Beyond the terrible weather outside in Denver, Kings coach Todd McLellan faced a myriad of other challenges in Denver this weekend. Following a two-game sweep by the Avalanche, he shared the following comments:
On if the team is going to be able to get out of Denver amid the blizzard
Not tonight.
On the play of Cal Petersen in this series
Outstanding. Very calm, gave us a chance to steal one the other day. Today, we played a better game, and we’re not at their level yet, but he was what we thought he could be and what he has been all year. He was outstanding.
On the missed opportunities on several breakaway chances this series
I don’t think yesterday as much as today. We were better today, marginally better. There were a few opportunities that we had where if we could have finished… Maybe I’m wrong in saying that. [Austin] Wagner got in last night, was a one goal game, he had a chance. [Philipp] Grubauer played really well, wasn’t overly tested, but some of the pucks he did face were very dangerous ones. He had some good nights.
On improvements he would like to see in the team’s game
There’s still some things we have to improve on. If we break the goals down, let’s face it, they had numerous other chances too. But if you just go to the goals, we got beat quite cleanly on a 1-on-1, veteran player against a very young one that’s learning his way through. The second goal happens, it’s hockey. Those are built into the game. The third one, we had a really, really poor line change, lost a stick in the neutral zone, just a combination of mistakes. We created more, we had more in the offensive zone today than we did the night prior. That was a good thing. Some of these goals are preventable. Yet, there could have been three or four others if Cal hadn’t stood on his head that we aren’t even discussing.
On when the injury to Dustin Brown occurred
He’s been carrying it for a little bit. This was a good sign for our team, your leading scorer goes out and guys pick up the slack. Obviously, we didn’t score enough goals or play well enough, but nobody rolled over for tonight’s game. There wasn’t a lot of excuses, if moral victories mean anything. We pick Dustin up tonight, not having Olli [Maatta] affects us. We had a few players play sick, not necessarily sick, but not at the upper level. I’m pleased that the guys valued the 60 minutes and played hard. It’s a good sign for our long-term growth. We need some guys to get some rest, get healthy, and recharge the batteries for as early as tomorrow.
On the availability of Jonathan Quick for tomorrow’s game in Los Angeles vs. St. Louis
Not tomorrow.
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