Important trip opens with challenging New Jersey test

The Kings are surely trying to focus on their own game – and Darryl Sutter said as much this morning – but it’s impossible not to acknowledge that the five-game road trip that opens tonight in New Jersey pits Los Angeles against an array of dangerous teams and Stanley Cup contenders.

Players and coaches will often say that winning the first game of an extended road trip is important, which would make tonight’s game against the Devils, who have the fewest points of any opponent on the trip, a crucially important game on trip that could “make-or-break” the Kings’ playoff chances.

“Yeah, we’ve got to look at it that way,” Anze Kopitar said. “I think a lot, not all of it, is going to depend on this road trip. Obviously you’re playing east teams where you have to get points to pretty much keep pace. We’re going to have to bring it, for sure.”

One interesting side note? New Jersey, 31-30-11 overall, has been playing its best hockey of the season for the better part of the last two months. 10-4-2 in their last 16 games and boasting a .606 points percentage in the calendar year of 2015, the Devils are a much better team than their sixth place standing in the Metropolitan Division suggests.

“I think the trip out west right before the All-Star Break actually was a very good trip for us,” New Jersey leading scorer Adam Henrique said. “We came back, we were playing well and really just carried that through. We were playing some big teams and getting some big wins here. Obviously playing at home has been important, too.”

The Devils are in the details – such as Cory Schneider’s 4-1-0 record, 1.39 goals-against average and .947 save percentage in five career regular season games against Los Angeles – but as noted, the Kings aren’t focused on the opposition as intently as they’re focused on their own game.

“I think everybody realizes what the situation is here,” Kopitar said. “We realize that we play the best hockey when we’re desperate and when we have a lot of emotions poured into games. We’re going to have to do that.”

So never mind that they’ll also play tomorrow night against the President’s Trophy-chasing New York Rangers, or on Thursday against a New York Islanders team looking to lock down home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Forget about Saturday’s game against red hot Minnesota and Monday’s Western Conference Final rematch against Chicago.

Kopitar temporarily removed the late season blinders to speak about the importance of this upcoming stretch.

“I guess minus tonight they’re all playoff teams,” he said. “But this is obviously a very good, very structured team, so this road trip is going to be a good test for us.”

Noting Los Angeles’ intangible experience at this time of the year, New Jersey President/General Manager Lou Lamoriello was also focused on his own team’s performance.

“I think that them being the champions is not a thing of yesterday, but i think it’s where they’re at right now. They’re fighting for a playoff spot,” Lamoriello said. “They’re one of the top teams in the NHL. So I think because they were the reigning champions, I don’t think that has an effect today on either one of ’em. Certainly there’s something behind your mind, but we are 70 games into the season right now, and right now we’ve got to play well.”

Anze Kopitar, on why desperation hasn’t led to consistent scoring:
Yeah, pretty much for the last couple weeks it’s been that. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. We’re going to have to figure it out, regardless.

Kopitar, on how a desperate attitude affects the approach to a game:
It doesn’t affect anything. It’s just a matter of playing desperate. We’re trying to do that every night of course, but some nights are just better than others. Now it’s to that point in the season and standings-wise and points-wise that we have to have better games than we did.

Kopitar, on whether their certainty about making the playoffs is wavering:
No, we know we can do it and we’re confident that we will do it. There is a hope involved in that.