On the whether the team needs to be around the net more and “greasy” goals to go in:
“I think it’s normal when you don’t score to produce more shots, but we have outshot our opponents two-to-one the last two games. We just need the odd one to go in.”
On whether the team needs more quality shots:
“No. More is better, right? You just can’t say ‘quality’. That quality comes from your top guys, right? Sometimes they pass up maybe the odd one that they’d normally take, but trust them that they will.”
On Keaton Ellerby’s recent play:
“He’s played well this home stand for us. You try and put him in situations that he can succeed in, and he’s done a good job killing penalties, trying to play a little more abrasive and trying to move pucks. That’s what we want him to do.”
On whether the team needs to bring in an offensive player via trade:
“You’re way out of line asking coaches questions like that.”
On whether the team needs a line shakeup:
“It’s right now Kopi, Brownie, Willie, Jeff, Mike, Lewie and Jarret – that are on a good third line pace for goals – are all having trouble scoring right now. I’m more inclined to listen to what they tell me more than I tell them, right? It’s difficult when you’re just playing to say that you’re going to switch lines up, and it’s going to work. That’s like giving me a map to go to a place I’m not sure where I’m going.”
On the plan with Tyler Toffoli, and whether he may draw back into the lineup soon:
“Same thing when we called him up. We’re playing a lot of games. We’ve got three back-to-back sets in a short period of time. We’re just trying to have guys that can play against certain teams based on what they have, and that was the advantage of being at home, so it’s not based on winning and losing…We were allowed because we had one more roster spot, so we did it with a forward.”
On his evaluation of Jonathan Quick’s performances this week:
“He’s been solid. Hit the button. That’s what you guys asked a couple days ago, right? We want to the goaltending to be consistent. That’s what you want, your goaltender to keep you in it and five you a chance and that’s what we’re getting.”
On a five-game trip coming up at a “crucial” time:
“Well, they all are. I don’t really know when there are 17 games left where they all aren’t crucial. Everyone’s in the same position other than Anaheim and Chicago.”
Rules for Blog Commenting
Repeated violations of the blog rules will result in site bans, commensurate with the nature and number of offenses.
Please flag any comments that violate the site rules for moderation. For immediate problems regarding problematic posts, please email zdooley@lakings.com.