Are the Kings underdogs?

“Upset” wins by Colorado, Ottawa and Philadelphia last night led to a storyline today, with reporters questioning whether the Kings could continue the trend of road teams winning Game 1. (Phoenix did hold serve by beating Detroit.) To varying extents, players and coaches on both sides downplayed what happened last night and the impact it might have on tonight’s game. Here are Terry Murray’s thoughts on some of the topics…

Question: Do you consider yourselves the underdog in this series?

MURRAY: “We are the underdog coming in. Vancouver has been here a couple times in the last couple years. They went through a pretty decent run there last year. They had a good series, a battle right to the end against Chicago, so they have a lot of that to look back on and draw on. But when you’re 3 against 6, the third-place team is the favorite. There’s no question. They have home-ice advantage and that’s what you battle for all year long.”

Question: If you think you’re the underdogs, does that mean you think Vancouver has the better team?

MURRAY: “You can’t go into the playoffs feeling that any one team is better than another team. You’re here. We’ve seen many times in the past where series have ended different than what all of us experts have picked, or thought they would end. It’s a clean slate. You just have to go in and play, and play the right way, and we feel that we’re ready. We’re excited about it. I’m sure Vancouver feels the same way. They’re excited about getting started here tonight, and it will be a good series.”

Question: What happened last night, with the upsets, does it just show you that anything can happen in the playoffs?

MURRAY: “Anything can happen. There’s always going to be upsets in the first round. There has been historically, and I don’t think it’s going to change this year. We’re a pretty good hockey club on the road. Our regular season has been very good. We’re one of the top teams, point wise, and we just have to bring that kind of composure, that kind of understanding that we’re capable of playing in any building in the league and capable of winning. That’s the important part of it, to approach from the emotional and mental side of the game.”