On how his centers matched up against Anaheim last night:
Faceoff wise, I think after watching the game I thought there was a lot of 50-50 pucks that were right there that either Rick or Mats could’ve helped out and [Brassard’s] percentage would’ve been a little bit better. But overall, other than that, their game was real good. They checked hard when they didn’t have the puck. When they had it, they made some real good plays.
On whether being in Staples Center compares to going to Boston for the first time after losing in the final:
Tough to say, I think there was a lot of hype being put around that game. We had lost in seven. There was obviously, from the players’ standpoint, that series was a real tough, physical series. Probably a lot like ours last year. So I’m not sure how the players are going to respond on the ice. All I know, from my standpoint is there is nothing we can do about the past. We’ve got to focus on trying to get two points tonight. That’s what we’re going to try to do.
On whether he felt any emotions entering Staples Center:
For me, really when I walked from the hotel here to the entrance, it’s just about getting two points. I’ve moved on. There is nothing I can do about what happened last year.
On whether he thinks ‘fresh legs’ in tonight’s lineup would be beneficial:
I thought the minutes were spread real evenly last night. You look at Ryan McDonagh’s minutes, they were below 20. I don’t think that’s ever happened since I’ve been here. We were able last night to spread the minutes around. I think our guys are going to be fine tonight.
On how JT Miller’s game has progressed over the season:
I think he’s just starting to figure out the game. When to chip pucks by and skate on to it and when to challenge somebody one-on-one. His reads without the puck is much on the forecheck to help us get it back or coming back into our zone, have been getting better and they’re going to continue to get better. Nobody is mistake free. Nobody has a perfect game. But his game has definitely been better and that’s part of the normal process of a young player.
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