Stoll previews Anaheim series, praises Pearson, Toffoli

Jarret Stoll, on coming back to defeat San Jose:
Us as a group, it wasn’t really the 0-3 and coming back and winning four straight. We didn’t really think of the number. We were just thinking about our game and getting back to it. Obviously things didn’t start the way we want to in the whole series with every part of our game. So once we got that first win, I think, in Game 4, we just kept telling ourselves ‘win a game again, win a game again, get our game going, keep getting better.’ And I think we did, we got a lot better every game. Probably Game 7 was our best game, which it had to be. It’s a great accomplishment, it is. It’s something we’ll look back on and like Darryl just said, we’ll enjoy last night but you wake up today and you won round one but you have three more to go. It’s a big accomplishment, yes, but obviously there’s a lot bigger and better to go.

Stoll, on a playoff series against Anaheim furthering the rivalry:
Yeah, I think so. I think the regular season is one thing. The playoffs are a totally different ballgame when it comes to physicality, how hard it is and how hard you’re battling. If it’s going to a six or seven-game series, I think it’s going to help out a lot. It’s going to be a war. It’s going to be a battle. Obviously the travel is going to be great. It’s going to be great for both fan bases to really enjoy this series. It’s never happened. It’s exciting in that sense for this whole area of Los Angeles. I’m looking forward to it. I think playing a team in the playoffs obviously really helps build a rivalry…You look at who our biggest rivalries probably are right now, San Jose, probably Vancouver and soon to be Anaheim. So it’s going to be exciting.

Stoll, on observing Southern California hockey culture as a visitor, and as a King:
Coming here as a visiting team, they had some tough years, obviously. Those players that played here would probably tell you that it wasn’t a very tough place to come into and play at Staples Center. It is now. We’ve changed that culture. But it’s a very unique place. Living down in the South Bay where we do now, it’s an unbelievable little town – towns I guess. We’re very fortunate to live where we live and have the practice facility really close, to have the airport really close. I may be biased here, but this has to be the best place in the league to play with how well we’re treated, our fan base and how everything has been turned around, sellouts every game, no question. Like I said, with the practice facility and where we live and the lifestyle which we do live. There are various things to do in LA, yes, if you want to get distracted you probably can, but if you get distracted you probably won’t be in the league very long. We’re hockey players. We want to play. We want to win. You have a good team, a team that has a chance to win and you’ve got to take advantage of that. The windows aren’t very long and they don’t come around that often to win championships. You have to realize when you have the opportunity. And for us in LA here, there’s no better place. You wake up today and it’s 80, 85 degrees outside and you get some vitamin D and get some energy back in your body and it feels really good. I’m pretty sure Matt agrees with a lot of the stuff I said, me and him coming over here from Edmonton. There are so many positives, I can go on and on here.

Stoll, on what this playoff series means for Southern California hockey:
I remember us watching the game against Detroit, Game 7 last year Anaheim-Detroit, and we were kind of hoping for that match-up. We were all at a little restaurant down at the beach watching it and hoping for that match-up. So it’s exciting that it’s finally here. Like I said, for the whole surrounding area of Los Angeles, we know them very well. Obviously sometimes you skate in the summer and with the lockout we skated together quite a bit. You know them off the ice, but it’s going to be a whole new animal now playing them in the playoffs. They obviously had a great year, great team. We feel that we have a lot of good things, too. Looking forward to it, really looking forward to it, I think everybody in the room is. We were talking about it last night only five minutes after the game ended. You just get ready to go again. You get re-energized right away and you move on. You realize that there are eight teams now. There were 30, then there were 16 and it quickly goes down to eight and we’re one of them. We know what it takes. We have to go in and win a game. Win Game 1 and go from there. This series, I think, is really exciting for everybody. All of us players are pumped up about it, too.

Stoll, on the team being “built for the playoffs”:
Maybe, but we’re a good hockey team. We have a great goaltender. Our defense can play various types of games – they can skate, they can play the skilled game and shut teams down. Obviously in this series against San Jose in the last three or four games was pretty special what our defense and goaltender did. I think our forward depth right now, the way we’re rolling all the lines, it’s really coming together, I think. Two guys that added a lot to our team two years ago when we won were obviously Dwight King and Jordan Nolan. Now this year, you’ve got Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson, who I think are really coming into their own and a big, big reason why we’re moving on here. They’re both a hell of a player. Things that they’re doing out there, Game 7 playing against Joe Thornton, Pavelski and Marleau and coming up with big goals, big plays. I’m very impressed with those two and what they bring to our lineup and just adding that. We’re a well-rounded team, I think, and we have a lot of guys that have been in a lot of tough situations in the playoffs and won some big games, lost some big games and have that experience, so that obviously helps as well.

Stoll, on Dustin Brown’s leadership:
With Brownie, it’s obviously a quiet presence. He doesn’t say much a lot of the time, but he’s out there banging and crashing and he’s running over guys. Coming to the bench with his helmet on sideways and fogged up. He’s a wrecking ball out there and that shows a lot. He’ll go through the wall for anybody. We have a lot of respect for Dustin and how long he’s been here and what he’s done for this organization and what he brings to this team on the ice, off the ice. He does a lot of good things for this team and he’s very well respected within the room.

Stoll, on riding the momentum of the San Jose series into the next one:
Yes and no. Obviously you put a little winning streak together here and you kind of have that swagger a little bit, but every game is a new story. I’ve said it before, last series. Every game has its own little deal and you have to go out and play. It’s sometimes hard to be very consistent like that, but obviously you have to. If we don’t play our game, we’ll get beat in Game 1 and that’s just the way it is. So you’ve got to try to be as consistent as possible and make sure everyone is going. Nowadays we all know that you can’t just win with one line or a big D or a great goaltender, you have to have that depth throughout. Anaheim has it. We have it. I’m pretty sure all the teams left in the playoffs have that kind of depth. We’re feeling good about our game right now, but we’ve got to keep playing that way. You get better and better and better. Just keep building that confidence and see where it takes us.