Following the Ducks 3-0 win over the Kings at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night, here’s what Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau and LA coach Darryl Sutter had to share…
Boudreadu on if he felt they took the crowd out of the game:
“I thought the energy was fabulous. I can’t even talk now because players couldn’t hear me five feet from me when you’re trying to tell them who is up or screaming on the ice. So I thought the energy stayed pretty well near the end. I think then they sort of settled down a little bit.”
Boudreadu on if would want to do it again:
“If the outcomes the same.”
Boudreadu on if [unclear audio]:
“Hiller was so good tonight. I think halfway through the third I said it doesn’t matter. They’re not
going to beat him. Like I’ve said that on the other side so many times that we’re just not going to beat this guy tonight, and I just had the feeling that no matter how many good looks they had in the last ten
minutes, they weren’t going to — they were going to miss the puck. It was his Karma, like he was on.”
Boudreadu on if the turning point was the penalty shot:
“Well, I think it had a little bit to do that he came out and said he wasn’t focused and he got pulled the other night. I think that made him really wanting to play this game on a big stage. You know, I watched him warm-up. He was catching pucks that he was really sharp. And I think he made a couple saves early, and then the penalty shot sort of cemented the fact that he was on his game.”
Boudreadu on what he’s going to remember most about this game:
“Well, we won. I mean, I’ll remember the atmosphere, you know, 54,000 people, and where we were, you just look pretty well at everybody where the main portion of the crowd and when people say Californians are laid back, I thought they were pretty into it tonight.”
Boudreadu on what he said to the players after the game:
“Take tomorrow off and get ready for a lot of video on Monday because we made a lot of mistakes. But it’s an emotional game. We came up really emotional as well as the Kings. But once that adrenaline starts to leave your body, you get exhausted. The other team took over, and that’s what they did. But, again, Jonas was there to save the day.”
Boudreadu on why he went with a suit instead of the varsity jacket for tonight’s game:
“I don’t know. I look bad in anything, so it doesn’t really matter.”
Boudreadu on their lead over the Kings in the standings:
“Well, as far as the gap goes, I still think you’re going to have to go through Los Angeles if you want to win the division. I don’t care what the record is or if they’ve been in a slump. They had 50 shots, 40 shots, and 36 shots on us in the three games. Every game is a battle. So I think come playoff time whether they were in 8th, they won the Cup and ended up in 8th. So I don’t think positioning is really going to matter with them whether we’re 19 or 39 points ahead of them. It’s going to be just a battle.”
Boudreadu on how the atmosphere tonight compared to when he was with the Caps and played in Pittsburgh:
“The difference was the weather wasn’t great. I mean, it was a pouring rain thing, so I don’t think the crowd was — they were loud at the beginning, but I think after while they were just so wet. They were watching and they were glad they were there, but it wasn’t like tonight where the conditions were perfect. The ice was really good. Dan Craig did a marvelous job. You get a chance to sort of move around and coach. Like back then when it was raining I was standing like this shivering, so it was a little bit different.”
Boudreadu on the key variables to the Ducks success so far this season:
“Well, timely goals, timely goaltending, a great desire of character to pay the price to be successful. Even tonight. That comes when you’re blocking shots and everything. We’re seeing guys limping off the ice and not wanting to miss a shift. I think it’s true character.I know other teams have it and that, but I know we have it in spades. I think it’s something that keeps us going is the desire to be successful. I mean, those guys really want to win.”
Sutter on what the difference in the game was:
“It was tough chasing the lead. Trouble scoring goals. We had it for quite some time though. One goalie just started right there with one goalie, it’s tough coming back from two. He played a strong game. But we’ve had trouble scoring.”
Sutter on if there a couple of key reasons LA isn’t scoring on the power play:
“I think that manifests from your whole game. I think when you have good opportunities and don’t score, you’ve just got to finish those opportunities.”
Sutter on being 19 points behind the Ducks in the standings and can they bridge that gap:
“You’re going to think you’re going to close out. It’s hockey.”
Sutter on if took an opportunity to look around:
“Yeah, more during warm-up. It was unbelievable from where we stood to be able to look out and see everything. We basically started in left field and went all the way around. It was an incredible experience to see all of that.”
Sutter on the ice conditions in the third period:
“The ice was all right. I mean you guys or anybody that’s watched hockey that would see a lot of jumping pucks and boards and pucks along the boards and things like that. So it was all right. You know what, they did as good as they could, and it certainly wasn’t an issue.”
Sutter on how the players responded to that environment:
“I think it was good.”
Sutter on his line switches:
“We switched centermen up, not a whole lot. I thought Kopitar had a really strong game. I thought Jeff had a strong game. Those are guys you count on for the offensive side of it. At the same time you need it throughout your lineup. That’s when you see switching and lines. That’s probably right because I think the energy and all of that was there in the first period, and then I think the schedule got us a little in the second to see that, then the determination of the group in the third, they bring it on again. It was just tough scoring.”
Sutter on how he thinks the Kings’ players will respond to this losing streak:
“It’s a tough schedule. We really didn’t come home. We came and played here, and then we go back out, so it’s a tough schedule. We’re going to go through it. It’s been a tough month.”
Sutter on if his players were physical enough:
“I didn’t think that was a problem at all. It’s not like they’re running around trying to hit guys. That’s not what physical means.”
Sutter on the Ducks going right to the net early in the game:
“We spent a lot of time in front of their net of their goalie… I think we had — if you just go on shot and quality, I think we had better.”
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