February 24 practice quotes: Davis Payne

On whether yesterday’s game continued the progress of the past week:
“At times. We all agree we did some things very, very well. I also think as a group we understand we kind of exposed ourselves a couple times [with] some plays we know we need to make. [We] spent a little more time in our own zone than we needed to. Some of our offensive zone time could have been a little bit more on the interior. We [haven’t been] drawing a lot of penalties lately, and we think that’s one of the issues here.”

On whether a goaltending schedule is drawn up in advance:
“No. Game by game decision. Both guys are playing well. That makes for good decisions.”

On the recent success of the Brown-Kopitar-Williams line:
“I think if you look at it, they got put back together in Edmonton with a clear understanding that they’re a good line. They have all the elements, and they need to buckle down and get together and play together and see each other and make a difference for our hockey club. They’ve done that and started our game very well last night. We need more of it.”

On what has been established and improved since the Detroit game:
“A clear understanding of our identity, how hard we defend, how hard we get after teams. How quick and physical we need to be. That gives us the puck more. I think we are doing a better job with our possessions. The power play has scored some goals, although we haven’t had many opportunities here the last three games. I think just as a whole, the five-man game and our checking game is really kind of what fuels everything going towards the opponent’s net. Nothing more than that.”

On how much the team views the Anaheim game on Monday as redemption:
“It’s a big game for us. Division game. We’ve made some progress here, and we want to make sure we keep taking steps forward. We had Colorado after playing a poor game, and now we’ve got Anaheim after playing them poorly the first time. We’ve got to make sure we’ve got our A-game ready.”

On the importance of opening a home-heavy schedule with a win:
“When you’ve been on the road for a while, you always want to kind of get your feet back under you – the energy and the home crowd and that situation. You’re going to play a lot at home. You’d like to get them all. You can’t get them all without the first one…We got the one we needed last night. We know it’s an important stretch. We’ve been on the road and put ourselves in an OK spot. We’ve got to make sure that spot looks better when we get through this.”

On whether there had been any emphasis on the team’s limited success in day games:
“No. That’s total preparation, total focus. Whether you’re playing three in four, or you’re in three different cities, or you’re at home, or you’re playing at one o’clock, we step on the ice just about every day here at 10 o’clock in the morning. We expect our guys and ourselves to be sharp, so that’s just preparation and focus.”

On how much power play detail is shared between the staff considering they “switch duties around”:
“I think it’s all of ours. Between Darryl and myself and Bernie, that’s probably the lion’s share of it. But we’ve also got Johnny Stevens in there as a defensive guy that is great [in] point and counterpoint situations. We put all our heads together and come up with a real clear game plan and make sure it’s executed.”

On whether he has seen the proposed realignment:
“I have not. I was watching Kings-Avalanche last night for the second time.”

On whether he has become accustomed to living in the area:
“A little bit. I stay close here. I’ve got about two and a half miles home and two and a half miles here and a carpool to downtown. Everything’s cool.”

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