10-31 Preview - Quick Expected + Seeking Consistency, Walkers Comfort, Kuparis Focal Points - LA Kings Insider
# 10-31 Preview - Quick Expected + Seeking Consistency, Walkers Comfort, Kuparis Focal Points - LA Kings Insider
# Contributors
# Summary
The Kings are back on the road for three games in four nights, beginning later this evening in St. Louis versus the Blues.
# Players
# Staff
# Notes and Quotes
# Consistency Coming More Consistently
# Todd McLellan
I think we’re getting closer to it, it doesn’t mean that it’s going to be a Picasso tonight but we’re starting to realize the value of certain things again. It’s important and you can hear guys talking about it a lot more, situational decisions. I said the other day, Hockey 101, there’s a lot more talk about Hockey 101 in our locker room right now than there was after games three and four.
We need to play that way. I know there will be others that think that if they go that way, they’re not going to be able to score. Well, we checked a lot better against Toronto and we were still able to score so I don’t buy that as an excuse……it’s not just one man, one staff or half a team ,it has to be everybody believes that.”
# Walks This Way
# Sean Walker
Yeah, I’d say so. I think every game is kind of more and more back to normal, it’s just getting the fundamentals down and then going from there. It’s about getting comfortable and confident building off of it from there.
I think that’s kind of the way we want to play in general anyways, you know, quick ups and if the forward is there, you get him the puck. The legs feel good, I wouldn’t say that’s anything I’m focusing on specifically, if I can skate it, I’m going to skate it but if someone’s open, I’m going to make that play.
# Todd McLellan
Yeah, closer to it. We’ve talked about him a little bit and you cannot make up for lost time. No matter how hard you try and how bad you want to do it, lost time is lost time and it’s gone. Sometimes when you chase that makeup phase, it becomes really tough……we’ve got to give him opportunities to experience it. The other night was a real good night for him, he did a lot of things well.
# RasmusBerry Beret
# Todd McLellan
He’s a big man that skates extremely well and his play without the puck is something we’re proud of,” Todd McLellan said of Kupari this morning. “He does a really good job sorting things out coming back to his end, he defends well, long stick and he’s a very good penalty killer when he has to do those things. Quite often, those first-round draft picks are always relied on to score, is this guy going to score 35 or 40, we want him to score but there are some things he does really well right now. If he keeps doing those things, it will keep them available to us.