January 8 postgame quotes: New York

Derick Brassard, on whether a win in Staples Center was significant:
We don’t even think about last year. It’s just they come here and the way they play, it’s so hard and it’s a heavy game. We’re just happy to have two wins. We beat two of, when you look around the league, there are probably five teams that are [near the top], and those two teams are in there. It’s a big win for us.

Brassard, on being tangled up with Justin Williams late in the game:
I just picked him on the draw and he was trying to go in at a forecheck and I wouldn’t let him. He’s a pretty good player. He had two goals again tonight. He’s pretty solid and I just tried to get in his face and slow him down a little bit and I got off the ice and he found a way to score a goal out there. I just sort of picked him. That’s the thing when you play that team. There is always a push back. It doesn’t matter if they’re down in the score. They have players with good character and they have guys that compete hard and he’s one of those guys.

Brassard, on earning wins in Anaheim and Los Angeles on a back-to-back:
Before the road trip, I think we were talking about how big of a test it was for our team. We were playing really well and right now we won two games on our road trip. It feels pretty good to beat those teams and it’s not going to be easier in San Jose.

Dan Boyle, on getting a win in Staples Center:
I’ve had some nightmare situations in here also, a couple Game 7s against these guys. So I’ve got my own history with the Kings. It meant a lot more so to the 15 guys that were here last year. I think it was important for these guys to come out of here with a good feeling.

Alain Vigneault, on how the team handled an early deficit:
They capitalized on a couple of our mistakes early on, but we just stuck to what we wanted to do and try to play a fast game. The second period, I thought we had some good looks. We had good net presence. We made it a little bit more challenging for their goaltender. In the third period, we buckled down and got the win.

Vigneault, on whether there was an emphasis on neutralizing Anze Kopitar, Marian Gaborik and Drew Doughty:
No, they got some looks. But when they did get some looks, Cam did a real good job. It’s not easy to come in and just play once in a while and he came in in a big stage and he did the saves that he had to make.

Vigneault, on what he told his team after the first period:
Nothing out of the ordinary, we just needed to get better in a couple of areas. We addressed those areas. Our gap was a little bit loose, our backpressure wasn’t what it needed to be. We improved on those and we were able to spend a little bit more time in their end.