People were expecting a tight, close series between the Kings and Sharks in the opening round of this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. So far? Well, San Jose has scored 13 goals. Nobody had that number in their office pool, that’s for sure. Following the Sharks 7-2 win over the Kings in Game 2 on Sunday night, here’s what was being said in both locker rooms – including quotes from Joe Thornton, Dustin Brown, and both coaches…
Sharks Head Coach Todd McLellan on the game:
“The catalyst was [Desjardins] line. They got us going and everybody followed. You need that to have success. Success is only two games. We have got a lot left but you need to have everybody stirring the drink if you will.”
McLellan on line strategy:
“They had us running around a little bit with some of the line match-ups. They obviously scrambled it and I didn’t like the way it was going in our end, we needed something else, and I decided to make that change. Whether it stays there or not, who knows.”
Joe Thornton on the win:
“It’s going to take all 20 guys that suit up and we realized that and where we want to go everybody is going to have to be a leader throughout the playoff.”
Thornton on coming from behind:
“Coming in we felt like we had some good scoring chances, we were down 2-0 and we just thought ‘Don’t let them get another goal’ if we keep them at two we truly believed that we could get three to win the game.”
Joe Pavelski on the game:
“We wanted to come out, we wanted to be on the attack, we sat back last time we had the lead.”
Pavelski on the third period in Game 1:
“I think any third period you want to play good in your home building and we didn’t do that. Even with the score being 5-0 you got to put a better effort than we did. You got to learn, you’d like to say we learned but if we find ourselves in that opportunity again, we have to play the part.”
Logan Couture on the comeback:
“Nobody panicked, the coaching staff, the players, everyone, we knew that if we kept playing the way we were playing that we would score some goals and we were able just score seven unanswered.”
Andrew Desjardins on what contributed to their comeback:
“I think in the first there we were kind of laid back but the last two periods we were more aggressive and I think that definitely helped get under their skin and get in their face more.”
Raffi Torres on his play:
“Last year was tough. I felt like I was in pretty good shape and coming into a new team I was excited to get playing but obviously we all know what happened but that’s all in the past and now I just look at the upcoming games and what I can do contribute.”
Mike Brown on the physicality of the game:
“Every time we step on the ice that’s our role, to get the momentum and bring the physicality into the game so regardless if we are up or down we are still going to play the same way and all three of us know what we need to do and what kind of game we have to play and that’s what we were doing.”
Kings Head Coach Darryl Sutter on the Sharks lines:
“I think probably the Sheppard line and the third line dominated the second period. And we didn’t have an answer for that.”
Sutter on this year compared to last year:
“They finished higher in the standings I think by 10 points. So obviously that gives them home ice, which is so important.”
Dustin Brown on what contributed to the loss:
“Don’t know if it was one thing in particular. We gave up a lot of odd man rushes again. In the first, we got up two nothing but they had lots of good chances. We need all 20 guys to be on top of their game”
Brown on the Sharks 4th line:
“When their 4th line can have that big of an impact on the game, we have to have a response. And we didn’t have a response from anybody.”
Robyn Regehr on the loss:
“If we’re not playing the way that we’re supposed to, getting the coverage that we’re supposed to, these things are going to happen. We really firm that up in a hurry because this team is strong on the rush.”
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Jones should have been in net for game two. You don’t bench Nolan in place of Greene. You need Nolan for Torres. You bench Clifford for Pearson. Piss poor decision making by the LA Kings staff in my opinion.