December 16 postgame quotes: Mike Stothers

On the win feeling like a complete game from start to finish:
I thought that was our best game, complete game, in a long time. We’ve played some good hockey in stretches but I thought tonight was as good as we’ve played for a full 60 minutes from everybody throughout the lineup. We didn’t have anybody who was having an off night and I thought it precipitated itself with the way we started. The first four lines that went out, we were really good, like really good. And that hasn’t happened to us, well it doesn’t happen often enough, and I think that’s the way you need to play. Again, the difference is you play with a lead and however it finishes up, you give some credit to Bakersfield to find a way to keep chipping away, but we were good. Even it gets 3-1, 3-2, regardless of how it would have played out, I was still happy with the way we played. So, I think that’s a good thing. Good for the guys, that’s a real good 60-minute win for everybody.

On Jack Campbell’s performance:
Soupy made some saves when he had to. That’s what you expect out of your goalie. Then there’s other times where the D were playing well in front of him, the forwards, there was some good support. So, I’m sure Soupy, if you talk to him, he’s probably giving credit to the guys that played in front of him. I think, as I said, not that I’m not singling anybody out, everybody was good.

On Jonny Brodzinski’s spinaround backhand goal:
The backhand, shelf, that only a goal scorer can pull off? My god, that’s what Brodz does. That kid is a pure goal scorer. That was a great goal. I kind of kidded him that it made up for the one in the second period where he drilled right it into the chest of Brossoit. So, I guess he decided to show me how good of a scorer he is. But that’s what Brodz can do, it’s amazing.

On the balanced scoring from Mersch, Hensick and Brodzinski who all have 8 goals:
Merschy’s getting back on the good side of the ledger in goals and we knew it was going to come. I think a guy like Purcell has really brought a lot to our team. Man, he has the puck a lot, makes some plays. Now there’s a guy that the other team has to really focus and concentrate on. So he’s been a real good addition to our team. Hensick has been a pretty consistent point producer for us all season long, kind of in a quiet way, maybe more so on the power play, but he just finds a way to get it done. Like I said, Merschy, we knew it was only a matter of time before he was going to start filling the net for us. That’s good. I was happy with everybody. I was happy with the way Kempe responded. That might have been his best game in quite some time. Again, good for him. Show me. I’m all about show me.

On Zac Leslie’s play of late:
You go back to Soupy, yeah, he made some saves but some guys helped him out too. Les has been real good. He seems to be stepping up with the added responsibility and the added ice time. It’s actually not a bad pairing, him and Scuderi, you know? But Les has got a confidence about him. He wants to be the go-to guy and I think that’s good. The confidence I’m referring to is not in an annoying way, it’s he wants to be a player that’s in every situation. He wants to be involved. And I think that’s a good thing for him. That’s what he brings. That’s what his M.O. was coming from Guelph. He’s been real solid.