The ageless wonder, Teemu Selanne, shared the following thoughts following the Ducks morning skate today, in advance of Game 3 vs. the Kings…
Is it fair to say that there is no downplaying the importance of this game?
“That’s how you want to look at it. It’s by far the biggest game of our season. You got to enjoy it. It might take us a longer path to where we want to go but you have to stay positive. Play your level, maybe even higher and go from there.”
So much talk about bearing down and finishing when you have an opportunity against Jonathan Quick. Do you ever overthink when you are up against a goalie like Jonathan Quick?
“Obviously there are no secrets how you score these days. It’s pretty much the same thing for every goalie. There’s no different cases. We know what we have to do. He has played unbelievable and we have to find a way to get it past him. Hopefully he can’t play a whole series like that (laughs).”
Players always talk about taking it one game at a time. When you are up against a goalie like Quick knowing that you have to win four of the next five games, is the one game at a time attitude more important?
“This is a funny game and the LA Kings are the perfect example from their last series against San Jose. The momentum changed so quickly….I still want to think about our game and I expect our goalie and all of our players to play their best game in the series. Whatever happens, happens, you can always live with that. Usually good things happen when everyone gives their best.”
How is the vibe in this room heading into Game 3?
“Obviously we are very disappointed about the situation but this is like a golf round. Forget about the bad shots and focus on the one (game). Do your job. Everybody has to play at their level and some guys may need to push beyond that for us to win. I think this team is ready.”
Are you satisfied with the effort from the first two games?
“I think so. That was gives us confidence and hope for the series. We felt that both games could go either way. I thought we were better in certain areas. If we were to have lost both those games and they would have been way better it would have been harder to prepare for Game 3. We know how good we can be and now its only matters how we bounce back. We have to believe. This team has done it so many times and tonight is just another night to do it.”
Pre-game comments from Kings defenseman Drew Doughty can be found here.
BONUS DUCKS QUOTES FROM ANDREWQ COGLIANO:…
On the changes to the lineup for Game 3:
“We’ve had a number of guys play in key situations all year long. You have to make adjustment in a series. We have been creating offense but we haven’t been scoring. Adding a guys like Palmieri and Sammy to our lineup not only have they been playing this year and been successful. They are more offensive guys.”
Where is the balance between being desperate and patient as you try to get back in the series?
“We have to be patient. The game will be different tonight now that we are in their building. We expect them to come out hard. In the first couple of games we came out hard and tried to put the pressure on them. I think we know it’s going to be close games so you can’t get ahead of yourself and be doing things out there where you make mistakes and let them capitalize on those mistakes. It’s all about being patient. When we have opportunities we have to put them in the back of the net.”
What do the Kings do defensively that limited your second chance scoring opportunities in Game 2?
“They play the d-zone like we want to play it. They bring five guys back and try to limit your second chances so when there are rebounds they do a good job at clearing them away. They have been good all year defensively so you have to limit your mistakes and can’t give up those odd man rushes.”
Down 2-0 and knowing that you have to win twice in this building now to win the series. Is it even more important to take that one game at a time approach starting with tonight?
“It’s all about tonight. We’ve analyzed the last couple of games, we’ve seen we have done some really good things and we are not very far off but now it is just about tonight. For us we just need to focus about tonight and the first ten minutes because I know they are going to come out hard.”
