On how the Kings have been playing:
We’ve played really well the last two games. We haven’t been able to put the puck in the net, so hopefully that’ll come for us.
On taking a heavy amount of shots but having lost in regulation to Buffalo:
You know, we lost at home to Philly, the two-one game, and then Buffalo one-nothing. We had 150 total attempts in shots. We’re getting a lot stopped out in the slot, so usually that means that you can do a little bit better job of finding the puck to the net or getting guys to the net a little bit more.
On whether he has much of a history with Dave Cameron:
No. I think maybe ask him, but Brent [Sutter] and him might have coached World Junior together, did they? Maybe? I’m not sure. Get them maritime coaches. They’re all good coaches.
On what he expects from the Senators under their new coach:
Sometimes there’s an effect right away and sometimes there isn’t an effect. Sometimes it takes a year, and sometimes it takes a couple games. I was more concerned with who the referees were tonight than who the coaches were. [Reporter: Are you happy about that situation?] Well, we’ve got Kevin Pollock. Who’s the other one? I forget. [Reporter: Steve.] Steve Kozari, yeah. [Reporter: When you first started., were you nervous at talking to the officials?] No, everybody hollered at ‘em then. [Reporter: What would it be like for Cameron to be behind the bench? As the opposing coach, are you nervous that they’re coming out to try and impress that coach?] It’s not like it’s a new coach. Dave’s part of the staff. I don’t know, to tell you the truth. When you’re on the road, the advantage that the home team has is the change. Other than that, there’s not a distinct advantage in this league anymore because of the buildings and because of the timeouts and because of how much top guys play.
On whether there’s less interaction with the referees in today’s game:
Well, they go over and stand by the penalty box now. You watch – it’s the linesmen that come during timeouts between the benches. It’s very seldom the refs come unless they’re giving you a message if there’s a reviewable play or something like that. Very seldom you see referees talking to coaches. [Reporter: So it’s not that you won’t have their ear, it’s that you can’t get their ear.] Yeah, it’s the way it is now. I think there’s a lot better relationship with the officials now than there probably was probably seven or eight years ago, and if you look before that, there were fewer so you knew them all personally. You’d seen them a lot on the road. It’s the way it was. Now with the two guys, there are a lot of young guys and a lot of guys with minimal games, and you might see ‘em two or three times a year, so you don’t really know ‘em. A lot of times when you see coaches talking to referees, they’re just basically saying hello and seeing how they’re doing…as going on the ice. The game has changed. There are only three or four penalties a game and the fighting part of it is a very small part of it now. [Reporter: Does the coach of the champs get more respect than other coaches?] I don’t think so. I was just looking today – I think Ottawa and Los Angeles both are almost at a hundred penalty kills each.
On his “biggest piece of advice” to someone coaching their first NHL game:
Enjoy it. It’s just like a young player. Dave’s not a first coach in that. He’s been coaching this year, and it’s no different than a young player. It goes by pretty fast.
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