How Pheonix Copley and Lukáš Dostál have flipped the script on Kings, Ducks goaltending

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• News post

• Eric Stephens

The Freeway Faceoff rivalry that’s been on low volume for several years had teams trying to get a win with goalies that started the season No. 3 on their depth charts. Perhaps Pheonix Copley and Lukáš Dostál still hold that designation in the organizational pecking orders but Copley (Kings) and Dostál (Ducks) are their men of the moment in net.

• Pheonix Copley
• Lukas Dostal

# Pheonix Copley

I just want to see how great I can be, I guess. And the only way to find out is to work for opportunities.

Every time I get a chance, I want to try and do the best I can with it regardless of what’s going on around me. That’s just my mindset and that’s what I’ll continue to do.

There’s definitely times where I guess it’s self doubt and wondering. You work really hard for a long time and hope for a chance to come around and you can’t really predict when that will happen. For sure, there’s times when you’re wondering when am I going to break through? When am I going to get an opportunity? But you know, you just got to keep going. That’s my mindset. Just to keep working and trying to keep earning opportunities.

You’d have to ask them. It was a tough situation there. It’s just one of those things that in pro sports, things kind of unfold that way sometimes and that’s just the way she goes.

# Todd McLellan

Let’s face it, [Pheonix Copley]’d only played a little bit in exhibition season and then he went to the minors. We knew him well enough from his past and pro scouting and all that type of stuff. But in our world, our environment, we weren’t sure what was going to happen. But the results and his play have certainly helped us win some games over the last little bit.

Rarely do the same two guys play all 82 games. Injuries, illness, COVID the last three or four years, there’s some circumstances that create a need for the third guy. Teams do their best to find somebody that would fit. (Garret Sparks) last year won us a big game in Washington. That game against Vegas when he played made us feel pretty good about it. But we’re still trying at that time to get Cal and Quickie as much as they need to get ready. [Pheonix Copley] was clearly going to be our third goaltender. That’s what the plan was and away we went. Exhibition season, you’re only allotted so many minutes and we wanted [Matt Villalta] to play a little bit too. It gets spread out pretty thin pretty quick. The one game that he played, he played very well and he made us feel real good.

We have three that we believe can play. Pheonix right now is playing outstanding. He’ll definitely play in one of the two for sure.

Quickie and Cal, they need help too. Our team’s playing better right now in front of Pheonix than we did in front of the other two. And when it’s time for Quickie to go back in or Cal or whoever it might be, I certainly expect and I’m sure the players expect that type of performance in front of them as well. So, the simple answer is yes. But it’s not an accusatory answer.