Kings defensemen Matt Greene and Alec Martinez shared the following thoughts after Los Angeles picked up a 3-2 overtime win in Game 1 of their second round series vs. the Anaheim Ducks…
Matt Greene on the first period:
“We wanted to get our game going. I don’t think we were as sharp as we could have been to start. We got lucky with a couple of power plays early on to keep the momentum coming our way, but they took over there for awhile. Then I think we had our game going back and then they were able to battle back a little bit and even it out a little bit.”
Greene on if Alec Martinez is even better now than he already was in the 2012 Playoffs:
“I don’t know, I don’t think much. He was a great player then, he’s an awesome player now. I’ve been a huge fan of his since he got here. We’ve been partners for a long time and he’s been a great player all the way through.”
Greene on battling back:
“You have to be able weather the storm when it comes. Playing against a high-powered, offensive team like that, you’re going to have those shifts where you’re in your zone for 30 seconds, two minutes, and you have to be able to weather the storm. We did a good job of that tonight. Obviously, you don’t want to do it as much as we did tonight. It’s going to be tough to have success with that. They’re going to put it on you for a good chunk of the game and you have to be able to withstand it and try to battle back. We have a chance to do that.”
Greene on seeming behind in the game early, but evening it out towards the end:
“The game goes in spurts and that’s it. You have to answer back. We were lucky to get quality goaltending from Quickie tonight, like we always get from him, and kind of get a chance to turn our game around a little bit. Like I said earlier, they’re going to have a lot of shifts with their line-up over there where they really put it to you. We just have to make sure we limit that, but it’s going to happen throughout the game when you’re playing these guys. That have a high-powered offense and you have to deal with that.”
Greene on all goals being within ten feet of the net:
“I think that’s their M.O.. They’re a big, strong, powerful team and they’re going to crash the net and try to get second, third chances. We have to try to limit those, and that’s our game too. Try to play a possession game. I think it’s going to be that way for this entire series.”
Greene on Marian Gaborik’s goals:
“He scores them every way possible. I think if you look at all the big time goal scorers in the league, they do most of their damage within five, ten feet of the net.
Alec Martinez on the overall game:
“We knew it was going to be a battle. They have a lot of size, speed, and skill over there- and grit, they compete really hard. I don’t think we got quite the start that we wanted, but to be able to come back and win that game is what we wanted. We just have to enjoy it for a little bit and then refocus tomorrow morning… Playoffs are a really emotional time of the year. It’s important not to get too high, too low. You have to stay even keeled from game-to-game, series-to-series, shift-to-shift.”
Martinez on his blocked shot:
“I don’t know, I just try to get in front of it. I have a great goalie coach in Billy Ranford here, so maybe I’l do some video with him later. It was just a team effort, I was there in front and I just went down and tried to get in front of Perry’s shot.”
Martinez on what Game 1 will do for the rivalry:
“We’ll I think it’s important not to get too high, too low. I think it’s important to get a good reset it. Like I said, enjoy it tonight but get back focused tomorrow. We’ll go over videos and watch some clips and learn from our mistakes tonight and hopefully go out and play a good Game 2.”
More post-game comments from the Kings and Ducks can be viewed at the links below.
KINGS-DUCKS PLAYOFF COVERAGE:
Game 1: Gaborik, Quick, Sutter talk Kings OT win in Anaheim
Game 1: First batch of Ducks quotes after Kings OT win
Teemu Selanne talks nothing but respect for Kings prior to Game 1
Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news or interviews from this site please remember to include a link to www.MayorsManor.com
