On January 22, 1995, Ryan Smyth made his NHL debut - playing for the Edmonton Oilers in Los Angeles versus the Kings.
And 1,080 games later, he was back in Southern California - in a different building though - yet, back in an Oilers jersey and ready to take on the Kings once again.
Same result - Edmonton defeated LA.
He also picked up a goal this time around, his sixth goal on the season and has now scored in three straight contests.
Afterwards, he had this to say...
On the overall game - "Obviously it’s nice to get the win, that’s first and foremost. We played a great game. Habby (Khabibulin) obviously played great. We did the little things right that make the difference."
On why he left - "I had a short time here and it was alright. I just felt it was best for my family to move on and it’s always nice to win. After the first two games when we lost after having the lead, we regrouped and have played well. It built some character and we’re playing for each other as a team now."
Rookie sensation Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added the following...
On expectations - "Coming into the season the team really wanted to make some strides. It feels good right now. We have some confidence after a few big games on this road trip."
On playing with Smyth - "It’s been great. Right when I came here he talked to me a lot, really made me feel comfortable with the team."
The shot totals, which favored Edmonton 27-19, were something Kings coach Terry Murray spoke about earlier. Here, Oilers coach Tom Renney weighed in with his thoughts on the topic...
On goaltending and shots - "The shot clock is always good when it’s in your favor, but Habby (Khabibulin) still had to make some big saves so we’re not kidding ourselves there. We kept shots outside and he had good body position so he didn’t have to make the second and third saves, which is always big. Goaltending is huge - your teams wins or loses starting right there."
If you missed the Kings post-game comments, here are links to what Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson and coach Murray had to say about things tonight.
Also, Drew Doughty, Matt Greene and Jarret Stoll spoke about the 'slippery' Smyth before yesterday's game (article linked here).
The Mayor
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