12-15 Preview – Whats Required in Boston + Copley in net and notes on Kupari, Kopitar, Ovechkin

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• News post

• Zach Dooley

The LA Kings conclude a six-game roadtrip this evening against the NHL-leading Boston Bruins.

• Pheonix Copley
• Viktor Arvidsson
• Phillip Danault
• Alex Iafallo
• Rasmus Kupari
• Anze Kopitar

• Todd McLellan

# Todd McLellan

The most impressive and important thing about that first half of the game was the ability to play towards a game plan. Four lines rolling, six defensemen, everybody buying in and working towards three things that we set out to do. That was very well done for the first half of the game.

We have to be very precise in what we do. We’re 40 percent into the regular season now, there aren’t going to be a lot of dramatic changes to structure or anything like that, so we’re now talking about precision and consistently doing what we do……in Buffalo we believed we needed to do certain things, tonight against Boston, we’ll have to do certain things to have a chance at success. If we’re willing to do them, who knows where it ends up. If we’re not willing to do them, odds are we end up on the back end of it.

For [Anze Kopitar], it’s not often a guy leads the team in scoring year after year after year and with good point totals, but we’re not talking about 120, or Connor McDavid type totals, so he’s never been that flashy, offensive player. As a result, I’m sure a lot of people want more from him when it comes to offense. If we continue to get what we’re getting from Kopi offensively, we’ll be fine. His value comes in a lot of different areas as well. The defensive side, his big body hauling people around and when our team needs some stabilizing, and some stand up in front of the room and lead, that has to be Kopi and it’s not measurable. It’s not witnessed or seen on TV cameras, it’s not reported about, but it’s a required need for every team at a certain point and he’s got to be able to provide that.

You know you have a tendency, obviously, not to cheer for other teams, but there are some individual players you want to see do well. Maybe you’ve coached them or played with them before and you get excited when you see things like that happen. For [Alex Ovechkin] to do that, the whole league should be excited. He scored 800 and a lot of those were against teams that I’ve coached. We didn’t like it at the time, but right now it’s pretty neat to be part of a league where a guy is doing that.

# Phillip Danault

I thought we were playing really good, we should have had a couple of goals in the first and I think that could have changed the whole game. I thought we had some great chances that could have [turned the game] the other way.

# Alex Iafallo

We have to start putting all 60 together and I think that comes with focus. We have to focus in the second period and when we get scored on, we have to play harder and harder, be smart out there, instead of [what we’ve been doing]. We have to stick together and play every shift as smartly as we can.

# Rasmus Kupari

Yeah, it’s different. You have to get that mindset ready before the game, be really in there mentally because when you play a lot of minutes, it’s easier to get the rhythm going. It’s a little bit of a different role, but I’m just trying to bring my energy and my work ethic, get pucks in and forecheck really well, get into the game that way.