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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: KINGS v DEVILSMay 31, 2012Darryl SutterNEWARK, NEW JERSEY: Practice Day THE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. What do you think you did really well last night and maybe a couple things you didn't to well enough? COACH SUTTER: Thought we had a good start to the game. We did a good job in the first period based on New Jersey, the way they played in first periods in the playoffs. We knew that was going to be a challenge for us. With the travel, our guys felt sluggish yesterday. That's an area that I thought we were good at. Obviously an area we can get better at. We'll use tomorrow's practice for that. Q. What did you know about Anze when you came into the job? What has he shown you? Has he elevated his game in the playoffs? COACH SUTTER: Well, I think he's recognized as a top centermen in the league, one of those young top centermen. That's what I knew about him. That wasn't anything that was any different than anybody else. What has he done different or done better? I don't know. He plays lots of minutes, plays lots of situations, takes faceoffs, doesn't bother what style is going on, he can handle it. I think the big thing I tried to impress upon him was just being consistent. It's no different than any other young player. Obviously he's getting to play in the playoffs, which is something he'd only done six games before in his career. So obviously if you ask him, that's probably the biggest‑‑ what he would say is getting to play longer in the playoffs. Q. The Kings played probably their best games of the playoffs in Game2. The opposition is bound to play better each time. Can you explain the mindset the team has had going into Game2? COACH SUTTER: I don't know prior. I'm only looking ahead. I think it's a funny setup again, between Game1 and Game2, we only played one game in four days since we got here. That's how it was going to be. So now it's get ready for Saturday again. It's not about what happened, who we played last time, anything like that. I think we know our opponent is a lot tougher than anyone we played yet. Going into last night, I think they were, what, 6‑2, something like that, in home games. I think we know what the challenge will be on Saturday. Q. Drew Doughty was saying how much of an inspiration he thought Nicklas Lidstrom was. Do you see any similarities in the way those two play? COACH SUTTER: No. Because they're not similar in style of play. Q. Coach, players on both sides talked about how they felt some jitters in Game1 of the final. Do you think Game2 will be any different in terms of play or more of the same? COACH SUTTER: You know, our guys said today they felt sluggish. If that was nervous, then so it was. Our guys felt they could play better. That's a good thing. I'm sure the other team is saying the same thing, too. Q. Darryl, on the occasion of Nicklas Lidstrom's retirement, do you have any observations on him as a defenseman, what he's meant to the game? COACH SUTTER: You know what, he's an awesome player. Everybody talked about the change of the game, the rule changes, all that. Basically in some ways it's a bunch of BS, right, because the top players still remained the top players. The coaches adjusted to it. You look at a guy like Lidstrom, just literally produced through it all, as a young player, an old player. He's still playing if he wants. He's still a top player in the league if he wants to be. That just shows you the status that he had. He was a hard guy to coach against. I did it lots being in Chicago, then San Jose, Calgary. I coached against him lots in big games, home, road, all those things. He was a frustrating guy to coach against because you could never get to Nicklas Lidstrom. Couldn't get to him. Didn't matter how you forechecked, what you set up, what you did. He was one of the few guys ever that could control a game from the defensive standpoint. You think of how many of those guys there are, recent history, maybe Bourque, Lidstrom, not many. As a kid you thought Bobby Orr could do that. Pretty awesome player. Q. Quick is getting recognized a lot more this year. Would you say he might be playing better since the start of the playoffs? COACH SUTTER: Since the start of the playoffs? No. Better than last night or the night before? Q. The regular season. COACH SUTTER: He had an awesome regular season. He had that gap in March there where he struggled. Joe came in, did a good job for him whenever we needed. He's back out here again. Tried to manage his schedule in the regular season after the All‑Star break. I forget what it is, he only played maybe three back‑to‑backs the whole time after that. He came in fresh. That's one thing about winning series, winning four before you lose three, gives your goalie time always. He's a guy that has great practice at it, so he can reinforce those habits, reinforce game situations while he practices. If there's anything I've seen in the playoffs, that would be that. Q. Coach DeBoer and a couple of the Devils players talked about playing tentatively, feeling things out in the first couple periods, whether that was nerves or lack of familiarity. Did you see any of that from your side? COACH SUTTER: Yup. Q. Could you elaborate a little? COACH SUTTER: I thought I just said that I thought we had some nervous players. Q. Did lack of familiarity play any part? COACH SUTTER: You know, hopefully we watched enough of New Jersey and didn't give them too much. We had a couple more days off than them, so obviously we could still watch them. We seen them play. I think we're pretty familiar with their team in terms of style and, for the most part, players. Most of these guys watched Marty when they were kids, so... Q. When you took over the Kings, was there one element beyond any other that you felt you had to instill in the hockey club that you were successful with and that has continued through this remarkable playoff run? COACH SUTTER: It's not 'instill.' I don't know what the word is. Allow them freedom to maximize their skill set without getting in the way of the team structure. I know that's hard to understand, but... Allow them to use their ability a little bit more. Q. Can you talk a little bit about Jordan Nolan's playoff, what he brings to your club. COACH SUTTER: He gives us some size, gives us some speed. Last night was the most minutes he played in the playoffs. There's nights where he's played four or five shifts, four or five minutes, so... Keep him clear on his role and play it. Right now we're relatively healthy and there's competition to play. He plays well, he stays in the lineup. Q. You did seem to play your fourth line, not just more, but in significant situations last night. Was that the plan from the get‑go or more of a feel thing? COACH SUTTER: I think when you have time off, it's interesting from a coaching standpoint. You think you can shorten your bench because guys are fresher. But really when you have time off, the first thing I could see last night, we did have some sluggish guys, and it was at the top end of our skill set in terms of players. It doesn't bother me to play, I don't call them our fourth line, I call it Colin Fraser and whoever is playing with him. So if they're on, they can play against anybody. If you look at it, the goal last night was against Zajac's line. You know what, I'm confident whoever is playing with Fras, as long as they're doing the job, you know what, there's nights where maybe the other team is playing their top line or their top two lines more and you got to be careful. But at the same time, it's still about performance and the quality play. Last night worked out. Q. A little bit about Doughty. He played a fair bit last night. Talk about his growth defensively this season. COACH SUTTER: I think he's continuing to grow, and he will. For sure he's now the youngest player playing that many minutes in the league still. So he probably played, what, two or three minutes more than he's normally doing. He played four more shifts than he's normally playing. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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