December 7 morning skate quotes: Drew Doughty

On his impressions of the New York Islanders:
They’re a fast team. They’ve got a lot of skill up front. They’re going to be good on the rush. They’re not going to be a team that really cycles you and is physical doiwn low, but they’re going to be fast on the rush. They’re going to create plays off the rush. They’ve got a lot of skilled guys, so there’s a lot of them we’ve got to pay attention to.

On John Tavares:
I’ve known John for a long time and played against him since I was a little kid. He’s so good around the net. If he gets a shot anywhere in that offensive zone, it’s usually going to go in. So he’s someone you’ve got to pay special attention to, obviously, and he’s a good playmaker, too. I think their team kind of evolves around how he’s playing. If we can take him out of the game, it should give us a lot of help.

On whether the power play has been improving despite the lack of results:
We had a lot of chances last game, a few we should’ve scored on. Yeah, I guess it’s making strides, but the bottom line is you’ve got to score. It’s good to get momentum for your team. I’m not saying it’s not, but we need to score goals. That’s the bottom line. If we score a goal in one of those power plays last game, we win the game in normal time and don’t give Anaheim one point. [Reporter: It’s a cliché, but is it a matter of just getting that first one in and out of the way?] Yeah, I think if we get one in, especially tonight, that’ll get the power play rolling and get our confidence back up there. We’ll start putting more pucks in like we were earlier in the season.

On Ben Scrivens:
He’s been playing really well for us. He hasn’t been letting very many goals in, and he’s doing a great job back there for us. We have all the confidence in him, the same confidence we have with Jonathan Quick. For him to step up to the plate like that and play the way he’s playing, it’s a big confidence booster for the team, and it makes us happy for him, too.

On Thomas Hickey:
Hicks is a good player. I’m really happy for him that he finally got a chance to actually play in the NHL, and he’s doing a good job there for the Islanders. No friends out there tonight, so if he comes down mine, I’ll make sure to give him one.