On the mindset on facing Anaheim:
We play ‘em five times. Even though they’re in our division, we didn’t play them until the new year, so it’ll be the fifth time in 2016. Our mindset is that we’re familiar with them and they’re familiar with us. We’ve played close games. The power play, penalty kill, special teams, penalties, if you’ve looked at the scores, have been either momentum-changers or differences in the games.
On the fine line of being energized without being too amped up:
We’ve played four really good games against them. At five-on-five, we’ve been fine. I think there are really good match-ups between the two teams in terms of top players versus top players. They’re always good games.
On relying on top players late in the season:
When you’re one of the top teams in the league in terms of your record, then your top teams are generally the guys that are reason why, and I think that’s been the case this year. We’ve gone through a lot of injury situations and scheduling things, things like that, and our top guys make the difference. [Reporter: Does it seem like they’ve elevated a little bit more? Like, everybody elevates in March and April, but that extra gear or two?] I mean, I think for the most part the reason top players are the top players is they play the same way every night.
On the peaks and valleys of player performance:
You see it a lot a lot with the scheduling. Every team does. You still find ways to win. We just set a franchise record for wins. You may never get that opportunity again.
On whether he liked the energy after most players did not skate on Wednesday:
Yeah, we had a day off yesterday, so that’s always a challenge with our younger players is a day off, how they set the clock again.
Rules for Blog Commenting
Repeated violations of the blog rules will result in site bans, commensurate with the nature and number of offenses.
Please flag any comments that violate the site rules for moderation. For immediate problems regarding problematic posts, please email zdooley@lakings.com.