An interview with:

JEFF CARTER
DWIGHT KING
MIKE RICHARDS
ROB SCUDERI

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Jeff Carter.

Q. Just a comment on what this weekend will be like around Staples
Center.
JEFF CARTER: Yeah, it’s going to be pretty crazy. You know, I think
Sunday will be quite the day around there with our game, the Clippers, and
the bike race, too. It’s definitely going to be exciting for everybody
there.

Q. Sometimes teams show complacency when either rolling through the
playoffs or leading 3-0. That doesn’t seem something like this Kings team
is too concerned about.
JEFF CARTER: No. I mean, we’ve been in this situation before in
past rounds. Coaches have done a great job of keeping us focused and
realizing that we still have a lot of work to do to get through this
series.
We know they’re a strong team. They’ve showed it all year in the
playoffs here. We’re going to get their best effort on Sunday, so we
should be ready.

Q. Is it difficult to not think about the fact that you are one win
away from a Stanley Cup final?
JEFF CARTER: Yeah, I think a little bit. We worked real hard to get
to this point. Like I said, it’s not going to be easy to win that Game 4.
We know we’re going to get their best effort. We need to be ready.

Q. Really had trouble with your centers last night. Do you expect
them to get reorganized when they get Hanzal back in there?
JEFF CARTER: I’m sure they will. He’s a big part of their team.
He’s shown that in the playoffs this year. He maybe settles their lines
down a little bit, gets people into right places.
We know he’s going to be fired up, coming out with a strong game
after sitting out last game, so…

Q. The fact you’ve had success in closeout games, does that carry
you over at all? Do you use that experience?
JEFF CARTER: Yeah, definitely. We’re a confident group right now.
We’re pretty comfortable with being in this position. We’ve done it the
last two rounds here. The guys are confident. They’re relaxed. We’ll be
ready to go.

Q. Do you do the same thing?
JEFF CARTER: Just do the same thing. It’s been working for us.
Like I said, the coaches have done a great job of getting us prepared, what
changes they’ve made in their game, whatnot. We got a lot of good
leadership on this team, make sure everybody’s staying focused, you know,
getting ready for the next one.

Q. Are you adjusting to anything they might have adjusted to? How
do you counter?
JEFF CARTER: We keep going. Like I said, the coaches, they do a
great job of making sure we’re ready with whatever changes they come with.
Expect nothing but the same on Sunday.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
Questions for Dwight King.

Q. Guys calling you ‘Rocket’ now?
DWIGHT KING: No, no nicknames yet. If I keep scoring, I’ll be happy
with it, just as long as we keep winning.

Q. What is it like to be such a part of this series when a few
months ago you were playing in the American Hockey League?
DWIGHT KING: It’s a dream. You want to be part of the Stanley Cup
Playoffs. To be a contributor is even better. Everything is coming
around.

Q. What is it like back home?
DWIGHT KING: It’s a small town. 5,000 people. I’m sure everybody
gets around the TV room and makes a night of it.

Q. (No microphone.)
DWIGHT KING: He didn’t give me any grades, but said I played well.
Guess that’s an A.

Q. For those that are surprised at the goals scoring, it’s not
uncommon for you.
DWIGHT KING: Yeah, once I have the opportunity, I feel comfortable.
Obviously in junior hockey, the AHL, it’s something you develop and get
comfortable with. When you get in those situations, you want to bear down
on those situations. Right now they’re going in, it feels pretty good.

Q. Does it make any difference you were brought up for six games
last year?
DWIGHT KING: You learn a lot. Obviously in those six games, I kind
of got my feet wet, knew what I had to work on. With the year that it took
me to get back here, I feel I made pretty good strides in my game.
When I got here, I was given a pretty good opportunity. My
confidence grew in that. Coming into the playoffs, it’s been great.

Q. Do you see yourself as a goal-scorer long-term?
DWIGHT KING: I wouldn’t say a high-number goal-scorer. When I get
my opportunity, I feel just as comfortable as anybody else in those
situations to find a way to put them in.

Q. Would you describe your long-term vision for yourself as a power
forward in this league?
DWIGHT KING: Absolutely. I’ve got a pretty big frame. For a big
game, that’s the type of game you have to play: physical, strong, when you
get your chances, put them in, too.

Q. Did you get a heads up from anyone that you were going to be
called up?
DWIGHT KING: No hints really. They had an injury the night before.
There was the possibility of someone going up. Me and George went up. It
was exciting. We kind of ran with it.

Q. Any player you tried to model your game after?
DWIGHT KING: Growing up, in Vancouver, I used to watch Todd
Bertuzzi. My favorite player was Peter Forsberg. Those were two guys I
watched growing up.

Q. Were you surprised how much space you had coming out of the
corner?
DWIGHT KING: Yeah, a little bit. They gave me an extra step. I was
more than happy to take it. Yeah, it was good.

Q. What has hotel life been like?
DWIGHT KING: Been in a hotel for a couple months now. We’re
definitely used to it. Can’t complain.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
Questions for Mike Richards.

Q. About Dwight King, you played with him a bit. What are your
thoughts on him?
MIKE RICHARDS: He’s a big guy that’s hard to move off the puck. You
got stadium skill with that. He protects the puck so well. A lot of
confidence and poise with the puck. He protects it well. Isn’t shy to
take it to the net or make plays when he gets the opportunity to.

Q. Dave Tippett in his postgame press conference talked about the
diving and embellishment becoming an issue in the series. What do you
think when you hear an opposing coach say something like that?
MIKE RICHARDS: I mean, I’m not sure. It’s fast out there. It’s
intense. I don’t see it. If it’s there, it’s not for me to point out. I
mean, I don’t see it as a player on the ice. Things happen quick out
there. It’s hard to pinpoint anything that would happen because you never
know what actually did.

Q. Is it hard not to take that as an accusation personally?
MIKE RICHARDS: Oh, I mean, I don’t have to take it as anything.
He’s entitled to his opinion. They have the best of the best refs here, as
well as the teams. They know what is an embellishment and what’s not. I
thought they’ve called a pretty good game.
I think in playoff series, when one team has more power plays, the
other team’s not so happy. We just have to play our game. We can’t worry
about what’s said, what’s not said, officiating, what’s called, what’s not
called. We have to play our game and whatever happens, roll with it.

Q. If someone told you before the playoffs you would have been up
3-0 three straight series, what would have been your reaction to that?
MIKE RICHARDS: I probably would have smiled. But it’s a situation
that we’re in that we have to embrace, still look to get better and
improve. By no means is it going to be easy on Sunday. We have to
approach this game like we have every other game and try to get better and
try to improve. Hopefully the chips fall where they may.

Q. Thoughts on what it’s going to be like around the center this
weekend.
MIKE RICHARDS: It’s going to be crazy down there. I mean, in the
building and outside the building, it’s going to be pretty wild. Last
night was pretty intense and loud. I’m looking forward to that again.

Q. Meeting Kobe, did you ever text him and exchange messages with
him?
MIKE RICHARDS: No. That was a phoney exchange. I think his phone
number was 555-5555 (laughter).
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
Questions for Rob Scuderi.

Q. You’ve been this close in the past and gotten there. What do you
have to keep as a mindset when you’re just one win away from getting to the
Cup final?
ROB SCUDERI: I think the biggest mindset for us right now is to
finish this series. You get up 3-0, everyone starts looking ahead. I
think one of the good things that this team has is we’ve been able to stay
grounded and focused on what we have to do, and that’s to hopefully finish
out the Phoenix Coyotes sooner rather than later.

Q. What do you have to do to keep that focus?
ROB SCUDERI: Just the same thing we’ve been doing. We’ve been
preparing ourselves well. We’ve executed our game plan very well over the
course of these playoffs.
If we stick to that, take it one period, one shift at a time, I like
our chances.

Q. (Question regarding being up 3-0 and not winning the final.)
ROB SCUDERI: I guess I don’t think too much about that. You’d
rather have a lead in a series than have it be a battle constantly. The
only thing that might be a little bit of a battle is when you have too much
time off and trying to get right back at it, especially in a conference
final, final, whatever round you’re going to next. Sometimes too much time
off is a little bit of a pain.

Q. Do you remember what that was like in ’08?
ROB SCUDERI: I believe we had a significant amount of time. I think
Detroit was maybe playing Chicago. They had played maybe two nights after
that. It got forced to a Game 6. I remember sitting around for a while.
To be honest, I thought that team was just better than us that year. I
thought they deserved.
I don’t think the time or layoff had anything to do with it. If you
can’t get up for the Stanley Cup finals, you’re probably in the wrong
field.

Q. You mentioned the focus of your team. To what degree has Darryl
encouraged that or nurtured that?
ROB SCUDERI: He’s a very straightforward guy. I think one of the
reasons we’ve been able to stay grounded as a team, even with big leads in
the series, he can bring it back out of you pretty quick. If you are
thinking ahead or certainly if you’re playing like it, he’s going to let
you know in a heartbeat.
It’s pretty easy to keep your focus on what’s directly ahead of you
instead of getting worried about what’s too far ahead.

Q. What does Dustin Brown mean to this team?
ROB SCUDERI: He’s our captain, leader, sets the tone for us. He
plays physical. He plays fast. He plays hard. I think he sets the tone
for us in a lot of ways – to repeat myself – both physically and scoring
ability. He’s done it all for us this post-season.

Q. In your time with the club, have you noticed any particular
changes or improvements in him this year?
ROB SCUDERI: Not really. I think he’s been the same guy since I got
here. Certainly with some playoff experience, you know, maybe you’d have
to ask him, but I think that over the past few years he’s really taken a
more active role in his responsibility of, again, trying to set the tone
and trying to set the pace for our team. I think he’s done an excellent
job.

Q. You mentioned Darryl has a way of bringing you back down to
reality. Do you recall that happening in these playoffs so far?
ROB SCUDERI: Not with language I could quite use right now
(smiling).
But, yeah, every once in a while, if you have a couple shifts, you
start to see the team losing some momentum to the other side, like I said,
that’s his responsibility, and I think he’s done a great job, like I said,
just keeping us focused on one thing at a time. He’ll let you know.
That’s a fact.

Q. There’s been talk about what a busy four days it has and will be
for the Staples Center. What does it mean for this city to have all three
teams playing?
ROB SCUDERI: I think it’s great for the city. I mean, especially
the Kings and the Lakers have been very successful over their existence.
For the Kings, it’s been kind of a long drought as far as the post-season
goes, post-season success. It’s fun to see the city rally around it and
get into it. It’s not something that happens often. Hopefully all three
teams can go even farther.

Q. Dave Tippett commented about his frustration, the team’s
frustration, over diving, embellishment of plays whether it be in this
series or the playoffs in general. Have you seen more of it in these
playoffs or as the post-season has gone on? Is it an issue?
ROB SCUDERI: I think it’s kind of a tough question. It’s something
I’d rather stay away from. It’s up to the ref’s discretion. In my
opinion, I think they’ve done a good job. Not a shocker, we’ve had more
power plays than they have.
I think the refs have called the game. You can’t call the score, you
have to call the game. I think they’ve done a good job so far.

Q. When you hear an opposing coach say something like that, do you
find it hard not to take it as an accusation?
ROB SCUDERI: Whoever has more power plays that game is going to be
happy, whoever has less is going to think the other team embellished or
what have you. We’ve been on the other end of it at times and felt like we
were short-changed. Apparently in this series, it’s the other way around.

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