October 4 morning skate quotes: Darryl Sutter

On the challenge of playing on the second night of a back-to-back:
That is the challenge that teams out west face all the time, a back-to-back with lots of travel. We do it 12 times. We did it once in preseason, so hopefully we’ve rehearsed it a little bit. It’s tough. You get used to the back-to-backs. Your players get used to it, and they learn how to handle it, and you have to use everybody. It’s not like you use a short bench. That’s always your toughest challenge. Hey, the Jets are used to that, too, playing in the other side and all the travel they had last year. Get ready for another home opener.

On what to expect from a Jets team that is “pretty much the same as last year”:
Not really. They brought in a pretty good young centerman. It’s a significant difference. And a defenseman, also. It’s not the same team when you put in two players like that. One, somebody that plays 20 minutes – somebody on the back – and somebody who almost plays that up front. That’s a big difference. It’s two significant players to that team.

On the challenge of developing the identity of a team that is difficult to play against:
It basically comes from the accountability from your players, and your leadership, and your top players, and that pretty much leaves it right there. [Reporter: Can you teach that?] I think the top players and your leadership and your group teaches it.

On Jeff Carter being more than “a guy that just wanted to score goals”:
Well, I think that reputation was created by somebody that didn’t know Jeff Carter. It’s funny, I told Jeff and Mike when we got in here last night that even though we played in a game here – one of my first games I coached with the Kings was here – but one of my best moments of remembering those guys was the World Junior tournament, and if you were here watching, you would have said Jeff Carter was a pretty impactful player…and Jeff’s been that. Look what he did in Philly, and the numbers he put up, and then he was traded, and really never got going in Columbus. Quite honest, he was hurt for most of that time. And then we got him. He was a big part of our cup team. Scored big goals, played two positions, played lots of minutes, killed penalties, played on the power play, and then last year in the lockout he was the leading goal scorer in the Western Conference, so it speaks for itself.

On Carter being able to score from the outside:
Actually, he scores most of his goals from around the net, which is something that nobody talks about. You look at the highlights because of his speed and his shot – that’s what you see. But most of his goals are all- [Reporter: The goal last night was in the slot.] And that’s where he wants to play. You know what? Those are the types of players you’re looking for, in today’s game, anyways. Guys who don’t take penalties and play hard.