April 6 postgame quotes: Edmonton

Devan Dubnyk, on the challenges presented by Los Angeles:
“They are a big team and play hard. They start to play well at this time of the year. They consistently bring bodies to the net. They crash, screen and throw pucks to the net. We can certainly learn lessons from that. We need to do the same thing. It’s not easy to get there. You look at their second goal. You have two going to the net and it goes off a leg and into the net. That’s sometimes how you need to score if it’s a tough game. We need to bring that.”

Dubnyk, on being in a playoff race:
It’s extremely important for us to be where we are right now. At the same…we talked about it after the game that what we did for the last five games isn’t going to be good enough for the next 10, and same thing in the playoffs. How you play in the first round is not going to be good enough for the second round, and so on. We need to learn that. It’s good that we’re here, and it’s good that we’re experiencing these games, but we need to learn how to play at this time of the year and turn up the intensity and maybe win some ugly ones.

Dubnyk, on whether Edmonton used today’s game as a “measuring stick”:
“You know what, it’s not really something that we look at right now. We just really have to look at every single game as ‘we need the points’. That’s all it comes down to, we need points. We need to find a way to get them. Some nights that’s going to be eight goals for and some nights It’s going to be one or two. We need to figure out how to win those closer ones because everybody plays extra hard this time of year.”

Dubnyk, on playing in a game when facing a heavy shot total against:
“I think patience is one of the most important things. When there’s bodies at the net like they have, you’ve got to find the puck. It’s not easy. Screens are part of the game, and you just have to work that much harder to find the puck and stay on your feet. That’s part of the game, and it certainly makes it tough, but you’ve just got to keep finding a way. Don’t let yourself lose the puck.”

Sam Gagner, on Saturday’s game:
“Discipline is a huge factor. LA is a good team. They are a hard team to beat when you are undisciplined and taking penalties. For us it’s about finding ways to raise our level. These are important games. These are games you want to be a part of down the stretch, fighting for your playoff lives. These games are more intense and we have to raise our level pretty quick.”

Gagner, on the Kings scoring early:
“It’s a matter of being harder in our D zone. If we can do that, they don’t get those chances. For the most part we picked it up there and we were good in position. It’s just a matter of finding that extra intensity in these tight games.”

Gagner, on a game that featured a lot of special teams time:
“It’s tough. You have to find ways to get through it. I think there were penalties both ways. Sometimes that’s just the way the game goes. You have to find a way to continue to work through that and get your game going regardless if it’s slow or not.”

Head Coach Ralph Krueger, on Los Angeles:
“They play hard at both ends. I think in front of both nets they are the best in the league [and] that’s why they are the defending Stanley Cup champs. I think it’s really a measuring stick that we’re trying to compete even harder against teams like this. There were phases where we had a semblance of the game going that we wanted to see but we couldn’t sustain it. They sustained what they do great through 60 minutes.”

-Gagner and Krueger quotes provided by Los Angeles Kings PR.

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