On whether he had a good New Year:
Good, yeah. Quiet. Normal.
On Dwight King’s evolution in his checking and defensive game:
Well, we called him up in 2012 not for his goal scoring ability. He played on a line with Jarret Stoll and Trevor Lewis, and it was a checking line that played in the last minute of games, and he’s been an excellent penalty killer his whole career. [Reporter: What does he do well on the penalty kill that sticks him out amongst a group that has traditionall been a very good penalty kill?] He has good hockey IQ, he can get his sticks in shooting lanes, take away and think ahead of the next play sort of thing. When he’s on, he’s blocking shots, getting pucks down the ice.
On how he’d assess Anze Kopitar’s line:
I’d like them to be better. They started the last game here against San Jose and had a really good shift. Kopi had the great chance. I think Burns caught it, and then they had a great start to the second period, also. So that’s what we’re looking for, is to build on shifts and sort of walk before they run. I’d like to see Kopi score, but he’s playing a really good game, and the other two guys have got a lot of work to do. [Reporter: I was just about to say – is Kopi just one of those guys where you know the numbers are going to come eventually?] Well, I hope they do. Put it this way: The last three games, I think we’ve played well as a team. If somebody scores a goal in there, whether it’s Kopi or someone else, we’re saying ‘we had three wins.’
On whether a day off Sunday was beneficial:
Yeah, we haven’t had many opportunities the last little bit, so one or two ‘til the All-Star Break now, so we’re good.
On Jonathan Quick’s progress:
I think his next appointment is – whenever you asked last time, he had an appointment right in there and I think I said it was a month ‘til his next appointment. And I said it was not ‘til next year, so it’s ‘this year’ now. Can’t give you much more than that.
On Tyler Toffoli’s progress:
He’s doing good. Hopefully we’ll get him back in skates here pretty quick. [Reporter: This week?] Hopefully.
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