Kings after deadline: Kings 3, Panthers 2
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What they said and the stats they created, as always compiled by Jeremy Zager and his talented staff (and we know his grandma loves to see his name here)
Kings Coach Terry Murray
On the game: ‘The whole team was good, but the best players came through in the end. It was great to see the winning goal, seeing [Anze] Kopitar finish it off. There was a lot of good efforts in the second and third periods tonight. You just dig in and find a way to get it done.’
‘It was important for us to go out and get a forecheck going and take some bodies. I think it was a good follow through by [Dustin] Brown and other people.’
‘I thought we were a little tentative in the first period and we just weren’t doing the right thing. We came back out in the second and we got our feet going. We started going after the game a little bit and stayed after it the rest of the way.’
‘I was very pleased with the emotion tonight. You have to have emotion to play the game. That’s a quality that’s important to have. I thought the guys responded well to being down 2-1. There’s a lot of emotion on the bench when you’re down but the guys on the bench were saying the right thing about staying focused and staying after it. A lot of the good things were being said on the bench and everybody rallied to get the job done.’
Kings center Anze Kopitar On ending the four-game losing streak: ‘It feels good, it has been a while since we played like that for a full 60 minutes. It is definitely a chip off the shoulder and hopefully we can continue to play like that. When you go through a tough time like that nothing comes easy, it was good to get the win and get on the right track again, I thought we played a solid 60 minutes.
‘We didn’t outshoot them, but I thought we outplayed them, especially in the second period when they iced the puck a few times and were just hanging on but we just couldn’t bury it. We knew if we kept on going like that we would get rewarded sooner or later.’
On his game-winning goal: ‘I think it was off the goalie and the puck was kind of just bouncing there. I saw the D was going to try and clear it in the corner and I just whacked it and fortunately for me it went in.’
Kings defenseman Matt Greene
On ending the losing streak: ‘It feels good to come into the locker room and having the music playing. It’s a good feeling to finally get a win and those are the games that are going to break you through a slump when maybe you are trailing, you are going to have some adversity, you’ve got to work for your goals and tonight we did that.’
About Kopitar’s goal: ‘It was a huge relief. Over the last nine games we have been giving up those goals at the end of the game and those are backbreakers. To go out and have your best player give you that effort and give you that goal means a ton for the guys on this team. With our top players, we go as they go, so for him to step up and get that goal was huge for us and I think everyone in here feels about 60 pounds lighter.’
Florida Coach Peter DeBoer
On the game: ‘We played hard. We had a real good first period; L.A. pushed back in the second. We did a lot of things right, but that doesn’t mean a lot in the standings.’
Florida forward David Booth
On the game: ‘I think we outshot them [26-24]. I think it was a pretty even game and the score showed that. We just have to find a way to win those.’
On breaking his slump: ‘It’s finally good to put one in the back of the net. I had a couple of chances there, good chances ... but one’s not good enough, especially when you lose by a goal.’
Florida forward Radek Dvorak
On the game: ‘The effort is there, but we have to win. We had a 2-1 lead going into the third period, but we lost the game 3-2. It’s tough. We have to refocus and get ready for the Phoenix game on Saturday because it’s a huge game for us and a huge game for everybody. ... We want to end this road trip on a good note, so we’ll take the positive from tonight’s game and make sure we play exactly like we did tonight but even better.’
Kings notes
* Peter Harrold scored his first goal since Jan. 23, 2010, at Detroit
* The Kings are still perfect at home on the penalty kill (41 for 41)
* The Kings are 12-2-0 when scoring three-plus goals
* The Kings are 11-2-0 when allowing two goals or fewer
* The Kings have won three times when trailing after two periods, last was Oct. 12 vs. Atlanta
* The Kings are 65-29-10 when Anze Kopitar scores (6-2-0 this season)
* Jonathan Quick’s 12-5-0 record is tied for third best in club history after 17 decisions (Daniel Berthiaume was also 12-5-0 in 1990-91). The best record after 17 starts by a Kings goaltender in 13-4-0 (Mario Lessard in 1980-81)
* The Kings are 9-2-0 at home
* The Kings have outscored their opponents, 34-18, at home
* The Kings are 11-2-0 when scoring first, 6-2-0 in one-goal games
* The Kings have held a lead in 16 of 24 games (and 12 of the last 15)
* Matt Greene had eight hits tonight
* Kyle Clifford earned his first NHL point (assist) and had six hits tonight
* Jarret Stoll is 40 for 57 on faceoffs the last four games (70.2%)
The Kings’ practice schedule Friday:
11:30 a.m. at Toyota Sports Center
-- Helene Elliott