May 29 conference call quotes: Drew Doughty

On the benefit of recuperating before opening the conference finals:
“Yeah, it’s huge to get this couple of days here [to] start focusing on our next opponent. But most importantly, get some rest. Obviously some guys are banged up, and that’s just something you’ve got to play through in playoff hockey. It’s a good thing to get some rest.”

On whether he’s rooting for Detroit and home ice advantage in the next round:
“Yeah, that’s probably the best-case scenario, obviously to get home ice advantage. We love playing at home. We’ve played great home, and [use] the energy of the crowd. So we’d love to play them, but I’m comfortable with whoever we face that our team will step up to the plate.”

On whether he feels capable of playing 28 minutes per game over the final rounds, if needed:
“Yeah, of course. That’s what we used the lockout for. We trained hard. We got in shape, and…we’ve been playing every other day. We’re just used to it. For sure I can play 28 minutes. I love playing that much. I feel the more I play, the better I play. So you know whatever they do – if they bring my ice down, I’ll still play the same way.”

On his level of conditioning now and throughout the season:
“Well, right now I feel great. Obviously at the start of the season with such a long time off actually playing in games was tough to try and get ready, so I just had to get conditioning going. That’s all you can really do. Now, throughout the season I put on a little more weight. It just feels better down low where I can make hits and be physical with guys in the corners, and that’s where I feel comfortable.

On whether there’s a different feel on defense with some different players on the blue line:
“Well, it’s definitely a different group, but I don’t really think it’s a different feel. Obviously we’re missing a lot in Mitchie. He’s an unbelievable player. But at the same time we got Reg at the deadline, and he’s obviously a great player, great defensively, and there are young guys. Slava’s been playing unbelievable, and Muzz has been playing great as well, so we feel great about our group. It’s different without Mitchie for sure, but we’re still really confident in the group of guys we’ve got. We just have to continue playing well.”

On the benefit of getting Matt Greene late in the season and for the playoffs:
“Yeah, Matt’s great. Not only is he great every night on the ice and works the hardest and plays hard, but in the room he’s a great guy to have. He’s vocal. He’s always getting guys pumped up for the game and telling guys where they need to be if they do something wrong, so he’s great at doing that and it’s huge to have him back.”

On whether Darryl Sutter’s voice has changed at all from last year to this year:
“No, I haven’t really noticed a difference. I haven’t at all, actually. I don’t really know what to say about that one. But I [haven’t] noticed a difference.”

On Robyn Regehr, and what his addition means to the blue line:
“He’s been great for us, especially at that point, I think. Greener was still out, so we needed that defensive presence and that physical guy. For the most part our D-corps wasn’t the most physical, and we were more of good passers and stuff like that. We didn’t have that physical presence. In bringing him in, he’s helped out a lot. He’s been a great guy to have. We all love him, and he’s a big part of where we are right now.”

On whether he had seen a replay of Jonathan Quick’s save on Joe Pavelski:
“Yeah, I saw it on the jumbotron during the game. That’s just a great save. That’s Quickie. He won the Conn Smythe last year, and I was saying to a couple guys yesterday, ‘He makes better saves than I think he did all playoff run last year.’ He’s just been standing on his head for us, and it’s great to have him do that, but I think we’ve got to back him up a little more. He’s been having to make too many big saves.”

On how he would describe Darryl Sutter’s coaching technique:
“I think he demands the most out of every single one of his players. You can do some great things, make some great plays, and [he’ll tell] you you did a great job, but at the same time – he doesn’t get made at you if you’re working hard and you’re playing physical and you’re trying to do the right things, but if he doesn’t feel you’re prepared for the game, or if you’re not competing to your highest level, then that’s when he gets mad at you, and I think that’s the right thing. He lets you know about it. That’s just his whole philosophy – if you’re ready for the game, the better prepared team always wins.”

On whether any “chirping” has begun between he and childhood friend Logan Couture:
“Yeah, I’m not going to start chirping him or anything just yet. We’ll wait for the softball tournament. But obviously he’s probably pretty upset, so I’m not going to make it any worse.”

On whether he spoke with Couture in the handshake line:
“Yeah, I just talked to him quickly and talked to him a little bit after the game, too. He’s frustrated with the way their series turned out, obviously, and he loves the game of hockey. He competes, and he cares a lot. He’s obviously pretty frustrated, and rightfully so.”

On whether there’s satisfaction of defeating the last team that had beaten them in the playoffs:
“Yeah. You know, I kept thinking about that, especially last game. Not all the guys on the team obviously witnessed that, but there were a lot of us, and just remembering that we were up like four-nothing or something like that, and they came back us in our own building, and we were making sure that wasn’t going to happen again. I can still picture Joe getting that last goal and celebrating in the middle of the ice, and that’s really why we wanted to beat them.”

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