On if the chemistry is continuing to develop on the Kopitar line:
“I think Willie [has been better]. I think Brownie’s still got some straight line work to do and make the line a little more where they join the dots a little better. I think Willie did most of the work last night in terms of going to the net and creating everything. Even on the goal that Brown scored, that’s a nice shot. That’s a highlight, right? But the play was made by [Williams] taking a hit to get around Getzlaf.”
On forging the team’s identity:
“Well, we’ve had to rebuild it, right, quite honest? That’s what we’re working on doing.”
On how well he knows Mike Babcock:
“I know him pretty [well]. I know he wants to kick my ass, and I want to kick his.”
On his previous comments on Jake Muzzin earlier this season:
“Well, it was true. If you’re a team or players that are always chasing the other team’s game, you’re either not going to play very much or not at all or in a different league. It’s not that hard to figure out.”
On the aspects Muzzin has improved:
“Getting into the tough areas. Being strong with his stick. Being more competitive in the tough areas. That’s what he did last night.”
On Muzzin continuing to develop his confidence:
“Generally with young players, that’s a big part of it. But it’s a two-way street also, right? It’s very simple: the better you play, the more you play. He’s basically an unproven player. He’s no different than a sixth, seventh, eighth defenseman [or] eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth forwards. It’s strictly based on performance.”
On the heavy schedule approaching:
“Lots of guys banged up. It’s not about last night. It’s about tomorrow night. It’s what we’ll be doing for the next five weeks…Everybody’s the same. Get through it. I mean, it made a difference in the game last night. That team played the night before.”
On whether he can tell if an opposing team has played the night before:
“Absolutely. You can see old guys that aren’t in good enough shape, and you can see young guys that have energy, and you can see – it’s like you guys asked about Jordy – young guys trying to make a little bit of a statement. It’s very simple. You need great goaltending and you need great leadership to get through the schedule this year. If you don’t, if you only have got one of the two, you’re not going to make it, and if you’ve got two, you’ve got a good chance.”
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