Below are comments from Kevin Westgarth and Matt Greene after the physical game vs Florida on Thursday - plus, Kyle Clifford following Saturday's contest with Montreal.
Westgarth on the surprising amount of rough play in the Kings-Panthers game - "There was a bit of frustration on both of the teams. Then, when their player takes a bit of a run at one of our better players, it pisses everybody off. It was great to come out with the win. We weren't as good as we should be tonight and it's pretty awesome that we came out with the win. It's great to see some of the snarl out of the boys. I think it should be quite a game when we get back over there in Florida."
NOTE: The Kings will play the Panthers in Florida on Thursday, February 9. Also, to see the hit Sean Bergenheim put on Mike Richards, click here.
Westgarth on watching much of the Kings roster get involved in the physical aspect of the game - "I love seeing the boys take care of each other. That's why I'm here. But, that's the whole mentality. If everybody has each other's back, then we can all play that much more confident and that much better. Sometimes I grit my teeth a little too much maybe and just want to do something to deal with it. But, I think the guys did a great job of stepping up, being real physical, and going right back after them. Hockey teams, and especially our team, have memories. We'll keep this one close to our chest."
For those who follow along on twitter, you may recall a tweet we sent out saying "33:48 left in the game. Matt Greene will have a fight tonight. #itscoming." After the game, Greene pretty much agreed, saying...
"You never want to see any of your teammates get hurt and, obviously, that's what happened. You want to respond to it in the only way you can, that's trying to be physical right back and trying to get (in) some altercations. But, that's the way hockey goes. It's the way it's been played forever and always will be."
Moving on to Saturday, Clifford spoke briefly about the 2-1 loss to the Canadiens, the early timeout taken by coach Terry Murray and playing with Colin Fraser...
Clifford on the pace of the game - "It wasn't really an overly physical game. They're a smaller, speed team."
Clifford on what Murray said during the timeout - "We just need to be better. He took the timeout at a good time, I think. Then, obviously, there was a great response by Penner there."
Clifford on the Kings declining shot totals as the game wore on - "Definitely, we need to be better. If we want to win games, we need consistently, through all three periods, get shots and pucks and bodies to the net."
Clifford on playing with Fraser - "He plays a hard-nosed game, gets pucks in deep. He's not a high risk player. So, he's (become) a big part of this team."
Finally, a little bonus quote. After LA's disappointing 2-1 loss on Saturday, Simon Gagne may have summed it up best - "In this league, if you lose one game, you have to focus on the next game and try to get the points you lost tonight."
True, time to turn the page and start preparing for the Ducks tomorrow night in Anaheim.
The Mayor
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