Comments from Jarret Stoll following the Kings 2-1 shootout loss to the visiting Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night…
On generating shots, but not putting teams away:
“We’ve done that in parts of this season. Some teams have come in here and hung around, hung around. We just couldn’t put them away, couldn’t get that first goal, couldn’t get the second goal. That’s what happened tonight.”
On Darcy Kuemper:
“He played great and I have to give him credit, for sure. Made some big saves. He hasn’t had a lot of experience in this league, but you know. Big guy, moves well, and very athletic. Worked hard to see pucks. Give him some credit, he played well, but this is on us again.”
On some Canadians being critical of Jeff Carter making the Olympic team:
“I don’t know, what’s weird. It should be about guys that have made the team and congratulate them and wish them the best over in Russia, not to guys who didn’t make the team. He’s a teammate of mine. Everybody is biased, everybody has their opinions. If you play on the San Jose Sharks or if you play on the Tampa Bay Lightning, you’re going to think your teammates should have deserved to be on the team as well. But we see Jeff Carter everyday and what he brings. Enough said.”
On if all the Olympic talk is distracting:
“No, I don’t think so. No. It happens- it’s there, it’s out there, it’s on TV. We’re all watching it because we’re hockey fans. We’re wishing our teammates well and we want as many guys as possible to be in the Olympics. It’s a great honor and I wish all the guys the best. But no, we’re a pretty focused group. We know our coaching staff does a pretty good job of making sure we’re on par of what we need to be thinking about and where we need to be mentally. We’re fine there.”
On how worried he is about Drew Doughty being on the loose in Russia:
“Very.” [Lots of laughter]
On where he was when Canada won the gold medal in 2010:
“I was at the North End Bar and Grill in Hermosa Beach. It was a great atmosphere. Obviously the one in Vancouver was better but it was a packed bar- dead silence really, watching the game, and how exciting the finish was. In the third period US tying it up and Sidney scoring the goal. They were actually very, very good. They let us Canadians celebrate and hug, and hoot and holler and they were just silent and let us celebrate the victory. It was pretty cool.”
On what Darryl Sutter was saying on the bench during tonight’s game:
“Just find a way, find a way. Stick with our game- it has to be our game. We can’t be turning over pucks and having a back-and-forth type of game. That’s not our style. Obviously we have to score goals, obviously we have to bear down. That was just the message- trying to finish our opportunities and get to the net. Try to make it harder on that goalie. Like I said, he played well, give him credit. We just didn’t make it hard enough for him.”
