• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

MayorsManor.com

NHL blog, LA Kings hockey news and interviews from The Mayor

  • Radio Replay
  • Prospect Rankings
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / HockeyBlog / Game 50: McLellan Postgame Quotes After Kings Win in AZ, Plus Thoughts From Iafallo

Game 50: McLellan Postgame Quotes After Kings Win in AZ, Plus Thoughts From Iafallo

May 4, 2021 By John Hoven


It’s still a 3-2 league, even in the Arizona desert.

Coming off of a dismal performance against the Ducks over the weekend, Kings coach Todd McLellan was eager to see how his team would respond in their two-game set vs. the Coyotes. Game 1 was a rousing success; not only did LA secure a 3-2 victory, they collectively produced one of their better all-around performances of 2021.

The big news coming into the game was the break-up of LA’s top line, as Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown had somebody new at left wing for the first time in… well, a long time.

Kopitar picked up career points 998 (goal) and 999 (assist).

2-2 Kopitar(13)-ASST: Kempe(15), Brown(14): https://t.co/9PfeGdGxgo#GoKingsGo #Yotes #LAKvsARI pic.twitter.com/N0cntQSPEr

— Eric (@Kingsgifs) May 4, 2021

Rookie Quinton Byfield played in his fourth NHL game, logging 12:59 of ice time – his least amount to date. He also recorded one shot on goal and finished as a plus-1.

Starting goaltender Jonathan Quick suffered an upper body injury and was replaced by Cal Petersen for the third period. An update on Quick should be available following the Kings late afternoon practice on Tuesday.

Quick's save on Keller that might have injured Quick: https://t.co/F8VM7h9Q5j#GoKingsGo #Yotes #LAKvsARI pic.twitter.com/4qGj9gyOad

— Eric (@Kingsgifs) May 4, 2021

Following Monday night’s game, here’s what McLellan had to share:

On if he liked the team’s response from the games this past weekend

We were really disappointed leaving Anaheim after that second game to a man, we didn’t need to say too much. The guys felt it, lived it for a day. I was asked about ‘what was important,’ the response coming up, and we had it. We had a real good response tonight. Everybody played real well early in the game, which gave us some confidence, Quickie made some saves early. The first period was as good a period as we have played in a long time. Second period, they buckled down a little bit, made it more difficult for us. The third period, we got some saves and held on. We’ll take the win any way we can get it. Happy with the response.

On how he thought Adrian Kempe fit on the Kopitar line tonight

Adrian played one of his better games of the season. He was aggressive all over the rink, set the tone on the forecheck, matched well with Kopitar and Brown. He was as good defensively as he was offensively, and he was pretty good at that end too. We’re really happy for him tonight.

On what went right for the team in the first period

We were aggressive early, we tried to take the game to them rather than receiving it. When we forechecked we had five players involved in it instead of three. We were able to stay ahead of them in line changes, so we were the fresh five rather than the tired five, which makes a big difference for our team. We were just aggressive; it didn’t cost us defensively at all, which was nice to see our team play that way.

On how he liked Alex Iafallo and Adrian Kempe’s games tonight

They flipped positions and I thought they both played really well. [Iafallo] has been snake bit a little bit, he hasn’t been on the scoresheet. To get the winner on the powerplay, which it hasn’t been performing as well as we’d like, is a nice sign for him and for us. Good for both of them.

BONUS QUOTES

Iafallo on if he was happy with how the team responded tonight

For sure. You can tell everybody had a great game up and down the lineup, goalies were awesome, everybody played well and it’s a huge win for us.

On how he liked playing with Gabe Vilardi tonight

We had a lot of support, great players, and we’re making good plays. That just gives us momentum going forward, our line had a good game, we have to keep that going

On what went well in the first period that continued throughout the game

We were moving the puck a little faster. You have to hand it to Quickie, you mentioned big saves. Everybody was putting their body on the line, a lot of good blocked shots, good PK, good powerplay. In our zone, just getting the puck out, making quick plays in the D zone that really helped us going forward.

On Anze Kopitar being one point away from 1,000 career points

Yeah, it’s incredible, just even being out there with them. One point away, it’s a pretty amazing accomplishment. It’s just an honor to be able to play with him. He’s a good leader, on and off the ice, and a good friend as well.

For an updated look at the plan for Byfield this week, see the article linked below.

MORE POSTGAME CONTENT:

The Call-Up: Updated Notes on Plan for Byfield’s Six NHL Games

Only One Call-Up Remaining, Who Should the Kings Promote from AHL Ontario


Follow @mayorNHL

Instagram

Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news or interviews from this site please remember to include a link to www.MayorsManor.com

Filed Under: HockeyBlog, Kings, NHL Tagged With: comments, Coyotes, hockey postgame, Kings, McLellan, NHL, quote

About John Hoven

John Hoven is a former member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and co-hosts Kings of the Podcast. He's also the founder and editor of MayorsManor.com, which has been named Best Sports Blog in Los Angeles and Hockey Blog of the Year. Click "ABOUT OUR TEAM" below for a full bio.

Primary Sidebar

Kings Of The Podcast

Kings Of The Podcast: Ep. 132 – Mark Yannetti, 2022 NHL Draft Review

There’s no introduction or fancy setup needed on this one… Our guest is Mark Yannetti. Listen to this episode for free using the audio player below or check us out on all the major podcast platforms, including: Spotify, iHeart Radio, Apple Podcast, Tune In, Radio.com, and many more. Follow @mayorNHL Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping […]

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Kings Of The Podcast: Ep. 133 – Jack Hughes; Vin Scully, True-False
  • Round 2: LA Kings Reverse Retro 2.0 Jersey Mock-Ups
  • Kings Opening Night Roster Coming Together; Updates on Durzi and Anderson Contracts
  • NHL RADIO REPLAY: Mayor’s Minutes – LA Kings Summer Report Card, Grading Rob Blake
  • Mike Donnelly on Standouts at LA Kings Dev Camp and Other Impressions
  • LA Kings 2022 Dev Camp Notebook: Day 3 Notes and Scrimmage Highlights
  • LA Kings 2022 Dev Camp Notebook: Day 2 Notes and Quotes
  • REPORT: LA Kings to Hire Jim Hiller as Assistant Coach
  • LA Kings 2022 Dev Camp Notebook: Day 1 Scrimmage, Quotes, and Observations
  • NHL Rookie Faceoff: Schedule Released for September Tournament; Three Kings Games

Tweets by mayorNHL

Footer

Archives

Tags

AHL Blackhawks Brown camp Carter Clifford coach comments Doughty draft Ducks history hockey interview Kings Kopitar lineup Lombardi Los Angeles Manchester Mayor MayorsManor Monarchs Murray NHL Ontario Penner Playoffs Prospect Quick quote Radio Reign Richards roster Sharks Stanley Cup Stoll Sutter Toffoli trade video WCB West Coast Bias Williams

MayorsManor

  • About Our Team
  • Contact Us
  • Store

© 2022 MayorsManor.com