October 24 morning skate quotes: Phoenix

Shane Doan, on his lower-body injury:
It’s one of those, that you want to help out and you want to contribute and you want be out there doing what you can. That’s what we get paid for and that’s what you want to do and when you’re not doing it, it’s not your field and you want to be a part of it and you want to do it.

Doan, on the Kings:
This is a group that obviously challenges you and challenges our team. I enjoy playing against them because of that and it’s one of those things that are fun. [Reporter: You have had some special performances, too, in this building. This team should bring out the best in you playing here against them.] For sure. They are one of the better teams in the league and whenever you get a chance to play against the better teams I think it’s your competitive nature rises kind of to where you want to be and it’s a compliment to how good they are and how intense they play and the way that they play the game is a fun way to play.

Doan, on the Kings’ defense:
You got to watch, obviously, the guys that jump into the play. Doughty, Voynov and Muzzin, they are a big part of their offense and they create opportunities for their forwards. We will see how it goes.

Keith Yandle, on the Kings defense:
They have guys back there that can move the puck, that can skate. You look at their back end and they got six guys that can do it. If you look around the NHL there’s not a lot. We are a team, we take pride in that, that all our D can move it and get up. They are another team that can do that. There’s not a lot of teams that have that and it’s a special thing. I think we just have to be harder on them and just try to play down there more and keep them out of our own end.

Yandle, on Derek Morris:
I don’t think he has really changed much. He has always been solid. He makes an unreal pass, he’s one of the better passers in the NHL and I think he has been getting up in the play a little bit more and getting some points and it has been huge. It’s fun to play with him. I have always enjoyed it. However long we have been playing together, it’s been great. He is obviously a great player and great friend. It’s fun when he is happy and playing well and it’s going well for him.

Yandle, on the Coyotes defense:
Those guys, you rely on those guys so much. You look at a guy like Z, Rusty and Mo, they could be offensive guys. They can make plays, they can skate well, they can shoot well and they play hard in the defensive zone. They are guys who are so valuable to a team, a franchise. Everybody in here knows what they bring. It’s great that we can have those.

Dave Tippett, on Shane Doan’s status:
He will be a game-time decision. We will see how he got through practice. We’re not rocking the boat but we will just see where he gets to tonight [Reporter: In a heavy game like this, this is a game that’s designed towards him.] Well, we know it is going to be a tight checking, hard game. He is certainly a guy that can help our cause in that but we will see where he is tonight. If he can’t go someone else will get an opportunity.

Tippett, on the injury to Lauri Korpikoski:
Day-to-day. Upper body. Just something that came up yesterday. We left him at home. We will just see where it gets in the next few days.

Tippett, on the Kings:
It’s going to be a hard forechecking game. They try to put a lot of pressure on the forecheck and we feel like we play a similar kind of game. I think it’s going to be a hard-fought, tight game like it usually is with these guys. Space will be limited, you got to work for your space. Whoever gets a couple breaks might have a chance to win.