October 13 Rapid Reaction (feat. Lisa Dillman): Senators 5, Kings 1

Rapid Reaction, feat. Lisa Dillman of The Athletic

Post-game Quotes

John Stevens, on the challenges at the start of the game:
I thought we got off to a good start the first couple minutes. We actually drew a few penalties. We didn’t really generate much on the power play. Too many one-on-one battles being lost around their net that could amount to easy goals. We got a big hole to dig out of there. Tough way to start, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing.

Stevens, on strong performances by young players like Jaret Anderson-Dolan:
I think that line’s been really good the last couple games. I think Jeff Carter’s done a really good job with those kids. They’ve got a lot of poise with the puck, they’ve been really competitive with their battles, they carried a lot of speed and quickness, and they created a lot of time in the offensive zone. That’s definitely an encouraging sign in terms of the way that line has played.

Stevens, on pulling Jack Campbell:
When you’re down 4-0 on the road, I mean, Boods hadn’t played up here in a while. You may as well get him in the net. I thought we did respond in the second period. We had some sustained pressure, and then the puck turns over and goes the other way and they score. More than anything, it was just getting Jack out of the net. He’s played a lot here lately. Get Boods back in the net. I thought our team was trending in the right directions at that point. Just kind of a little pause there and shift the momentum there after I thought we had a pretty good sequence there prior to getting scored on.

Stevens, on an assertion that the players “need to play better in front of” Jack Campbell:
Better in front of Jack? You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Jack’s been a really good performer for us, and we’ve got to do a lot better job of not making him face those types of quality chances, especially on the road in a big game.

Stevens, on whether it was “deflating” to allow a goal after not scoring on consecutive power plays:
It shouldn’t be. To me, your work should be your motivator, and your work for your teammates should be your motivator. If you’re compiling shifts and getting momentum shift-after-shift, I thought Adrian used his speed there to get off a good shot. It doesn’t go in, and you regroup and you go again here. I just didn’t like the way those goals were scored. We had pucks that we turned over that ended up back in our net, we had bodies around our net that got position on us, and they got pucks from the top that got through to the net. Those are all, to me, mental things that you can make a difference in if your mind’s in the right place.

Anze Kopitar, on whether the final two periods represented the way the team wanted to play:
Yeah, I mean I thought we generated quite a bit of chances in the second and spent a good amount of time in their zone, but it was too little, too late.

Kopitar, on the subtleties that make an impact in the game:
It’s hard to score in this league and if you’re not going to the right spots, if you’re not making the right plays it’s tough to score.

Kopitar, on the importance of the power play in a game like today’s:
Yeah, I thought actually our power play was better than it was in games before. We were in their zone, we were moving pucks, especially on that one in the second period. I thought we got some momentum, but at the end of the day you’ve got to score goals. That’s all that counts on the power play, but I think we took a step in the right direction.

Kopitar, on whether he thought the power play looked better late in the game:
Yeah. Like I said, the one in the second period I think we were in their zone a full two minutes, so that was encouraging, but like I said at the end of the day it’s the goals that count.

Jake Muzzin, on Ottawa being able to generate scoring chances despite not having as many shots on goal:
Yeah. Bad start. They capitalized on some opportunities and we put some pressure on them later, but it was too late.

Muzzin, on whether this is a step back after winning in Montreal:
Yeah, I think so. We’ve got to do a better job getting prepared for a game. Soup’s been good for us all year and we’ve got to be better for him and we weren’t early and they capitalized and we couldn’t get back.

Muzzin, on whether he thought the power play improved:
Some chances. I don’t know. I think we’ve got to shoot the puck more, simplify a little more. Trying too much probably. When you struggle you try to do too much and it just complicates things. So I think just simplify, get it to the point, get bodies in front, maybe get a tip. Get the ball rolling somehow like that.

Muzzin, on the challenges that the team faced right off the bat:
Well, when you’re not prepared to play then you get behind the eight ball then it’s tough to come back, especially on the road. I think that was the case tonight.

Post-game Notes

-With the loss, Los Angeles fell to 22-12-2 all-time against Ottawa, a record that includes a road mark of 8-9-1. These teams will meet next on January 10 at Staples Center.

-With the loss, the Kings fell to 2-1-0 against the Eastern Conference, 2-1-0 against the Atlantic Division, 1-1 in games decided by three goals or more, 0-1-1 when their opponent scores first, 0-1-1 when trailing after the first period, 0-2-0 when trailing after the second period and 0-1-0 when outshooting their opponent.

-With an 0-for-5 performance, Los Angeles is now 0-for-18 on the power play to begin the season. They have 24 shots over 30:57 of power play time but are yet to score on the man advantage.

-In 17:57 of ice time, Jaret Anderson-Dolan registered four shots on goal, five shot attempts, two hits, a minus-two rating and won his only faceoff.

-The Kings attempted 80 shots (37 on goal, 27 blocked, 16 missed). The Senators attempted 35 shots (22 on goal, 9 blocked, 4 missed). Jeff Carter and Adrian Kempe tied with a game-high five shots on goal, while Dion Phaneuf (2 on goal, 7 blocked, 2 missed) led all skaters with 11 shot attempts.

-Los Angeles won 25-of-55 faceoffs (45%). Adrian Kempe won 3-of-10, Michael Amadio won 1-of-3, Anze Kopitar won 12-of-23, Ilya Kovalchuk won 0-of-1, Trevor Lewis won 0-of-1, Jaret Anderson-Dolan won 1-of-1, Nate Thompson won 3-of-5, Tanner Pearson won 0-of-1 and Jeff Carter won 5-of-10.

Post-game Highlights

-Lead photo via Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire