On whether he has looked at the different playoff scenarios:
“No. We have one focus. We’ve got to win one game. We don’t need to worry about the outcome. The outcome’s going to happen no matter what after that. All we’ve got to do is try and win that game and hope we can get home ice. If not, we’ll be playing against St. Louis, I think. Whatever happens, happens.”
On the Kings having a better knowledge of the scenarios by the time they take the ice:
“You know what? I don’t think we’ll even be looking at that. I think, like I said, we’re just focusing on a game. It’s huge to go into the playoffs on a winning note, and winning against a good team like San Jose on Saturday would be a huge confidence booster for our team and something we really need.”
On whether the team is aware of out-of-town scores throughout the game:
“I guess there’s times where you’ll find out if they announce the score, or if it’s up on one of the video things or whatever in the arena. No, for the most part, we watch a little bit of games before our game because they’re east coast, but we usually don’t see the final score of the game. I don’t think we’ll be worried about it at all.”
On whether there’s more of a “comfort zone” playing in the playoffs at home:
“Yeah, even though we I guess didn’t need it last year, it’s definitely very important and something that our team really wants. The coaches have been harping on us to get that home ice spot. We kind of blew it the last two games to get that, but we still have a shot at it. We want it. To be able to sleep in your own bed, to be able to be in front of our home fans and to get off, it’s hard to go into another team’s barn when the crowd’s going nuts for them and you’ve got to try and steal the first win. But if you’re at home, not that it’s easier, but it’s more comforting being in front of our own fans and having that momentum on our side.”
On the team’s play on the road in last year’s playoffs:
“We just played kind of without pressure, I think, when we went into [other teams’ arenas]. I don’t think anyone thought we were going to win any of those first two series. We went in there believing that we could, and believing that they had all the pressure on them, and that if we could steal a first win in their arena, that would be huge for our confidence, and it would be a little bit of a blow to theirs’.”
On playing against good friend Logan Couture in important games:
“We enjoy it, too. I think we play each other pretty hard. If I see him coming down my wing or having him down low in the defensive zone, I’m not going to shy up on him. We’re both very competitive guys, and even when we were younger and we’d play basketball or something like that, neither of us wanted to lose. We both have that want to win, and I think we’ll battle pretty hard in Saturday’s game.”
On whether the two “chirp” each other in texts or phone calls:
“No. Whenever we text, it’s about something besides hockey, or if we talk after a game, it’s just ‘good game’ or whatever. We don’t do much chirping. I guess if maybe we’d play in the playoffs against each other, and one of us won, we’d maybe chirp in the summer, but that’s about it. [Reporter: That did happen already.] Well, that did happen. I’ve tried to forget about it.”
On whether basketball is his second sport:
“No, soccer. Or tennis, maybe.”
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