A big and convincing 4-1 win on the scoreboard over the New York Rangers (28-31-8) this past Monday evening (March 16) kept the Los Angeles Kings (28-24-15) in the thick of the standings in the West this regular season in the Pacific Division early this week a couple of days ago.
The return to Madison Square Garden sees Artemi Panarin and the Los Angeles Kings defeat the New York Rangers early this week in the standings in the West
New interim head coach DJ Smith and the Kings finished up a critical five-game road trip this past week in the East coast with seven out of a possible 10 points in the standings in the West this regular season. The Kings beat a Rangers team that had a four-game winning streak in the East this past couple of weeks in mid-March.
The Kings built a comfortable lead on the scoreboard in the opening frame on Monday vs. the Rangers and in the middle frame in the second period, thanks to big games from Artemi Panarin, forward Alex Laferriere, and defenseman Mikey Anderson. Forwards Quinton Byfield and Trevor Moore also made significant contributions offensively and on the scoreboard for the Kings vs. the Rangers.
Panarin and Byfield gave their reactions to the media on Monday after the multi-goal win on the scoreboard over the Rangers at MSG in New York.
Panarin and the Kings were impressive in the first game he played in his return to New York since he was traded to LA this past month on the trade block.
Here's a look at everything Byfield and Panarin said to the media postgame following the Kings' convincing 4-1 win over the Rangers on the road at MSG on March 16 in the finale of a five-game road trip this past week.
Artemi Panarin
On his return to MSG on Monday vs. the Rangers in New York City
"Emotional, especially warm up. When the game started, I was feeling better, but warm up was kind of in the lane."
On the reception from MSG on Monday vs. the Rangers
"Since I step on ice, I see these Georgees, all that stuff. Just feel good about that. That means a lot for me. I spent almost like seven years here. I'm proud of it."
On the emotions he felt pulling himself together for the game on Monday vs. New York
"To be honest, I was nervous all game. I'm glad guys were scoring goals tonight, and we take a good win, so it's nice. I was not thinking much about hockey tonight."
Quinton Byfield
On his takeaways from the Kings' win over the Rangers on Monday
"I feel like to end a road trip, come out like that, finish it off strong, and end up with a good Roadies, it shows what we have in here. We’re excited to move forward."
On how the Kings adjusted to come out in the second period vs. New York
"We just kept being aggressive and we just stayed with our game plan and it just opened up a little bit more for us. We started hemming them in some shifts, made some good changes and we started clicking more."
On how the Kings stepped up without Adrian Kempe in the active roster lineup vs. the Rangers
"Juice is such a big part of our team and that’s a big void to fill. You just need a lot of guys to step up and contribute, just fill in as much as we can with him missing. A lot of guys stepped up tonight and got the job done."
On the Kings getting the win on the scoreboard vs. New York in Artemi Panarin's return to MSG on Monday
"It was a big one for Bread and being a new member of our team, and fitting in so well, super excited to have him. We wanted to really do it for him, his homecoming. Obviously you could just hear by all the cheers how much they loved him here and how much he meant to the city. That was a big one for us and a big one for Bread."