In a game with playoff implications for this upcoming postseason in the spring this regular season in the West, new interim head coach DJ Smith and the Los Angeles Kings (27-23-15) defeated the New York Islanders (37-24-5) on the road early this weekend on Friday evening (March 13).
Two wins in the past three games have marked a start for the Los Angeles Kings and DJ Smith in this East road trip late this week and this weekend
The Kings and Smith responded on the ice to a tough 2-1 overtime loss in extra time early this week on Tuesday (March 10) on the road a few days ago. Center captain Anze Kopitar scored a milestone goal in the opening frame in the first period yesterday vs. the Isles at UBS Arena, breaking the franchise record in Kings history for the most road points.
Adrian Kempe scored the eventual game-winning goal on the scoreboard for Smith and the Kings' coaching staff in the opening frame in the first period, when LA jumped out to an early 3-0 lead early in the game vs. the Isles on the road on Friday.
Smith gave his thoughts to the media yesterday after the big 3-2 regulation win on the road in the front end of back-to-back games in Long Island vs. the Isles early this weekend on Friday.
Smith and the Kings now have a record of 2-0-1 in the standings in the West this regular season to start this road trip in the East this past week.
Here's a look at everything Smith said to the media postgame following the Kings' close 3-2 regulation win on the road vs. the Islanders at UBS Arena in Long Island on March 13.
D.J. Smith
On how confident the Kings have been playing on the ice lately in the West
"I think we’re starting to believe that we’re a team that can make some plays. We can hold on to pucks. Some guys are scoring that maybe haven’t scored. We’re blocking shots. There’s a lot of desperation in our game."
On what he saw from the Kings in the opening frame in the first period yesterday
"We started right away and that’s a really good team over there, that’s a playoff team, that’s a team that’s got some high end talent. We knew that they were coming back from a long road trip, which typically, sometimes you start a little bit sluggish. I just think we got some bounces and played well in the first, they pushed back, their goalie made a lot of made a lot of saves to keep them in it. I thought if we could have got the fourth one, we could have maybe opened it up, but he held them and we had a tough time."
On how the team reacted when the Isles came back to close the lead on the scoreboard to one goal yesterday
"There was composure, but give them credit. They had all kinds of chances in the third, Kuemps, the shot blocks. I mean, if you look at Schaefer and Barzal and what they created in the third period, and how much zone time they had, we were under siege there, but that’s part of it. Sometimes you push, sometimes they push and I thought there were stretches that we pushed really hard and they held us off. You know what? With the game on the line, they made a lot of good plays."
On how the Kings can translate a win like this one to the postseason
"I think it’s all around the league to be honest. I mean, when you look at it, there’s good players in this league. The offensive players are getting better and better and better. Again, I thought in that second period, we had two breakaways on Sorokin and he made great saves and made it look easy. We had all kinds of looks and he held them and then when it’s their time, our guy held it for us. I think those are two really good teams, but like I said, give the credit to the to the players in this league. There’s some big time skill and when you give them looks, good players make good plays."