Comments from Dustin Brown…
On the Kings advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the third year in a row:
“I think part of it is two-fold. It’s sticking with the system. I mean that more in a philosophical, organizational way. Just getting the right type of guys and the right group and doing what’s necessary to keep everyone together. The second part of that is, I think, players taking ownership of the team collectively. Again, I think 2012 was obviously a big part of that, but really going back to our first couple playoff exits, we learned… when you lose together that’s probably the biggest teacher of what you have to do to win. We went through that together.”
On if they were ever concern to be down in the series:
“No, it’s one of those things where you don’t want to fall back 3-2 or down 3-0 in a series, but we have the ability with the mentality that we have in here to compartmentalize the situation we’re in and just focus on the game at hand.”
On how they felt after the first period:
“I think we were pretty jacked up as a group coming in after. Sometimes coming in here is a place to kind of settling the guys down and regroup and I think we did a good job of calming our excitement and getting back to work early in the second.”
On Corey Perry’s penalty shot miss, followed by Mike Richards’ goal:
“It’s two-nothing at that point. I think it’s a pretty big momentum swing. Quickie makes a big save, but it’s that, coupled with coming right back and scoring a big goal right after that.”
On whether wins in six straight elimination games comes down to character:
“I mean, that’s part of it. Again, it’s more about the group of guys and the trust that we have in each other. I think it’s cliché, but you look at a lot of the teams that have made it very successful in the playoffs the last four or five years, they have a core group of players that have gone through climbing a hill, so to speak, together, and that, I think, goes longer than anything else, just that trust that you build up in those situations.”
On the team’s comfort in elimination games:
“Yeah, I thought we came out right after it, and that’s a result of getting the trust that I just spoke of. It’s a lot easier when you know that you have guys on each side of you that are all pulling the same way. You don’t have to question anybody in this room because everybody has a job, and everyone knows their job, and everyone accepts their job.”
On scoring three goals in the first period:
“The first period was a good start for us, and obviously coming right back, and Kopi’s goal in the grand scheme of things, I think breaks their will at the end of the day because maybe if they make it 3-1 early in the second, it changes the dynamic of the game. But we go up 4-0. Again, I think that was a backbreaker for them.”
On facing the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Final again:
“It’s one of those things, it’s just the way it works out. They obviously had our number this year, but I don’t think we played them in the second half of the season. They’re the defending Stanley Cup champs, and kind of have done what we’ve done. It’s pretty hard to get back there, to the Western Conference [Final]. It’s an opportunity, I think, that the two best teams in the west are getting back together again. It’ll be fun.”
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