Dustin Brown’s and Jarret Stoll’s postgame thoughts…
(on Slava Voynov’s pass on Brown’s goal…)
BROWN: “Yeah, I mean, he’s a pretty skilled guy. Not many people know about him. He has the ability to make those long stretch passes, which are not easy. We did a lot of those short plays breaking out. I kind of caught one of their D sleeping a little bit. (Voynov) put it right on my tape.”
(on rebounding from Derek Morris’ red-line goal…)
STOLL: “That was probably the biggest game we’ve had so far in the playoffs with that much adversity against us. A tough goal. Then a little miscommunication behind our net with our goalie and our defense. Tough goal to give up. On the bench, we were fine. On the ice, we were fine. We kept pushing and pushing. We knew we were playing our game for the most part there, great shifts. Just kept staying positive. We all know, on our team, that wasn’t going to beat us. That’s just the way we played.”
(on the growth of Dwight King…)
STOLL: “Yeah, he’s a strong guy. He’s very smart, too. He thinks the game well. With me, him and (Trevor) Lewis, we’re on the same page defensively, trying to turn over pucks. He protects the puck so well. He can find the puck and score well. He did it in junior. A lot of people have done it in junior. You come up here, he’s contributed down the stretch in the playoffs. It’s not easy for a young guy coming in to be put in a role like that, be playing an empty-netter in the Western Conference Finals and he’s on the ice. So he’s a big part of our team.”
(on whether Jonathan Quick said anything to the team during the first intermission…)
BROWN: “No, he didn’t say much. Quicker, he doesn’t really talk a lot. He makes 25 big saves a game and he don’t say anything after those. He lets one in that he probably wants back, he just put his head
down and got back to work. There were one or two saves that were pretty remarkable in the third (period). One on the blocker’s side (with), I don’t know, four or five minutes left in the third. That definitely saved the game for us. He’s one of those guys, he gets right back at it and doesn’t let it
affect him.”
(on expecting a push-back against his line in Game 2…)
BROWN: “It’s just like pretty much any series. You get that first game out of the way, start looking at film, tendencies. I’m not sure what they’re going to try to do to (try to) stop us. It’s one of those things where they’re going to make adjustments. It’s up to us, as players, to make adjustments in games to be effective and have an impact on Game 2.”
(on how much momentum the Kings generate from successful penalty kills…)
STOLL: “Quite a bit. Smart pressure. You can pressure all you want, (but) if you’re not smart with it and you got one guy going and you got two guys sitting back, gaps open up, lanes open up (and) a good power play can pick you apart. We’re all on the same page, moving together, pressuring together. If you get one extra guy in there (on a power play), they’re going to get a shot, a chance. As
long as it’s not a grade-A scoring chance, Quickie is going to save those all right.”
(on Brown’s game…)
STOLL: “He’s an all-right player, yeah. [laughter] He’s doing it all for us. Both ends of the rink, too. Not just offensively, which is nice, but coming back defensively, being physical, leading by example. He doesn’t say all the rah-rah stuff sometimes, but he definitely speaks on the ice.”
(on whether the Kings were frustrated, being tied after two periods…)
BROWN: “No. We knew coming in, you watch Phoenix play, they got a really good goaltender. Part of our thing is getting as many shots on him as we can, make him work, make it hard for him. The more saves he has, the chances for us winning go up. On the flip side, we understand they’re a very opportunistic team. They’ve won games in this playoffs getting 10 shots, 12 shots. They are very patient, very opportunistic. They get a chance off the forecheck, it’s 2-2, (but) that didn’t change our mindset. I think we’re pretty well aware of how opportunistic they are.”
(on whether it was nerve-wracking to be a tight game like that…)
BROWN: “(It’s) one of those things where, at this time of year, you’ve got to just stick with the game plan, execute. Things will fall into place if you work hard. It’s one of those things where, we’ve got to keep going with the type of offensive threats we had tonight. We had a lot of shots, a lot of traffic. They’re going to get chances. That’s part of the game. That’s why we have a goalie, as well. We’ve just got to keep on making it hard on Smith. The longer they play in their D zone, the more tired they’re going to get. Over the course of the series, that’s going to be to our advantage.”
Should have won 4-0…Yotes were taken out of their game. Foxy was right. Vancouver, St. Louie, now Phoenix will adjust to the Kings.
By the way…Sutter’s pressers…freaking hilarious…
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PhillyKing Reply:
May 13th, 2012 at 10:01 pm
@Voice Of Reason, Agreed about DS’s pressers, he cuts the questions off and just talks about whatever he wants. And he thinks he is hilarious!
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USHA#17 Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 7:17 am
@PhillyKing,
Sure he sometimes short…half the questions are outright silly and don’t even require a sincere response. Put some reporters in the room who know hockey for a change. About the only question was explaining what happened on the two Phoenix goals.
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Dustin (Captain Crunch) Brown does it again!!!
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Shuchuk Reply:
May 13th, 2012 at 10:05 pm
@Underdog, SO MONEY!!!! this team is fun to watch…KEEP IT GOING!
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Brownie-Kopi-Williams looked unstoppable.
Whitney-Hanzal-Vrbata looked really stoppable
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KingMe20 Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 9:18 am
@Kman, that was surprising, too. Vrbata has been good all year, and he ripped the Kings on a few occasions. I was surprised at how little his name was mentioned.
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Brown is the Captain we have been waiting a lot of years for – no disrespect – but this guy does his talking on the ice. I like it.
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mrbrett7 Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 6:55 am
@lowegirl, So Dave Taylor and Matty Norstrom didn’t? Sorry, but you’re dead wrong.
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soyokaze Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 8:00 am
@mrbrett7, I think she means Dustin Brown. I was highly critical of Brown because of his constant diving, flubs on rebound opportunities, and overall lack of consistency on the offensive end. I’m glad that Brown has kicked his game into another gear. I’m gladly eating my crow with Brown and Sutter too. Kings looked so lost and dead in the water in the middleof the season. What an amazing turn around!
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Stuart Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 9:58 am
@soyokaze, I’m with you! DB is doing everything I’ve ever thought him capable of! Finishing checks and scoring goals have never been my beef. But he’s no longer doing the things that I complained about: no more around the boards to send it up top without a look – on the contrary, I love the way he’s curling to the middle for prime scoring ops; hands of stone couldn’t even make a pass and shooting for shooting sake – now he’s tape to tape, handling/settling the puck, using his vision to find players and just overall puck tenacity.
Definitely as @lowegirl said, the Captain I’ve been wating for, for several seasons. He can never go back to how he was earlier in the season. He is evolving in a positive progression! Keep it up DB, don’t stop until that chalice is being military pressed overhead!!!
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 10:40 am
@soyokaze, As for the diving, I think he gets a bit of a bad rap. I mean, he skates on the very edge, and falls down a lot. He fell down a couple times on the forecheck last night. Was that diving? I think not. Maybe he dives from time to time, but most of the time, I think it’s just that he pushes himself to the limit, falls down, gets back up again, etc.
Tippet needs an antidepressant….
He sounded defeated….
He will adjust…but so did A.V. and Hitchcock..
Didn’t really help them much…
I don’t want to come back down from this cloud…
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Gmo Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 5:41 am
@SLIM, Ever?
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Stuart Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 9:59 am
@SLIM, everybody liked Bush, but you’re approaching David Duchovny status! LOL
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 10:40 am
@SLIM, He looked it. IMO, he knows his team cannot win a best-of-seven against this team.
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This is the best chance Phoenix had against Quick. I can’t imagine JQ will have as weak a game as this for the rest of this series, if not the entire playoffs. I’m feeling really good right about now.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 10:42 am
@370455VinSD, I wouldn’t call .923 weak. He gave up a goal he’d like to have back, and Dewey screwed him up behind the net, crowding his play. Most importantly, he didn’t let the issues get to him. If Quick’s “weak” game is .923 and two goals against, it just shows what we’ve come to expect. Maybe we’re spoiled.
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Good game Captain. Nice shot.
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Only way we lose this series is if we give it away…PHO can’t hang with us, wonder how they even got this far.
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mrbrett7 Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 6:55 am
@thrustable, Chicago is an awful team with even worse goaltending and Nashville is extremely overrated.
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letswinthecup2012 Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 8:40 am
@mrbrett7, ya this wasn’t chicago’s year (obviously).. but i saw on rich’s article before the series, one of the yotes said they had faced two good goalies already in Rinne, and Crawford….. Crawford?? Sorry, but JQ is gonna blow your minds..
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mrbrett7 Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 9:02 am
@letswinthecup2012, They were being nice (about Crawford).
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 10:43 am
@mrbrett7, Gotta say, I would have loved seeing the Kings take it to either of those teams. They really got the teams that would be expected to challenge them, so far, and they’ve certainly answered the bell.
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When did Brown become our LW sniper?
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Mikey J. Reply:
May 13th, 2012 at 10:03 pm
@Niko, Since we added Carter.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 10:44 am
@Niko, Murray wouldn’t play him at left wing, even though he feels more comfortable there.
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Like I said, respect Phoenix but do not fear them. Nothing to be scared of when we play Kings hockey. Tip of the hat to Kinger & nice game winner Captain Brown!
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BigIslandKingsFan Reply:
May 13th, 2012 at 10:17 pm
@King Alex, Well said. They shouldn’t ease off after this at all.
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That was a freaking laser!
Pew Pew Pew!
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Oh & by the way, the great goalie Smith gave up 3 tonight. Just about double his playoff average. Get used to it Smith. We just keep coming with 4 lines rolling for a full 60 minutes every game these playoffs.
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Pili Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 7:26 am
@King Alex, That’s what I was saying all week. Smith is very good, but the constant pressure the Kings are applying is not something he’s seen lately, not even from the Kings earlier in the season. The forecheck is outstanding, and the way they pass and carry the puck out of the D zone is simply beautiful to watch.
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“I’m not sure what they’re going to try to do to (try to) stop us,” Conn Smythe 2012 winner Dustin Brown says. Love that quote. The Kings are playing with a quiet confidence. And why not? They are without question the most dominant team in the NHL right now in all facets of the game, as Dave Tippett acknowledged when he said his team had to step it up and raise their level of play if they had any hope of staying with the Kings. As Barry Melrose pointed out, Well, what is he supposed to say? That they are out of their depth? Even though that is what seems to be the case?
Thank Lombardi. Thank DS. And thank the lord! (Lord Stanley)
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I recall several of you about midway through the season chanting “TRADE BROWN” on this very website… Not to sound like a jerk, but I’m so glad you guys have come back to your senses.
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Gmo Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 5:47 am
@Sean, I must admit ,I had my doubts mid-season about BROWN. But ever since the trade deadline and his name coming up in trade rumors he has elevated his play to a whole different level. Brown is a great player and great captain , he is a big part of this team and its success. Thank you , Thank you BROWN for proving me wrong and letting me eat crow, now go destroy those Yotes
Go Kings Go
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Heck i was yelling trade Kopitar the lazy bum and get rid of flat foot Penner and Stoll too.
Pinch me i must be dreaming!
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Jeff R was our leader and Ambassador of Optimism. Hats off to him for foreseeing what this team was capable of.
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soyokaze Reply:
May 14th, 2012 at 8:03 am
@Pili, +1. Jeff_R he eternal optimist!!!! We need more positive vibes amongst us negative, chicken little kings fans!!!
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What about that hot fudge Browine!!!
With all the talk about should Brown be captain and all the trade rumors there WAS this layer of uncertainty.
Brownie has taken all that stuff by the throat and shouted “I AM THE CAPTAIN AND I AIN’T GOING NOWHERE!!!!!”
THANK YOU Brownie for leading this army of Kings with Grit, Passion and Power!!!
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