What do you see from him?
PENNER: “He’s improved over the last three, four years. I remember him when he broke in, I was in Edmonton. You need big bodies and competitors in playoffs. I think that’s what he’s brought to their team.”
Q. Do you feel like this game might get a little more physical based on the last couple hits in the final minutes yesterday?
PENNER: “Yeah, I think so. I think we got to bring more physicality to the game than we did last time. They were on the perimeter passing pucks around. Got to go through more of their players more often, make it tougher on them.”
Q. Jarret, any thoughts as to why the team has struggled on the road as compared to a year ago when you couldn’t lose on the road?
STOLL: “Yeah, it’s a weird thing. I don’t think you can pinpoint one or two things. Seems like our offense on the road has struggled, scoring one goal, not more than two. I don’t know what that is. We got to find a way to win some games on the road if we want to keep our season going. We know that. Get a chance here tonight.”
Q. Jarret, Chicago found success yesterday when they were able to crash the net, get the bodies in front. For the centers, is there any more of a concerted effort to make sure Quick sees all the shots?
STOLL: “We know that’s going to be a game plan of any team we face now against our goaltender. That’s a job on the low forward and the two defensemen to clear guys out to make sure Quicky can see the pucks, just to make sure there’s no second-chance opportunities that they’re going to get a stick on. Yeah, it’s the job of everybody in the D zone to help out that way, especially around our net, make it tougher on them. If they’re going to get shots from the outside, that’s one thing. After that, that’s it.”
Q. Is there any difference in playing the back-to-back when it’s on the road?
PENNER: “The amount of time that elapses between games is less. We have played back-to-back before. For us it’s nice because we get a quicker chance at redemption. Don’t have time to dwell on it. Reviewed video. Playoffs is a time you’re here to play the games. Everything else, the media, the practices, the time between games, you don’t care for. When you’re on the ice, it’s the best part for us.”
We already posted pre-game comments from Kings coach Darryl Sutter and several members of the Blackhawks. See the links below to read what they had to say.
RELATED CONTENT:
Pre-Game 2: Sutter on Richards’ health, Stoll’s play and the re-match with Chicago
Pre-Game 2: Blackhawks’ Toews on Brown’s late elbow, leadership of Doughty and Richards
Pre-Game 2: Chicago Blackhawks players talking Penner and the Kings
WCF Post-Game 1: Comments from Kings coach Darryl Sutter
WCF Post-Game 1: Blackhawks coach on Chicago’s 2-1 win over LA
Flash quotes from the Kings’ locker room after 2-1 loss to Blackhawks in Game 1
VIDEO: Dave Bolland’s questionable hit on Mike Richards
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