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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: KINGS v DEVILSJune 10, 2012Darryl SutterLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Practice Day THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Sutter. Q. Coach, can you talk about the challenge now of where you're at and how you got here, how you plan on going from here on. COACH SUTTER: We're at a really good place. How did we get here? I mean, we've been in a good series, that's for sure. We thought we played a helluva game last night. I think I said it after the game to some of the guys that were there, you know, we got breaks the first two games, they got breaks the last two games, right? We start again. Try and recreate that again tomorrow. If we play as well as we did last night, I like our team. Q. It's been suggested you may have had a lot of adversity during the season, but in the playoffs, not a lot of long series. How do you expect your team to respond to a little bit of adversity now? COACH SUTTER: Well, there's adversity in every game at some point always. I don't think not having long series has any bearing on anything. The farther you go, the better the teams are that you play. You know what, that's why they're in it. They're low‑scoring games. You look at it, four of the games were 2‑1 hockey, other than an empty‑net goal the last few seconds. If there's any challenge with us, the only challenge with our team is that we're not scoring a lot of goals. So that's something that we faced, this group, most of the year, right? Every little mistake is magnified. Q. How much of a challenge is it for you as a coach to try and coax a little bit more physical or mental energy out of players who may be physically or mentally tired? COACH SUTTER: It's not a challenge. You know what, again, that's why you're here. Their power plays are playing hard. Both teams are in the same position, physical and mental. There might be one shift here, one shift there, but that's how fine it is. That's not a big challenge for me. You know what, that's what we do. That's why we're good. Q. Does your message or approach to the way that you're trying to deliver to this team right now change at all? COACH SUTTER: No. Q. The first couple of games, Pete kept saying, We weren't rewarded. They really believed that. Then all of a sudden, bang, they were rewarded. Very similar for you, especially last night? COACH SUTTER: Absolutely. I mean, hey, you just move on. It's like I told the players, you can tell them they played good or you can tell them they played bad. It doesn't really matter, right? It's about the next game. We know how hard we play and we know how to recreate that. It's not about winning and losing. Even last night, I know it's a series, we lost the game. But to me it's not about winning and losing, it's about getting that sort of an honest performance from your group. Do that, you're satisfied. Q. Plan any changes for tomorrow? COACH SUTTER: Meaning? Q. Anything. Lineup, any kind of changes at all. COACH SUTTER: I don't think I need to discuss that if we were, right? Q. Is it any concern of yours or do you have to address with the team any sense that you've let something get away a little bit, that they have, any sense of dread at the growing pressure in the series? COACH SUTTER: No. I think zero. I think, quite honestly, the only pressure the players should feel is just to maximize how they can play, their own skill set. I don't think we feel any pressure. Not at all. I think, quite honest, there's some pretty good‑‑ you know, New Jersey is playing pretty well, right? But let's not forget New Jersey is the home team. New Jersey is the team that had the hundred some points. You know what, we expected a long, hard series out of the New Jersey Devils, and that's what we're getting. Q. Last night you had Gagne up with Kopitar and Williams. What did you see there? COACH SUTTER: Three or four shifts only. That was it. You know what, that's about, what? Brownie, he's spending a lot of energy. You're just trying to watch it a little bit. Gagne played about 10 minutes last night. That's about what he can give you. They have to be very high‑end minutes. You're doing that, you're cutting down to three lines plus one guy. That's what we were doing there. Between Louis and Kinger and Brownie, we were just kind of moving those three guys. Q. I imagine guys are naturally frustrated. Do you read the body language on the players in between games or days like this? Do you like what you see? COACH SUTTER: Between games is about getting ready again. It's not a picnic playing the games. You got guys banged up, recovering. That's what it's about. It's not about frustration. I mean, I'm still a little bit confused that there's some sort of point you're supposed to win four in a row all the time. That's tough to do. Hard time figuring that out. Q. We've been talking since day one about how much this team has to travel. How much did that come into play right now? COACH SUTTER: It's not an edge 'cause both teams are doing the same amount.  I don't think that's an edge to anybody. I don't know how it could be either way. I don't see any advantage in it. I wish we didn't have to travel that far. Q. They say the fourth one is always the hardest to win. What makes the fourth win in the finals so much harder than any other series like in '04? COACH SUTTER: Well, first off, I don't know what '04 has to do with things. I think we've had to win the fourth gamethree times already. The experience of it is players understanding how hard that is because it's not like it's the first time they've done it. We've been really close to doing it twice now in this series ‑ really close. So we just want to tighten that up a little bit. Q. It seems like the last game got a little feisty and chippy after the whistle. COACH SUTTER: Last night? Q. Yes. Is that just the natural progression of the series or do you think at all about players possibly losing their cool? COACH SUTTER: There's been so few penalties called. I don't think it's an issue at all, quite honestly. I think the bigger picture is more important to the players now. I think after the whistle, you have to be really careful. It's always identified before the series to the players. I think our team's done a really good job of it. Q. You talked quite a bit last night about how good you guys were, particularly in the first period. It was really fast‑paced. Did you enjoy that? COACH SUTTER: You know, I think the interview that's on the bench there with the head coach that loves to do the interview there, it was talked about, that if we wanted it to be a wide‑open game like it was. I think I looked up at the clock after the interview. Geez, the shots were like 14‑9. That was halfway through the game. So when you say that, I was going, Man, there are not many opportunities or many chances really. Both teams, it's been tough scoring. After the first two games they scored one goal. Now I'm sitting here saying after the last two games, we scored one goal a game. So you're pushing it a little bit. I mean, what's the score in the series now? Tells you how close it is. Total goals for and against, it's maybe 10‑7, 10‑6. We played five games. Pretty tight. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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