Comments from Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell following the team’s practice at Dodger Stadium on Friday night…
On Doughty’s statement that he was ‘sweating like a pig’ out there:
“Well, he’s out of shape.” [Laughter]
On the ice being softer:
“I thought the ice skated well…it’s on a stage. It’s not right down on the field. It’s actually built on a stage. Where most traditional…all ice surfaces are on concrete for the most part, so when you lay water on the concrete, it’s a harder surface versus laying the water and freezing it on a stage. It becomes softer, so when pucks…it feels softer when you’re skating out there but also if a puck lands on it—you know the puck flips up in the air and it lands, it’s just going to land a lot more dead, so to speak.”
On if he’s talked to Carter about what to expect, considering he’s the only one who has played in an outdoor game:
“It’s fun. It’s a good atmosphere and really, to be honest, this team—because Darryl’s been so focused on the next game so you don’t really look too far ahead—we’ve been focused on our games. I think now that it’s the day before, you obviously start to get a little more excitement. The guys chatted a bit about it on the ice today, but nothing too crazy.”
On if the loss the other night takes some of the luster off the next two days:
“No. I think it just adds to it. We look at it as a must-win game for us because it’s a team we’re competing with. They got the better of us in their home rink and now we have to win in ours. No, it just adds to it. We’re looking forward to playing them again because they’re a great team, one of the best teams in the league, but also under these crazy cool conditions.”
On how much he’s talked with Sutter about who he might be most comfortable being paired with:
“Come on, no one does that with him. You know how that works. [Laughter] No one knows who their partner’s going to be the next day with him. We just go up there and play. [Reporter: At least a day in advance. That’s good. With the forwards it’s shift to shift right now.] We don’t know either until that day. That’s just how he does things. I’m sure there’s a reason behind that. You’d have to ask him that. We just go out and play.”
On if particular pairings provide stability:
“Yes. Playing with Slava…predictability is nice. Predictability can sometimes help you out as far as reads. We’ve all gotten used to playing with each other. Pretty much everyone over our D corps has played with each other somewhere along the way. You just deal with it. We’re the players. They’re the coaches.”
On soaking in the special moments today:
“It was really cool. I had a couple of birds on my arm. I had my mother and my mother-in-law. [Laughs] I was telling them both, I said, ‘You’re kind of embarrassing me here. You’re the mother of an NHL hockey player who skates for a living and you don’t know how to skate.’ And my mother-in-law is from Minnesota which is known for its hockey, and she doesn’t know how to skate, so I was joking around with both of them. ‘I’ve got to drag you two around here.’ [Laughs] It was fun. It was fun to enjoy that with both of them. I’ve got some friends and family here, so it makes it really fun.”
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