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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: KINGS v DEVILSMay 30, 2012Darryl SutterNEWARK, NEW JERSEY: Game One THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Sutter. Q. Why do you think the long layoffs haven't affected your team at all during the post‑season? COACH SUTTER: Obviously we've been able to manage our time well. I think between the regular season and when we played Vancouver, there was, what was it, two or three days. Then the next one was five or six. As series go along, there are players that definitely need days away and days off. It's not just the physical part of it. Guys are banged up. But the mental part of it. I think it's really helped our two or three older players, specifically Willie Mitchell and Rob Scuderi, the time. Q. Compared to the other teams you faced so far in the playoffs, does Kovalchuk present any particular problems with speed or skill level? COACH SUTTER: Compared to? Q. The other teams you played so far. COACH SUTTER: Well, we've had to play against dominant individual players, not necessarily always offensive guys, in every series. I mean, you have to zero in on certain players, key in on them, prepare for them. So you're talking about a guy who plays premiere minutes, a lot of minutes, is a shooter, and at the same time you can't overlook players like Zach. Q. What can we expect in the first 10 minutes from you? Are you going to come out and dictate the attack? COACH SUTTER: I'd like to think that. But the same thing Peter's talking about, too, so... It's the Stanley Cup Finals, both teams got here for a reason. Both teams are going to try to play that way. Q. Coach, just wondering whether you can give any update on Simon Gagne, whether he might be a factor in the series or not? COACH SUTTER: I think we talked about it yesterday. It's what we said two weeks ago. There's zero chance. Now there's a chance, right? I'm not answering that question again about Simon. Cleared for contact, cleared for practice, traveling with the team. So there won't be any further update on that one because, quite honestly, the answer's the same and I don't know how to answer it, right? You tell the truth or don't say nothing. Q. In a city where you're competing for attention with all kinds of other major sports, side attractions, what does the fact that the Kings are in the final mean for the profile of hockey in Los Angeles and for the NHL in LosAngeles? COACH SUTTER: I look at it in a sense of young players that haven't been in that position before. Simple. I see kids like Doughty, Brown, Kopie, Jonathan, all them guys have never been in that before. Now to be recognized in a different light, it is primarily a Lakers position there, right? That's what's more important to me. I did that in San Jose, too. The same question was asked. It's about winning, right? That's what creates it. Anything else is just BS. We've been able to get past the first round, so players get noticed, recognized a little bit more. Awesome for them. Win another round, becomes more. Third round becomes more. Anybody that's been here for a long time knows that, too. It's about winning. Q. Coach, I wanted to know if you could talk about Willie Mitchell, his contribution on the ice, but his mood playing in the first final of his career. COACH SUTTER: He is moody. First time for him, too. He hadn't really played in the Conference Finals. Those guys that you want to see, because they never get any recognition, right, it's about team recognition always. To see guys like him and Scuderi and Jarret, those guys don't get that recognition because their offensive thing, right? It's awesome. He's one of a group. It's not Willie and then separated out. I'm sure that every older player that's never been in a conference final or a Stanley Cup Final, it's special for them. Q. Darryl, because you have some guys who have not been in this situation before, and you have, have you talked with them about how to handle this, what to expect once the series gets going? COACH SUTTER: The biggest difference in this series is not 'cause it's the Stanley Cup Finals. But, again, there's a break, and then there's a Wednesday/Saturday. So it's get 'em through tonight. Yesterday, it's always about that, talking about the other team, saying how good they are, being asked about, Oh, you had a great season, or, Oh, you had a great last round. You know what, there's just one game now. You don't play again till Saturday. So just deal with like that. You can talk about the three or four veterans, but we've got a lot of real young guys, too. Enjoy that part of it. But just look at it as it's one game. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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