January 23 morning skate quotes: Brown, Doughty, Kopitar

Dustin Brown, on coming back to Southern California after the road trip:
We didn’t play as well as we’d of liked on the road and getting back home and going to Anaheim, it feels like a home game. We’re practicing here, we’re in our normal routine in the morning. It’s just about getting back at it. We can’t dwell on our last game. We have to look forward. It’s just kind of the nature of the beast with the schedule and how well everyone is playing. You just have to keep going.

Brown, on playing in Anaheim:
I think for opponents – or for the NHL in general – it’s more fun when you go into a building that’s loud and full of people. For us, we’ve played this team. We’ve had the same core. They’ve had the same core for years and years and years. It’s one of those things where we know each other so well, it’s just about executing. Going into their building – it’s obviously not a very easy building to win in. So it’s going to be important that we are top of our game.

Brown, on possible safety concerns for the Olympics:
I think there are always concerns when it comes to big events like that. We made the decision early on, regardless of the commute. My situation is probably a little different. Four kids – it’s a little far for them to travel and go. It’s definitely not on your mind going there, for sure.

Brown, on the importance of playing four consecutive games against division opponents:
I think divisional games are always a little extra, especially in our division. I think it will probably mean more in our division just because of how many good teams we have. It’s one of those things where you have to find a way to find points against divisional opponents.

Drew Doughty, on playing Anaheim twice in three days:
It’s fine to play teams back-to-back. To be honest, I don’t think anyone here is thinking about that stadium game. Everyone else can make a big deal about it, but really we have to win tonight’s game. We’ve been on a little bit of a skid here. We need to get out of it and we need to start winning games. What better way to start – winning games in Anaheim at their home rink.

Doughty, on having already beat Anaheim:
When we go to the Honda Center, I feel like any team can win. We have a lot of our own fans there. We use the momentum from our fans. When we score – beside the goal horn – it’s almost as loud when our fans cheer. We’re looking forward to this game. We love playing Anaheim. They’re in first place. They’re a team we want to catch and want to beat. So it’s going to be a hard-fought game.

Doughty, on the cause of recent losing streak:
I think there are a lot of reasons why we lost the games. There is not really one big reason that you can really point out. We had times when we were good at things, and we had times where we were really bad at things and times when we were bad at everything, really. We were a good road team earlier on in the season. We just need to get back to doing those things on the road that we were doing – being simple, playing hard on the forecheck, taking the other team’s crowd out of the game. We didn’t do that lately, but looking forward to doing it tonight.

Doughty, on possible safety concerns for the Olympics:
I don’t know if I have any concerns. You hear the stuff in the news, obviously. You read a little bit about it. It makes you a little bit scared, but at the same time there is so much security there. I’m sure they’re going to have it well protected. For my family and I, it’s a great opportunity to have an experience and a memory with the family. They’re all excited to go and I’m excited to have them there.

Anze Kopitar, on Jeff Carter’s four-game goal streak:
Obviously, he’s been the most consistent goal scorer for us for a couple years now. That’s what he does and I’ve played on a line with him for quite a bit lately, and he makes it look really easy. He’s definitely, I think, one of the top natural goal scorers in the league and that’s what he does.

Kopitar, on what Carter does to give himself a chance to score goals:
He knows where to be. When the puck is on my stick, Dwight’s stick, Mike’s stick, it doesn’t matter. He seems to always get open at the right time and then when you do give him the puck – maybe even in the neutral zone – he takes off and it’s hard to catch him.

Kopitar, on coming back to Southern California after the road trip:
It’s nice to come back for a couple days. We’re going to be back on the road right after the outdoor game again. But it’s nice to come home, see the family, see the familiar faces around here, but it doesn’t really matter. We’ve got to go to Anaheim tonight and get the job done.

Kopitar, on not being distracted by the upcoming outdoor game and the Olympics:
I mean, we’ve been doing a pretty good job of staying in the moment and staying focused. We’re taking it game by game and tonight is no different.

Kopitar, on the importance of tonight’s game:
It’s always important. When you so to speak – come home – the first game is always important and tonight is going to be no different.

Kopitar, on matching up with the Ryan Getzlaf line:
Have the puck as much as we can and keep it away from them, obviously. I think it’s no secret – they don’t want to play in the defensive zone, we don’t want to play in the defensive zone. Whoever gets the most puck possession has the better chance to win that match-up and I don’t think tonight is going to be any different.

Kopitar, on playing at the Honda Center:
I’ve gotten used to it over the course of the years. I played my first NHL game there. I like the rink. I like the atmosphere. It seems like we always have good battles going on there too and it’s just the way it is. [Reporter: Do you remember your first NHL shift there?] Not the shift, no.