December 8 postgame quotes: Kopitar, Muzzin

Anze Kopitar, on the loss:
We just didn’t play nearly as good enough as we needed to, especially at home. Obviously giving up easy [goals] – the first two goals off the rush and off an odd-man rush again in the second there, you just can’t afford those. And then in the third, we knew we’d got to throw everything at ‘em, but again, it was a turnover in our zone, and it ends up in the back of the net. You’ve got to eliminate those.

Kopitar, on whether the excess rest was a challenge mentally:
Well, it definitely shouldn’t. I don’t know if it does or not, but it definitely shouldn’t. It deiniftely didn’t look like we were ready to go [from] the start, and we [inaudible] tonight.

Kopitar, on ways to improve on the power play:
If there are plays to be made, you make ‘em, and you take the shots that are there. On that last one, we didn’t get the shot, and we obviously should’ve scored on that one to keep ourselves in the game, and we didn’t do it tonight.

Kopitar, on what Carolina did well to neutralize the Kings’ attack:
They’re a quick team, so obviously they skate a lot and they put pressure on you. Whether there’s back pressure or trying to stand up on the line so you don’t have a whole bunch of time to make plays, they did a good job, and we certainly didn’t do a good enough job of making plays, protecting the puck and pretty much entering their zone.

Jake Muzzin, on whether Carolina did anything to surprise them:
No, a bad start, obviously, for us. There’s no excuses, really. It’s just we’ve got to do a better job of getting prepared and getting ourselves psyched up. We have games in hand, and the only way we’re getting into a playoff spot or up in the standings are if we win ‘em, and we didn’t come out prepared tonight. [Reporter: Was that a game planning thing, or just mental? Physical?] I don’t think it was physical. I mean, we had a few days off, so the guys are well rested. Mentally, you’ve got to get involved emotionally more and realize the importance of each night. Two points are huge every night, especially on home ice, so unacceptable.

Muzzin, on Darryl Sutter switching up lines and pairings:
I think he’s just looking to get something going, and sometimes the switch works. I think that was it for that.

Muzzin, on not a ton of scoring chances either way:
It was just tight checking, a lot of down low coverage and stuff like that. I mean, not too many power plays. We had two, I think. That’s just the way it is. I mean, that’s the way we play, and we’ve got to capitalize on some chances and be a little better, obviously, in our zone.