Defensemen scoring, but can be `a lot better’

One part of the Kings’ victory over Nashville on Tuesday that didn’t really get discussed much was the contribution of the defensemen to the scoring. On four of the five goals, the defensemen either scored (Drew Doughty, Matt Greene) or got the first assist (Willie Mitchell, Slava Voynov). After the game, Darryl Sutter pointed out the defensemen, not necessarily for the points but for the fact that they were able to get shots through from the blue line, without having them blocked or miss the net. Later, Sutter spoke more about the defensemen, with a mixed amount of praise. For the record, the Kings’ right-side defensemen are Drew Doughty, Slava Voynov and Matt Greene, while the left-side defensemen are Rob Scuderi, Willie Mitchell and Alec Martinez.

SUTTER: “Offensively, they were really good (against Nashville). I think our right-side defensemen are playing really well for us. I think our left-side defensemen can certainly play a hell of a lot better than they’re playing.’’

Sutter also spoke, more generally, about the fact that the Kings have scored four goals in three of their last four games, and whether it signified some type of turnaround in the Kings’ offense…

SUTTER: “I think that four or five goals is not a norm for any team. Three is the right number. Good teams score three and give up 2 1/2 (per game). That’s how the best teams do it, so that’s what you’re trying to accomplish. You have to have the ability to do that, and you have to have the mindset, from the team standpoint, that you can accomplish that.”