On whether Los Angeles – St. Louis will be a “physical matchup”:
“I would imagine. Big bodies on each side. I don’t anticipate anything else. If you’re a slow team, you’re going to get hit. You move the puck quick, you skate the puck quick and you get out of your zone quick, you’re not going to be hit as much. But we anticipate a physical series, and I’m sure they do.”
On what has allowed L.A. to have had success against St. Louis, given their similarities:
“I’m not sure if I can pinpoint anything. Obviously we’ve just simply played better than them when we’ve played against them. But it’s a new animal. It’s playoffs. They’re, I’m sure, looking for revenge. But we obviously don’t even really think about that. We’re just focused on winning. St. Louis is in our way right now, and we’ve got to get them out.”
On whether he views St. Louis as a “dangerous team”:
“Absolutely. They’re one of the best teams in the league when they’re on their game. We’re certainly going to have our hands full.”
On Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak:
“Steady, solid goaltenders who play their angles well, battle hard. I mean, at this level, all NHL goalies are good. I don’t care where you are. They’ve shown that they’re a pretty darn good tandem.”
On building momentum throughout the playoffs:
“Teams get hot and win Stanley Cups for multiple reasons. They have a healthy team, they have a team that’s playing on top of their game, they’re having contributions from everybody up and down their lineup, and their goaltenders are stellar. That’s the ingredients for winning come playoff time. We feel we’re trending in the right direction, and we need to make that step to start defending our championship.”
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