Inside Kupari, Fiala and Grundstroms chemistry - remembering the 2001 Detroit-LA playoff back-to-back

Last updated Nov 14, 2022 Edit Source

• News post

• Jon Rosen

FORUM CLUB. The Red Wings are in town (7:30 pm / Bally Sports West / LA Kings Audio Network), and you know what that means – Red Kings fans. Lots of them. Maybe not as many as the late nineties, but on a Saturday night? They’re showing up. You know that guy in your section two rows up you reach through bodies to high-five a billion times a year? Yeah, he’s originally from Livonia and grew up owning Yzerman and Draper jerseys. The diaspora of Detroiters spreads far and wide in this league, particularly in more temperate climes, giving rise to Red Kings, Pred Wings, etc.

• Cal Petersen
• Rasmus Kupari
• Kevin Fiala
• Carl Grundstrom

• Todd McLellan

# Todd McLellan

you don’t mess with the shutout, in my opinion. So, maybe Cal would’ve been back in earlier but he wasn’t, and tonight’s his night, so make it count.

He doesn’t have to play, but he has to play.

[Jacques Lemaire] said you’re playing well and it’s kind of like your personal health. You’re feeling pretty good. The germ that makes you feel bad gets into you and then the effects come out four or five days later, so we’ve got to stay on top of that germ, if you will. When we see things slipping, we have to stay aware of it and we have to address it. So, there is that possibility that complacency creeps in. But good teams squash it, good teams address it, good teams react to it. That’s what we’re trying to become. But there’s a good chance we’re sitting here at Game 82 and I’m still telling you the same thing because there’s no such thing as perfection. That’s what we want to be, but there’s no such thing.

They’ve played with some good players in the past. [Carl Grundstrom]’s ben up with Anze Kopitar in the playoffs. Kup has had different wingers, so Kevin Fiala, you see it on paper, but I don’t want to discredit the linemates they’ve had before. But, their games are growing and expanding … There’s other things that Grunny’s doing that he’s valuing, and it’s making him feel good. It’s not just goals and assists. He’s physical, he’s on the penalty kill, he’s blocking shots. That’s just maturity. You learn to evaluate yourself on something greater than individual stats – and I’m not saying Grunny was that way. But, you can get satisfaction and do a lot of other things, and Kevin helps that they keep doing those things. His playmaking skills help those other two maybe get more scoring chances. But the other two help him in getting the puck back, so it’s a good combination.

[Carl] valued them before he did them, but there’s consistency in it now, there’s a reward for it. You know what? ‘You did good on the penalty kill, go out and do it again.’ ‘Oh, OK, I feel good doing this. I don’t have to always score or get an assist. I can bring real value to the team without being a top-three goal scorer on it.’ It’s hard for kids to do that. It’s hard for first-rounders to do that. They feel they’ve got to be up there scoring all the time, and we want them to, but what else can you provide the group nightly that makes you feel good and the group feel good? We’re trying to expand that with a lot of our players.

We talked about it. Yes, you do. You almost have to play if you’re going to lose. … We reminded some of our players, and we’re still setting up offensive plays and not even coming close to running them. It’s a little bit frustrating.

# Rasmus Kupari

That one goal a couple games ago I scored? That pass was unreal. I’ve just got to be ready all the time. [Kevin Fiala] can do special things with the puck.

We’re all good skaters, skilled, smart players. It’s just trying to watch whoever’s open, get the puck to him and try to find an open spot.