November 30 morning skate quotes: Regehr, Kopitar

Robyn Regehr, on playing against the Flames:
It’s maybe a little bit of a different feeling before the game when you see some of the guys that you played with and know fairly well. But there are really not a whole lot of them left on that team so it’s not as awkward as it once was. That being said though, once you do get into the game it’s really not something you think about. As a player, just concentrating on what you have to do out there. The next time you are out there, if you are playing against a matchup, who is out there and what is going on. There is lots of stuff going on with the game, so you really don’t get a chance to think about it that much.

Regehr, on his relationship with Darryl Sutter while both were in Calgary:
It was a little bit different of a situation because I had never done that, playing for a coach/general manager before. Then he moved upstairs full-time and we had other coaches. So it was kind of an evolution there that was happening. There were lots of different dynamics going on in that relationship. Really, he for the most part has stayed the same guy that is focused on the same things and I’ve seen that as I came back as I have been away from him for a few years. He still has the same sort of philosophies. Even though the hats changed and the job responsibilities and things like that, there wasn’t a whole lot of difference in what he was preaching, I guess is the easiest way to say it.

Regehr, on avenging the home loss to Calgary last month:
Yeah, we’ve talked about it. We gave up three power play goals the last game we played Calgary and they ended up beating us 3-2 on a goal they scored I think with under a minute left. We aren’t happy with that. For us, we need to continue to get points and try to get wins here. We’ve actually lost, even though we have been to overtime, we’ve lost three out of the last four I believe. We got to get that going and getting wins. It’s a team that played yesterday in Anaheim so we should have the advantage playing at home and meeting them on the back half of a back-to-back.

Regehr, on the stitches he received under his eyebrow:
Just the game in San Jose. [Reporter: How many is that, five?] Yeah, five.

Anze Kopitar, on if Dwight King is a “different player” this year:
I don’t know if he is a different player. He’s definitely contributed more. He’s getting to the net, he’s creating space for himself and when the puck is on his stick he’s bearing down and he’s been scoring for us. I guess in order for him to play with Mike and Jeff he’s going to have to do that and he’s been up to the task so far. [Reporter: Do you think he has a different mindset in that role?] I don’t think it’s a different mindset. I mean it’s maybe a little bit more comfort and a little bit more confidence. You add those two up, its two pretty significant things to have when you go on to the ice. When you feel comfortable on the ice it’s definitely easier.

Kopitar, on the streakiness of the power play and penalty kill:
I don’t think there is any connection to it. Sometimes you get hot in different areas. I’ve been on teams – we’ve had it here before – where the power play was going and the penalty was going. It’s not anything you can point fingers to or compare and have excuses [like] ‘we’re going really good on the penalty kill that’s why we don’t have to go on the power play.’ Everybody knows that when you win the special teams battles each and every night it’s a good chance you’re going to win. We’re trying to do that. I think our power play is moving in a pretty good direction right now and we’re going to have to be sharp tonight.

Kopitar, on generating quality opportunities on the power play without finding the net:
The one power play we had in San Jose for four minutes, we didn’t leave the zone for lots of time. We were moving the puck around, we had moving parts, and different guys were in front of the net because we had moving parts and we had some good looks and we didn’t bear down on them. We can’t be satisfied with just moving it around and having good zone time. We do have to score on it.

Kopitar, on avenging the home loss to Calgary last month:
Yeah, for sure, I guess it’s a little bit of payback time. They came into our building and beat us late and definitely stung us a little bit or left a sour taste in our mouths. It’s a different game tonight. We’ve played some pretty good hockey lately and we’ve got to build on the things we are doing good, and we will see what happens.

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