March 21 postgame quotes: Glen Gulutzan

On whether the team won after “weathering a storm” early:
“Yeah, this was one your goalie comes and gets you and saves you in the first 40, and then I thought we picked up in the last 20, but certainly Kari kept us in.”

On Sutter’s earlier comment that Dallas kicked L.A.’s ass, and whether the same was true tonight:
“No. No, they probably tanned ours a little bit, but we came out in the end. You know what, for us it was a back-to-back, and in back-to-backs you need your goalie to be good and he was. Our goalie was our best player.”

On Jamie Benn making a key play that led to the game-winner and his adjustments at center:
“He’s committed himself to playing two-way hockey. You can hear lots of coaches saying that, but he’s truly committed. It’s only his second year as a center. He wants to learn the position, and he’s made a lot of strides here, especially in the last month. Weathered the storm in his own zone, played the right way, got it out, and then got the puck to Jags, and you see what he can do with it.”

On being out shot heavily by the Kings and emerging with a win:
“Usually in these games, for me, if you can weather that storm and keep it zero-zero, you know at some point the tide will change. Like I said, the goalie kept us in there and I knew we’d get our legs going here in the third a little bit because you’re in a position to have success, and you get a little jump from that.”

On whether it’s tiring defending against a possession-heavy team:
“It is. They’re big and heavy. They can wear on you, and we had to have three guys in the corner sometimes to get their two pinned. They’re a big, strong, group. It takes its toll, but I thought structurally, defending-wise, we had a lot of chances against. But they weren’t penetrating as much as one would think.”

On the luxury of having Jaromir Jagr and Ray Whitney when goals are needed:
“That’s why you have them. They’re stingers. It doesn’t take them much to sting you. You saw that tonight. They don’t need many to get it. You look at other guys – third and fourth line guys – they create 10 chances to get a goal. These guys don’t. They just need one or two opportunities, and they can hurt you.”

On whether he ever forgets about Jagr and Whitney’s age:
“We don’t really think about it anymore. They’re right in with the group. I mean, they’re hard-working guys that are both in fantastic condition. You wouldn’t know it to look at them. They’re in great shape. They’re great athletes. It hasn’t been issue. I think maybe some of the guys ribbed them a bit, but I’m kind of the same age as them, so I’m going to stay away from that.”

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