There was a chance for the Los Angeles Kings (35-27-20) and interim head coach DJ Smith to build momentum in the West in the Pacific Division yesterday (April 16) in the standings this regular season down the stretch this spring vs. the Calgary Flames (34-39-9). But the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers won in the West in the standings yesterday, guaranteeing that the Kings would finish in the second wild card spot in the conference this regular season this spring.
Calgary Flames have a rookie goalie that bests DJ Smith and the Los Angeles Kings in the regular season finale late this week north of the border on Thursday night
The game started slow on the ice and on the scoreboard for Smith and the Kings' coaching staff in the Pacific Division yesterday on the road north of the border in Albert vs. the Flames in Calgary. Quinton Byfield scored the game's only goal on the scoreboard for the Kings yesterday vs. the Flames on the road in the middle frame in the second period.
Smith and the Kings going 0-for-2 on special teams on the power play on the 5-on-4 man advantage helped to contribute to LA falling short in the final frame in the third period in clutch time yesterday in the Pacific Division. The Kings were the better team on the ice to set the tone offensively in the zone in the opening frame in the first period.
Smith gave his reaction to the media yesterday after the Kings' ultimately meaningless two-goal loss on the scoreboard in the Pacific Division on the road in Calgary vs. the Flames in this regular season finale game in the West.
The Kings will now face the Colorado Avalanche in Round 1 this upcoming spring in the postseason in the playoffs in the West this upcoming weekend on Sunday (April 19).
Here's a look at everything Smith said to the media postgame following the Kings' disappointing 3-1 loss in the regular season finale in the Pacific Division on the road on April 16 vs. Calgary, north of the border in Alberta.
DJ Smith
On coaching Anze Kopitar in the final regular season game of his career in the league in the NHL
"It’s been an absolute pleasure to coach him. The professionalism, his effort, day in, day out, never putting himself bigger than the team. Even when there were stretches, probably this year, where he didn’t play as much as he’d like, he just takes it in stride. I thank him for that professionalism and what he’s probably set up for these kids going forward."
On the matchup in the postseason this upcoming weekend in Round 1 vs. the Colorado Avalanche in the West
"I mean, today with social media and phones, everyone knew after two. For us, I don’t think it matters. Whoever we were going to play, we’d be the underdog and coming from the back. We’re playing well. We know there’s going to be spurts where they’re going to be really, really good. But we’re going to have to look at it and manage those times. We’ve got some guys playing well here as well. So, we’re going to find out."
On the confidence the Kings have going into the postseason in the playoffs after a good month of April on the ice in the West
"We’re going to have to weather the storm, there’s going to be times where they’re really going to come at us. I mean, they have five, six, seven of the best players in the world over there, but the one thing we’ve always been able to do is play defense. So, we’re going to have to defend real hard and then when we get opportunities, we’re going to have to sting them."
On how Quinton Byfield has played offensively for the Kings in the West this past week this regular season down the stretch
"He's just playing [with] confidence. He's playing loose. He's making plays. I think this is the player that I myself envisioned him always being. I think a lot of people don't understand, with Q, [that he] learned the game the right way, playing under Kopi and all these other centers that were ahead of him when he got here.
Me coming from Ottawa, and I had Timmy over there. He got dumped out the door and got all those opportunities right away. Q's getting them a little bit later in his career. And I think he'll continue to get better and next year obviously be coming back being the one guy. He's just going to continue to grow."
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