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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: KINGS v DEVILSMay 29, 2012Anze KopitarNEWARK, NEW JERSEY: Practice Day Q. (No microphone.) ANZE KOPITAR: You never know when you're going to get here or when you're going to come back again. Right now everybody is really excited to get going. I think it's obviously going to be fun and hard working at the same time. We have to make sure we're ready. Q. What kind of series are you expecting? ANZE KOPITAR: It's going to be a hard series. It's the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They've been something right to be in this position. We've done something right to be in this position. It's going to be hard games from 1 through 4 through 7, whichever way it goes. We're going to be ready. Q. Why have you been so good on the road in the playoffs? ANZE KOPITAR: Well, we got four lines that can roll pretty consistently. I think we're just playing a solid team game every time we're on the road. Obviously our goaltender has been great for us. We're going to need him to be good. Q. What most concerns you or impresses you about the Devils? ANZE KOPITAR: Oh, they have a well‑balanced team. Their goaltender is obviously arguably the best in the history. We're going to have our hands full with their pretty big forwards, too. Obviously they have a lot of skill. Again, we're going to have to prepare ourselves and play a hard game. Q. You got a new coach around Christmas. What's happened since then? ANZE KOPITAR: He came in. He stressed that he wants us to be more aggressive, you know, playing with the puck a lot more than we did before. Obviously, at that time he was watching some tapes. Coming in now, that's what he was, you know, stressing, is playing more aggressive, being more accountable. I think he's done a great job since he got in. Q. (No microphone.) ANZE KOPITAR: At that time, I was just excited to be there, you know, playing with those guys or against them. At that time it was pretty much still a dream to make it to the NHL, regularly playing against them. It was a fun experience. This time around, it's going to be a little bit different. Q. What does it mean to you to get to this point? ANZE KOPITAR: I mean, there's always room for improvement. You have to make sure you take care of yourself first. It starts with the off‑season. Then on the ice when the season starts, you want to improve every time, work on your game. I think since '05, I've had plenty of time to work on that. I know it's worked out pretty good for me. Q. How popular is hockey at home? ANZE KOPITAR: Yeah, I think it's pretty big. I've gone obviously online and followed our media back home.  It's getting pretty bigger, which is pretty cool. Q. (No microphone.) ANZE KOPITAR: I mean, the coaches have done a pretty good job, even throughout this week, keeping us focused and keeping us in rhythm, if you can call it. We're going to have to play our best. It's the biggest stage in hockey. You have to bring your A game at all times, every shift. That's what it's going to take. Q. (No microphone.) ANZE KOPITAR: I think it's good. I mean, it's good that the guys are available. Hopefully we can spread it even more than it already is. Q. (No microphone.) ANZE KOPITAR: Is there any? Yeah. My first year when I broke into the league, I had Rob Blake, Mattias Norstrom, Craig Conroy on our team. Obviously classy guys, class‑act guys around, well‑respected around the league. Just following them around, I'm not going to say it was really easy, but it's definitely easier. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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