There was a big scrum around Devils winger Zach Parise, and Parise almost had to break up a fight between reporters. The two men were jockeying for position with their tape recorder and microphone, respectively, when one yelled “Stop it!” while Parise was talking.
The reporter smacked his notebook against the microphone, then used the spirals to run it down the microphone to impair the sound. Eventually, Parise was hit in the face by the microphone.
“Do we need to start this over?” Parise asked the men.
If they were wearing gloves, they would’ve dropped them right there.

Kings forward Dustin Penner says he’s getting a good vibe about hockey in Los Angeles – and he also has some interesting things to say about Kings goalie Jonathan Quick.

Keep checking back I’m gonna be hooking everyone up with video throughout the day.

Vinny B. in Jersey

Kings forward Dustin Brown talked about hockey in Los Angeles, among other things, at media day for the Stanley Cup Finals Tuesday in Newark.

Keep checking in throughout the day for more video posts.

Vinny B. in Jersey

The Kings arrived in New Jersey Monday around 4 local time. By noon today they were on the ice at the Prudential Center in Newark for their last full practice before Game 1 Wednesday. Here is some footage of their workout. I’ll be posting interviews from both teams through the course of the day so keep checking back.

Vinny B. from New Jersey

COACH DARRYL SUTTER

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Sutter.

Q. Darryl, a question about the next game. You guys have been so
good on the road. Why have you been so good on the road? Do you have to
take that same confidence into the next game?
COACH SUTTER: Well, why is because we’re not a home-ice team. We’ve
had to start every series on the road. It’s a tough league to get down in
a series. It’s just like a lead in the game. You want a 1-0 lead, 1-0
series lead. That’s the truth.

Q. Coach, I overheard one of the management team of the Coyotes on
the way down say the first time they took the will out of your guys was
tonight. Do you agree with any of that at all? How does that carry over
into the next game as far as your will?
COACH SUTTER: Talking about? Was that a nickname?

Q. Not a nickname. Maybe the compete level.
COACH SUTTER: Not worried about our compete level. I don’t think
they are either.

Q. Any concerns going into the next game or do you still feel
confident you’re doing what you need to do?
COACH SUTTER: You got to win four games, right? They’re a home-ice
team. They finished ahead of us for a good reason, right? There’s not
much difference in the team.
I said to you guys who aren’t used to covering hockey, watching
playoffs a lot, the most important part of the playoffs are goaltending,
special teams, how your top players play. So just do it, right?

Q. Darryl, the power play continues to be a little bit of a vexing
thing for you. Also, did you think it was a bit of a sleepy start for the
whole team?
COACH SUTTER: First off, power play, you know, if you just look at
zone time, we probably have it in there most of the time, right? You start
each series on its own. We scored the two, five and three goals which made
a difference, which won us the game there. And tonight the power play, we
had looks up top, we took too much time. We basically never really looked
at it, but I’m going to bet that Gordon, Vermette and probably Pyatt
blocked more shots, pucks just hitting them in the pads. Quite honestly,
that’s poor shooting on our part from up top from guys that are supposed to
take that shot.
The start, I don’t know how many chances they had in the first
period. We had some chances, if you look at the series, most goals are
screen-tipped rebounds. I’m not sure we had enough actual screen on it.

Q. Your forecheck has been extremely effective. How were they able
to sort of neutralize it?
COACH SUTTER: They had a really strong forecheck. It was nothing to
do with ours, it was theirs. I think we had some guys had trouble
adjusting to the pace of how they played.
All of a sudden you’re not going to stop forechecking ’cause you won
a game or you lost a game. It really has no bearing on anything, right?
Both teams have an identity. It’s a close game. That’s what it was
tonight.
They score a goal on the goalie rim, soft play out of the corner on
Doan, they score on the faceoff, right? Their captain took charge of the
game. Say what you want.

Q. Can you talk about your 8-0 road record. No concerns, right?
Going where you love it.
COACH SUTTER: You got to win four games. Do I like going back on
the road tomorrow? No, absolutely not. But that’s the way it works.
That’s why it’s four out of seven.
Did we think as not a home-ice team we weren’t ever going to lose a
game? No, it’s that simple. You’re supposed to play 28 games, not 12 or
13, 4 or 5. That’s what it is, right?
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

Interviews with:

COACH DARRYL SUTTER
DWIGHT KING
DUSTIN BROWN
ANZE KOPITAR
DREW DOUGHTY

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Sutter.

Q. Your team is one win away from a stage a lot of your players have
never been at. How do you keep their eye on the ball tomorrow?
COACH SUTTER: Try to harp on the details to them. Hopefully they
have the preparation skills to do that.

Q. Will Fraser go back in?
COACH SUTTER: Didn’t talk about Fraser the other day because it was
a personal issue and he wasn’t hurt, wasn’t what you would call a healthy
scrap.
Unless Dave (Tippett) is coming up here and telling you who they’re
playing, I’m not telling you who we’re playing.

Q. What do you expect from a team down 3-0?
COACH SUTTER: Same thing we saw last game. No difference when
you’re down in the series, right? You’re going to get the same thing we
got in the first period last game, for sure. I mean, that’s logical,
right?
If I was those guys, I’d be doing the same thing. So expect that.

Q. What was the key that first period for both you and Phoenix?
COACH SUTTER: I think they’re really good in the neutral zone and we
weren’t as good.

Q. What about the plans for tomorrow morning? Do you have a sense
of how that’s going to play out?
COACH SUTTER: We’ve done it once already. The routine is there. So
we’ve done it once, do it again.

Q. Figured out how to dodge the bicycle race?
COACH SUTTER: It’s only a mile walk downhill (laughter). Really, it
is, right? I’ve done that. It’s actually a little more than a mile. How
many blocks is that, like 12 blocks or something? All that is blocked off.

Q. Are you excited about tomorrow or cautious?
COACH SUTTER: I think you have to be able to channel all that
because if you don’t, it doesn’t work, right? I mean, there has to be
discipline and control. I’m not a rocket scientist, and they are people.
So you control it.
It’s a team thing. It’s not an individual thing.

Q. What is your take on all the attention? Is L.A. a hockey team
now?
COACH SUTTER: Hockey team? Black and white, they’re a team.

Q. A hockey city?
COACH SUTTER: I guess I live in Manhattan Beach, and go to L.A. for
the games. Manhattan Beach is a nice, quiet town (smiling).

Q. For particularly your young guys, young players, do you like that
they seem to be really relishing this?
COACH SUTTER: The biggest thing, everybody was caught up in the team
staying downtown, the Stanley Cup Playoffs. You know what, experience is
experience. It’s awesome for the young guys. They haven’t had it. Most
of them hadn’t even won a playoff game.
Why not experience the experience, right? Same thing you’re doing.
Experience the experience, right? It’s the best part of it. Why shouldn’t
they be able to do that? That’s the only way you get it. Otherwise you go
watch another team play, right? That’s the best part of it.
Go to the other side, talk to Phoenix. It’s an awesome experience
for them. Why wouldn’t you want that?

Q. Not letting it overtake them?
COACH SUTTER: I think there’s times it certainly has, right? I
mean, somebody just asked about first period last game. If we would have
lost that game, you’d be asking, that we didn’t handle it very well.
There’s a fine line between winning and losing. What’s the difference?
Not very much.

Q. What about for Darryl Sutter eight years ago, knocking at the
door with the Flames. Getting a little giddy?
COACH SUTTER: No. Everybody makes a big deal of that. Quite
honestly, had better teams after that and we lost in the first round, so…
You know what, that’s how close it is.

Q. Three months since the Carter trade, has he been easier to
integrate into the team because he had relationships with other guys that
were already here?
COACH SUTTER: No.

Q. Has he integrated?
COACH SUTTER: Yes. What does ‘integrated’ mean?

Q. I was just following up on his question.
COACH SUTTER: Why would he be harder than anybody else? You know,
65% of the players are Canadian. Lots are from Ontario. He’s from
Ontario. He’s played two positions. He’s young. Our team is young.
Why would it be hard to integrate? I mean, he’s a good player, so…

Q. Jordan said his dad is in town. Have you had a chance to talk
with his dad at all?
COACH SUTTER: Jordan?

Q. Nolan.
COACH SUTTER: No.

Q. I asked the players in general if they have any appreciation for
what the Coyotes have had to go through in terms of ownership. they said,
‘No, we’re worried about ourselves.’ Do you have any appreciation for
them, for their journey here?
COACH SUTTER: You know what, I appreciate, because I understand
their coaches, who they are, what they do, right? Jimmy Playfair and I
have been together in lots of situations. I know some of the guys on their
team, so…
It’s a good place to live, obviously. It’s a good hockey team.
That’s kind of what everybody wants.
Heck, I went to San Jose when they were a 60-some-point team. I went
to Calgary when there were 8,000 or 9,000 people watching games. If you
get a good team, generally you get a chance for people to watch. It would
be nice to keep that team in the league. That’s the way everybody looks at
it. You guys, too. You want to go to Phoenix. We all do.

Q. Westgate is nice?
COACH SUTTER: Absolutely. Good building, good fans. When you have
a good team, they want to come and watch. We’ve all seen it. That’s what
you want the most, for sure.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

Questions for Dwight King.

Q. Why has this team been able to be so focused?
DWIGHT KING: I think we just kind of reset ourselves. Obviously
after big wins and big efforts, people come back to the rink, they enjoy it
for the evening it was. When they come back here, refocus, go to practice,
touch on some issues that we needed to work on, carry it into our next
games.
It’s been going pretty well. Our top players have been playing great
for us. That’s what you need, too.

Q. Dustin talked about it the other day, you say you haven’t played
your best game yet, you haven’t shown your best.
DWIGHT KING: Yeah.

Q. Is that fact? Are you using it as motivation?
DWIGHT KING: That’s definitely fact. Obviously, if you watched last
game, there were times when we were sloppy. We’re still working to get
that full 60-minute effort. We’re getting closer. Working to get there
eventually.
We’re going to focus upon Sunday, hopefully get a little closer,
bring a better effort from the start.

Q. What has the transition from the minors been like for you?
DWIGHT KING: Definitely taking it all in. Obviously it’s a very big
city here and they’re very passionate about their sports teams. Good to
see we’re all in the playoffs. It’s a bonus.
Obviously with us having success, it makes it that much better. Kind
of living the dream right now, soaking it all in.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

Questions for Dustin Brown.

Q. Hard not to look ahead?
DUSTIN BROWN: You know what, at this point of the year, I mean,
you’re looking. Everyone talks about getting to the Stanley Cup Final.
But I think as players, especially for myself, I can only speak really for
myself, playing in that game tomorrow night is pretty fun, as well. It’s
one of the things, you really have to enjoy the journey.
We’re one game away from, you know, the Cup Final. But, again, it’s
one game we have to win. Again, like I said, these games that we’re
playing in, it’s not like they’re aren’t fun to play in.

Q. A lot of pride in the other team. No one likes to get swept.
What do you expect from them?
DUSTIN BROWN: I’ve said this about Phoenix not only this year, but
the last few years, they’re a pretty tight, resilient group. Considering
they’re the Pacific Division champs this year, battled through a lot of
things. I don’t know if they’ve been this far in a hole, but they’ve
showed character all year. It’s going to be no different tomorrow night.
I think, like you said, they’re a practical group. They’re going to
come out with everything they got.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

Questions for Anze Kopitar.

Q. (No microphone.)
ANZE KOPITAR: We all know what’s at stake. It’s just a matter of getting
focused, what you got to do at that moment. Right now it’s getting ready
for tomorrow. Tomorrow is getting ready for the game. During the game,
you got to play the shifts. We’ll see the outcome in two, three hours.
We’ll go from there.

Q. (No microphone.)
ANZE KOPITAR: That’s what you got to do in playoffs. You know, once
you get caught looking ahead, or back, you can get caught and just start
daydreaming. That’s obviously not very good.

Q. For guys like you that haven’t gone through this, is it
surprising, or is it a by-product of some of the guys that have been
through it?
ANZE KOPITAR: Yeah, having some experience in this room, obviously I
don’t have it myself, not a whole lot of guys have it, but having some guys
that have been there, they’ve been to these types of situations. I mean,
it helps a lot.
You know, you talk to them once in a while. But then, you know, I
guess you kind of catch yourself doing the same thing. After that you just
do whatever’s working for you.

Q. Have you thought about what the rink is going to be like
tomorrow?
ANZE KOPITAR: I think it’s going to be pretty good. Not that it
hasn’t been in the past, too. I think the loudest I heard Staples Center
was the Game 4 against St. Louis. Those last couple minutes were pretty
electric. Even two days ago it was pretty fun.
I don’t doubt it’s not going to be any different tomorrow.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Questions for Drew Doughty.

Q. Drew, you finished off the Blues when you had a chance. What’s
the difference in terms of focus in trying to finish it off?
DREW DOUGHTY: We’re trying to focus the same way we did in those
other games. We need to come out there as if we’re down a couple games in
the series. We know that they’re going to play their best game. We need
our best game, too. It’s going to be the toughest one for us. They’re
going to come out hard in the first five minutes, try to push us away. We
have to make sure it’s our best game in the series.

Q. What’s it like trying not to think ahead?
DREW DOUGHTY: It’s tough not to think ahead. But at the same time,
it’s easy because, you know, all you’re thinking about is that next game.
We know we still got a lot of work to do. We’re not even close to being
there yet. Going to the next game, we’re so excited to hopefully finish it
off in front of our home fans.

Q. Drew, how much of your success is playing in the third period?
DREW DOUGHTY: It’s been huge. There’s times we’re up 2-1, we got
that third goal with 10 minutes left to kind of push the other team out.
At the same time instead of sitting back and just holding on to the lead,
we’re still pushing forward, still making those plays to get the puck in
deep, get in hard on the forecheck. That’s why we’re holding on to those
leads.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

(See attached file: Coach Sutter – Practice Day – 05.18.12.pdf)

An interview with:

COACH DARRYL SUTTER

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Sutter.

Q. Mean anything to you to be 3-0, 3-0, 3-0 to start each of these
series?
COACH SUTTER: You know what, the biggest thing for me is the
afternoon game coming up. I really don’t look back. Three or four things
I’d like our team to be a little bit more efficient on, work at that.

Q. Can you be more specific as to what those things might be?
COACH SUTTER: No.

Q. With it being such a busy Sunday, everything going around the
Staples Center, will you head in early?
COACH SUTTER: Yeah, we’ll come in the night before.

Q. Then stay in a hotel?
COACH SUTTER: Yeah. It’s going to be crazy anyways. Doesn’t matter
if you’re down there, you’re not down there. It’s going to be busy
wherever you are.
Tough part is getting there, finding your way over to Staples.

Q. Have you stayed in a hotel in any home games so far?
COACH SUTTER: Yeah. We stayed in one or two. Just easier.

Q. Your decision after the first round to flip centers. What were
you seeing there?
COACH SUTTER: Well, when we did it in the last round, it was more
the matchup part of it, how St. Louis could play those six top guys
together. With Penner’s experience, we thought it was better that he was
in there. That’s when McDonald and Steen, more veteran guys on the same
line. We thought Carter and Penner together would saw it off a little
better. Take a little pressure off King, too, to be honest. I don’t like
King against Doan either.

Q. More simple game for the third line.
COACH SUTTER: Kind of manages his minutes, who he’s out on the ice
against a little better.

Q. What did you think of the shift late in the game?
COACH SUTTER: Well, when he first did it, I didn’t think it was a
very wise decision. You’re protecting a one-goal lead with two minutes
left and your defenseman is not joining the rush, he is the rush
(laughter), then he’s the forecheck, too. When he first does it, okay.

Q. Worked out, though?
COACH SUTTER: Yeah.

Q. What have you seen in Dwight as far as growth in the last month
or two?
COACH SUTTER: Still 232. After games he’s 228 (laughter).

Q. How about in his game?
COACH SUTTER: Better than he was when we got him, right? Just
’cause he’s scoring, I don’t think it’s growth. That’s kind of been what
he’s done in his junior career and his pro career. Same thing.

Q. What did you think when you went down to Manchester and saw him?
COACH SUTTER: I was familiar with him a little bit, so it wasn’t
like I was seeing somebody new. So it was just seeing how he was into his
first pro contract really. It’s really no different than what he is now.
He’s a big kid that is strong on the puck, has a good sense, good feel for
the game.

Q. Do you trust him more when you’ve had him for three months than
the first couple weeks?
COACH SUTTER: We threw him right into it, because you know what, we
played those kids together with Mike Richards. We were struggling on the
wing with that whole dimension part of it, getting minutes and trying to
get some scoring opportunities.
It really wasn’t about trust. It was saying we were going to play
those young guys and see what happens.

Q. What was your first impression of Kopitar when you were with the
Flames and how far he’s come now?
COACH SUTTER: I think it would be the same as anybody who watches
the game lots. Big strong guy who plays both ends of the ice, plays
special teams, plays against top players. Pretty dominant guy when he’s on
his game. I think the only time he struggled since he’s been here is he’s
struggled with his consistency night in and night out. He’s obviously done
a good job of that in the playoffs.

Q. As a hockey coach, do you like 12 noon starts or dislike them?
COACH SUTTER: We talked about it when we had the last one. I don’t
know, to tell you the truth. You wait and see how you play. You always
have those three, four guys that aren’t your perfect morning people, right?
You just kind of wait to see always.
In the old days, playing those 1:20 starts, in Boston Gardens, you
got woken up in a hurry.

Q. Most of those people became writers.
COACH SUTTER: You know, I don’t know. Everybody’s different. I
don’t mind those mid afternoon ones. The problem you have with the noon
one is it affects them. They’re people, right? They got to eat properly.
So it’s their timing, their routine of when they get their fuel in them.
That’s always an issue. You don’t want to get them up too early. If they
want to eat at 7:00, 8:00, you kind of let them decide. That’s what’s more
important for me.

Q. Did you have a lot of early games in Chicago?
COACH SUTTER: No. You always played Saturday night on the road,
commercial back in Sunday, played Sunday or late Sunday. If there was a
Bears game, you knew you didn’t play until after them.

Q. When you left, did you anticipate getting back into the game or
did you think that was it?
COACH SUTTER: I never thought either one. Never really looked at it
like that ever.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

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.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

COACH DARRYL SUTTER
ANZE KOPITAR

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Coach, when your forecheck is going well, what makes it work?
COACH SUTTER: I think it takes all five guys to make it work. We
weren’t that good at it early in the game and they were. We didn’t get a
chance to forecheck early. Tough with the goalie, he moves it so good.

Q. Is your team a team of destiny now? 11-1?
COACH SUTTER: Destiny? What is that (laughter)?

Q. Your top three centers all had strong games tonight. Stoll is
not a guy that gets as much attention. Talk about his game.
COACH SUTTER: We talked about it earlier. When he’s slotted right
where he is, he’s awesome. He’s had a strong, powerful game tonight. I
thought him and Kopitar were outstanding.

Q. Is there a little kid inside of you just semi-partying because
you’re one win from the Cup finals?
COACH SUTTER: No, too old to be like that. I’ve been in lots of
Conference Finals, and only won one. We have a long ways to go here.
As I said, doesn’t matter. The farther you go, the tougher it is to
win games. Two is tougher than one. Three is tougher than two. Not hard
to figure it out.

Q. Talk about answering their goal so quickly to tie it up?
COACH SUTTER: Our top goal-scorer made a great goal.

Q. All playoffs, every time they would score, you would answer back.
COACH SUTTER: Both close games, right? Both being up one, down one.
That’s why some games take all night. Somebody ties it up, somebody
scores. That’s real.

Q. You could sit back and try to protect leads when you get them.
What is it that makes you philosophically try to keep going and push for
more? It can be just one goal?
COACH SUTTER: Well, it’s tough to only score one goal and win. I
think we learnt that during the regular season. I think we had 10 1-0
games one way or the other. Tough to win 1-0.

Q. Coach, players seem to indicate it was pretty animated before
third period intermission. Did you say something because they seemed to
come out fired up for the third period?
COACH SUTTER: It wasn’t me that was animated. Between the second
and third?

Q. Yes.
COACH SUTTER: No, it wasn’t me.

Q. Do you want to tell us who it was?
COACH SUTTER: No. That’s the players’ room, not the coach’s room.

Q. Can you comment on Dwight King’s performance. Did you expect him
to come out scoring like this, five goals in the playoffs?
COACH SUTTER: Obviously a big goal tonight. Great play out of the
corner. Guy with good hands. A little composure there. Puts it right in
the spot he has to. Huge goal for us.

Q. The fact he was able to score that goal a little bit farther away
from his normal close around the net, are you seeing him add more parts to
his game?
COACH SUTTER: Well, tonight’s goals were totally different than Game
3. I don’t know about him on his own. The last game we played against,
all four goals were screens, tips and rebounds. Tonight was a breakaway
and a play coming out of the corner where the goalie saw it.
You know, you got to score in different ways, and he’s done that. He
even scored an empty netter.

Q. Coach Tippett was in here talking about the officiating,
questioned some of the calls, particularly saying there’s some guys on your
team who were embellishing. Do you care to comment on that?
COACH SUTTER: Embellishing?

Q. Diving.
COACH SUTTER: I didn’t see that. We didn’t complain last game.
There wasn’t that many power plays, so obviously we’re doing something
right.

Q. Obviously one win at a time here.
COACH SUTTER: Yup.

Q. Talk about the importance of stepping on the jugular for several
reasons? First of all, you want to win the series, second of all, you want
to rest.
COACH SUTTER: Actually we get about 60 hours’ rest before our next
game, right, as long as nobody’s in that bike ride. Fly to San Francisco
tonight, wherever they’re at.
I really don’t know the bearing that’s going to have. We still got
to win a game. Might take us another three, five, seven, nine days, so…
I don’t think we’re looking too much farther ahead to tomorrow
morning and practice.

Q. How much would it help to take care of them now and let the other
two teams beat the heck out of each other?
COACH SUTTER: Well, that always helps. I can’t predict the future
very well.

Q. Michael Roth has forewarned that Sunday is going to be a busy
day. Do you feel you have to get here early?
COACH SUTTER: Be here night before, wade through all them bikes to
get here. Be awesome actually if you think about it. Geez, that and then
the basketball after. Tough getting in, tough getting out.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

Questions for Anze Kopitar.

Q. This team you’re playing was so good in the last round of the
playoffs, how have you been able to put the pressure on them so far this
series?
ANZE KOPITAR: Well, we just want to stay aggressive, play within the
whistles, staying out of it, out of the retaliation stuff.
I think tonight first period we kind of sat back and figured out
pretty quick it’s not going to work. They were coming at us pretty good.
After that I think we got our game in order and pushed right back.

Q. Talk about the little kid inside of you right now. One win at a
time. We know all that. What is the little kid saying inside one win away
from the finals?
ANZE KOPITAR: It’s exciting, of course. But just like you said,
there’s still one left in the series. After that we’ll see what happens,
who it is.
But, again, we’re going to enjoy this one tonight and get back at it
tomorrow.

Q. I’m curious, you’re up 3-0, this issue of retaliation, you talk
about avoiding retaliation which seems to be a motto of this team right
now. How easy is it to prevent yourself from retaliating? If it is easy,
why doesn’t it happen during the regular season?
ANZE KOPITAR: Well, I mean, I guess it’s easier to take a punch in
the face in the playoffs knowing that you’re going to get a power play than
it is in regular season.
But, you know, that’s the game plan going in. You want to be
disciplined, you want to not let them to go on the power play because they
do have some firepower. So far we’ve been doing a pretty good job.

Q. During the regular season, if you wanted to, could you stay back
and not respond if you needed to?
ANZE KOPITAR: Yeah, I think so.

Q. You talked about the push-back. You put their D under duress.
What makes your forecheck so good when it’s working?
ANZE KOPITAR: I think the first period, we were turning over the
puck quite a bit in the neutral zone. Every time you do that, your skates
are facing the wrong way, obviously you got to back-check. You don’t get a
whole lot of flow, not a lot of offensive zone time.
After that, we cleaned it up. Got the pucks behind the D. We
weren’t trying to make a perfect play on their blueline. We got in there,
got some cycles going, it worked out for us.

Q. Can you talk about the knack you’ve shown to come back with a
goal after they score?
ANZE KOPITAR: It seems we’ve come back pretty quick every goal we
get scored on. I mean, it’s just the way we play. Again, we try to stay
aggressive, score goals, obviously.

Q. Could you take us through your goal, how you thought about it.
ANZE KOPITAR: Well, we had a little scrum in our zone. Me and
Justin were able to dig the puck out. He passed it over to Brown. At that
point I was side-by-side with our player. I knew if I could get a step on
him, there was a good chance I was going to get a breakaway. Brown got a
good pass. The rest is just going in. I think instincts just take over,
and fortunately for me it worked out.

Q. Four months ago if I would have told you, you would be 11-1 in
the playoffs, what would you have said to me?
ANZE KOPITAR: Well, I mean, the biggest thing is we believed in the
locker room that we can do it. Not a lot of guys outside the locker room
gave us the chance, I guess. Especially, you know, barely squeaking in the
playoffs. Right now 11-1 doesn’t really mean anything.
We’re taking it a game at a time. That’s what we want to focus on.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports