The Kings, at the start of this series, had 13 players who had never appeared in a playoff game. They’ve been through a lot, already, in this series, but challenge gets even more intense tonight, in the fifth game of a series tied 2-2. A Kings loss, in front of a hostile Vancouver crowd, would put them one loss away from elimination, but Terry Murray said he’s pleased with how his team has handled pressure thus far.
MURRAY: “It hasn’t affected our mentality all year long. We’re one of the better road teams in the league this year. Actually, surprising to me sometimes, when I look at it. Near the end of the year, it comes down to being more focused on the road. We’re together, we’re a group, we’re doing everything together as far as travel and dinners, and it really seems to bring that total focus, of the young guys, to the game, and it has really benefitted our hockey club. We’re going to try to draw on that as we start this game here tonight, with a best-of-three, basically.”
Murray was also asked about what seems to be a league-wide trend pf road teams having success in the first round…
MURRAY: “I think, when you get into the playoffs, a lot of times as the home team it’s the old cliche. You try to do too much. You feel you have to put a show on, and you feel you have to do something extraordinary every shift. To me, the message I sent to the team, as a young group of guys this year, is that when you get into the playoffs, you just have to play good. You don’t have to play extraordinary. You don’t have to do anything spectacular. You just come with a good systematic, stay with structure, stay with your game that you’ve shown all year long, and great things will happen. Extraordinary things can happen under that approach, and it takes the pressure off, in my mind.”
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