February 21 postgame quotes: Brown, Clifford

Dustin Brown, on the team’s push to be in a playoff spot:
There is never, ever any doubt within this room. I think a lot of the doubt and a lot of the “Are we going to make the playoffs?” was coming from outside of the room. In saying that, where we are now is we still have a lot of work to do. We haven’t really… we’ve put ourselves in a better situation coming down the stretch, but there is still a lot of hockey to be played here.

Brown, on what the team needs to do to reach the level they want to:
I think we just need to keep on building on our game. If you look at this last little stretch, the biggest difference is our goals against is down. That’s, I think if you ask anyone around the league the last three or four years, why we’ve been successful is because we take care of our own end.

Brown, on whether he brought any friends or family to the game:
Just a cousin that lives up in the area. [Reporter: Just one person?] Yup. [Reporter: How many did you bring last time?] A lot of people. I don’t remember. [Reporter: Like a dozen?] Yeah, it was in LA. It’s a little easier.

Brown, on the condition of the ice:
I thought last year was better. It wasn’t great tonight, but both teams are playing on the same ice surface. It becomes really irrelevant. It’s just the type of plays you make are much different probably than what you would’ve done on a normal ice sheet.

Brown, on what it was like to play in front of 70-thousand people:
It was something that you kind of remember. Like I said, being through two of these now I’ve enjoyed both of them but I think two is enough for me.

Brown, on whether their businesslike approach to the game was due to them being the visitors:
I think having the experience of the first game and quite honestly, the situation, the importance of the game was much greater this year than it was last year. I’m not sure exactly where we were, but it wasn’t… I think at that point last year the Ducks were 15 points ahead of everybody in our division. So considering the opponent and the situation we’re both in, this was probably a much more intense game.

Brown, on whether the Clifford-Shore-Nolan line provided a spark for the team:
Yeah. They had really good puck possession, especially that shift in the third that chewed up a lot of the clock. When we’re playing our game, we have all four lines contributing in different ways and tonight I thought they played really well.

Brown, on why two outdoor games are enough for him:
It’s just a lot of buildup and there is a lot that goes into it. Like I said, it’s an exciting game but I think our personality as a group of guys in here, we’re pretty low key and this is the other end of the spectrum.

Kyle Clifford, on whether the condition of the ice deteriorated as the game progressed:
It was the same for both teams, so we didn’t let that affect us. You can make excuses that it was bad ice or whatever. It’s just that we had to go out and play a game and do everything in our power to win it.

Clifford, on whether he felt his line had a good rhythm going throughout the game:
Yeah, we’re just trying to keep it simple, create energy and get pucks to the net and try to get faceoffs for the big lines in the O-zone.

Clifford, on playing with Nick Shore:
He’s a good player. He’s composed, he’s got a lot of skill. He’s able to make plays and he’s got good vision out there. So you just go to the net and you get space for him and he’ll do good things with the puck.

Clifford, on his goal in the first period:
I just saw Muzzy with the puck up at the point there and he made a good play to get it on net and I was able to get a stick on it and that’s hockey.

Clifford, on what it was like celebrating a goal in front of 70-thousand people:
It’s pretty neat. Obviously you try and limit the distractions and what’s going on outside the rink. But at the end of the day, it’s a good feeling to get the win.

Clifford, on whether there was more at stake than last year’s outdoor game:
Yeah, I think for our team we just take it one game at a time. Last year was an important game. I know we were in the mix, the same situation we’re in this year. Obviously this year we’re fighting with San Jose so it’s an even bigger game.