December 10 morning skate quotes: Doughty, Brown

Drew Doughty, on the overall team game:
I think there’s still a lot of room for improvement, but there are some things we’re definitely happy with. We’re happy with the way our defense is playing as a team…our goalies are playing really well. Our D-corps is playing well. Our forwards are playing great defense. I think the one thing we really need to work on is our scoring. Our power play has kind of been lacking he last five to 10 games or so, and we need that to step up. The good thing is that we’re winning games still, and we’re getting points, and we’re still not at our full potential, so that’s a bright side.

Doughty, on whether he minds coming to Canada and answering Olympic questions:
I don’t know. I don’t mind it, I guess. It’s not something I really, I guess, look forward to, but with not having so much media in L.A…it’s a change, and I’m sure I wouldn’t like it if it was every day like the Canadiens have to deal with. [Reporter: You mean you don’t have your bags packed yet?] No, not yet. But I enjoy it a little bit.

Doughty, on the matchup between he and P.K. Subban:
I’m not looking at it that way. P.K. – he’s a great player. Obviously everyone knows that, and I know a lot of people see similarities in the two of us. Even though it’s a matchup between both teams, in order for us to win, I think I have to outplay P.K. So I’m definitely looking forward to that challenge tonight, and I’ve got to be the best defenseman on the ice.

Doughty, on whether he foresees a pairing with Subban in Sochi:
You never know. It could happen. I guess there’s always a possibility. He’s playing really well right now, so I’m sure he has a great shot at making the team. Hopefully I continue to play well and have a great shot, too. But wherever they put me, if I do make that team, and I’m sure wherever they put him, if he does make that team, we’ll both be just ecstatic to be there.

Dustin Brown, on playing in Montreal:
With how storied this franchise is, I think it’s fun to play here. I’ve only played here twice. I said this about the new schedule is that it’s just nice seeing new teams. Playing the Ducks and the Sharks, we have rivals. They’re fun games to play in. But I remember when I first came into the league, we would play the Ducks and all those teams eight times a year. It’s fun to look at the board and not know a couple of the guys very well. It makes it more exciting from that aspect, that’s for sure.

Brown, on how L.A. generally fares against teams with good speed:
We’re probably a bigger, grinding team. Against a team like this, it’s about being quick in the right areas, and that’s below our dots and below their dots. If we can get back quickly and move the puck, it kind of eliminates their forecheck, and vice versa – if we can get in quick on their defensemen and eliminate their skating ability and their puck-moving ability, then we end up with the puck, and once we have the puck, that’s where we as a team are pretty good.

Brown, on whether the power play’s struggles are as simple as a lack of finishing:
I think as of late it’s been that. I think we’ve gotten momentum off our power play. We haven’t scored a goal or anything like that. That’s what we need. We need to start scoring goals on the power play. People always talk about percentages, and I always say ‘when you have an opportunity on the power play…I think over the course of the year, it’s not about your percentages, it’s about scoring, your power play coming up with big goals. You’ve got the teams with high percentage power plays – I think it’s more about finding ways to score big goals on the power play.