Physical Stoll set the tone

Somewhat lost, in the variety of storylines from Saturday night’s game, was the sense of purpose that Jarret Stoll started the game with against the Ducks. Stoll came out hitting, and took a first-period charging penalty. It seemed to set a tone for Stoll, as Stoll and his line earned the trust of Darryl Sutter and got a big chunk of the ice time late in the second period, after the first line got fastened to the bench. Stoll talked about the attitude with which he started the game against the Ducks…

STOLL: “It should have been a physical, intense game, and it was. It was a battle. I wanted to make sure that we were ready, and not feeling our way into the game. Maybe I went a little bit overboard there, taking a penalty, but we killed it off. Those are probably good penalties that we can kill, and want to kill. I was just trying to be intense and ready to start the game.’’

Stoll’s stats are still far off-page, in terms of previous years, but his overall game has been noticeably improved of late, since he returned late last month from a mid-body muscle strain.

STOLL: “I feel good. I feel way better. Not that it was an issue before, but with that 10 days off, just getting refreshed and making sure the groin is fine, it was a great rehab, and the trainers did a heck of a job to get me back, so I feel good. I’m just moving my feet more, getting in on the forecheck more. That’s where my game starts. I’ve got to be skating and I’ve got to be moving. Any kind of hesitancy in my game is a bad thing, and I know that. I’ve just to make sure I’m doing that consistently, not being hesitant.’’