Clifford produces after disrupted path to Cup Final

If you’re looking for an accurate representation of Kyle Clifford’s postseason, it gravitates closer to his Game 1 performance against New York, in which he notched a goal and an assist and made a key defensive play on Carl Hagelin, than his Game 7 performance against Chicago, in which he was on the ice for a goal against in just 2:52 of ice time.

“Kyle played really well for us, not just because he scored, but he had a lot of energy for the game and played a really good role for us,” Darryl Sutter said.

That role has generally been filled admirably by Clifford, who has forechecked effectively and has used his size and energy to wear down opponents for the better part of the post-Olympic schedule.

His multi-point effort was his first in the playoffs since recording two two-point games against San Jose in 2011 as part of a five-point postseason performance that set a high and perhaps unrealistic ceiling of expectation that the 23-year-old is still attempting to reach. His time on ice average hasn’t grown drastically, having risen from 9:30 in his 19-year-old rookie season to a peak of 10:36 last year. In 71 games this season, Clifford averaged 10:10 of ice time.

Though Clifford has appeared in 43 playoff games, only three came in the team’s 2012 Stanley Cup run. Having suffered a concussion when hit up high by Vancouver’s Byron Bitz in Game 1 of the first round, Clifford returned to action in the Western Conference Final but did not see action against New Jersey, which makes last night’s game his debut Stanley Cup Final performance.

“Obviously you always want to be playing,” Clifford said. “It was just great to be a part of that run. Even not playing, you get to learn a little something about what it takes to win. We had a great group of guys. Fun to be a part of. Just gets you motivated to go out and want to do it.”

Kyle Clifford, on the Game 1 line adjustments:
Yeah, wasn’t the start we wanted. Decided to make line changes. Just went from there. Everybody just went about their game, tried to make it better.

Clifford, on the team’s ability to battle back from deficits:
I think with our leadership, we’ve got a lot of leadership throughout the locker room. Guys kind of rally around them. They’re able to put the team on their back, try to get a better outcome.

Clifford, on Jonathan Quick:
Yeah, he’s a confident goaltender. We have a lot of confidence in him. We know he’s going to make a couple big saves every night for us.