Murray postgame quotes

Terry Murray’s postgame thoughts…

(on the game…)
MURRAY: “The rivalry is heating up. It’s always a good game, I think, whenever the Kings play the Ducks. There’s good intensity, there’s good players on both teams, and again, just the way the game went. We got a lead, they came back, they tied it up. They’ve got great players and they respond to the challenge, and it made for a fun game.”

(on Richardson’s play…)
MURRAY: “He had a good game tonight. He’s been playing pretty well in the last half-dozen games, I think, using his speed. I’ve used him on the left side and in the middle. He’s responding to the opportunity. He’s playing much better. He’s stronger on the puck, he’s making things happen along the boards, coming up with more pucks than he did last year. The play that happens, on the winning goal, it’s just getting to the net. I thought Stoll made a tremendous play. Lots of composure to pull the puck out of nothing and make a play back up top. And then the two defensemen. But Richardson was in the right place. The puck is going to end up there, and he was there waiting for it. So I was happy for him. He had a strong game here tonight.”

(on whether Randy Jones’ production is a surprise…)
MURRAY: “No, not at all. Randy Jones has been a pretty good player, on the offensive side of the puck, throughout his career. College, right through the pros, he’s been a second power-play guy. He’s able to jump up and make good things happen. He’s a good passer. What he’s doing for me is not a surprise.”

(on whether Simmonds could move up to a higher-profile role…)
MURRAY: “Probably not. I think he’s fitting in pretty good right now with the role that he’s in with Handzus, more of that checking role. He’s going into every game with a checking mentality, and as a result of that, you end up with scoring opportunities. I like where the fit is right now. I think there’s pretty good chemistry with those guys and I think Handzus has done a tremendous job with Simmonds here, since the middle of last year when they started playing together, to tutor him and bring him along the right way.”

(on the Kings being better than the Ducks this season…)
MURRAY: “It’s the first of December. That’s all. It’s the first game of six that we’re going to play, and we end up winning the game here tonight. There’s a long way to go. There’s going to be many intense games, and we got a pretty good effort here tonight. I thought we did a fine job in the offensive zone. We were cycling, getting pucks to the net. That’s a great team. They know how to win. They’re a Stanley Cup winner. They’ve got one of the premier lines in the game. That’s the way it went here tonight. Hopefully it goes that way for us over the next games, but it’s a long haul and that’s a great team down the hallway.”

(on Jonathan Quick’s game…)
MURRAY: “I thought he played good. That’s a big team that creates a lot of traffic and a lot of movement in the offensive zone. They can really bring it from the back end and you’ve got to be very sharp. A 5-on-3 goal, you know, it is what it is. You’ve got a pretty good player beating him on that one. The tying goal is just an unfortunate bounce, from our side of it. The puck comes off his chest, and I thought Greener had it for a second, but hey, that’s the way the puck bounces in a game sometimes. You can’t beat this kind of experience, for a young goaltender to come into this kind of environment and this kind of rivalry that’s starting to heat up against world-class players. He’s only going to get better because of it.”

(on Segal’s status…)
MURRAY: “I don’t know how he is. He’s going to be out, I’m sure, for a little bit. He’s got a lower-body injury. It happened on his first shift of the game. Same as Ryan Smyth in Florida, the first shift of the game. I haven’t got an update on it, medically, from our trainers yet. But obviously, missing the whole game, that’s not good news.”