December 15 media availability: Darryl Sutter

On how the team has raised its shooting percentage:
I think guys that are goal scorers have got the puck. I think one line scored four goals last night, so it’s not ‘lately,’ it’s ‘last night.’

On the balance through four lines on the trip:
Every night’s different because of who you play, who the match-ups are, especially on the road. Yesterday afternoon we were playing a game with three really, really good centermen. So every night’s different, depending on the match-up. You win the match-up that the other team presents you, whether it’s defensemen or centermen or wingers or somebody that we’re trying to control on the other team…It’s still about winning low scoring games. You do it at the end of the night, there’s about five and a half goals being scored a night in the league. So what if we scored five last night? Three was what the number was. Three won you the game. How your lines, how they play, it’s not just based on goal scoring. It’s based on basically where they play.

On facing the Chicago Blackhawks:
Yeah, I mean we both played last night. Both teams want to play better. It’s a funny start. I’m not caught on who they are, and I’m not sure they’re too caught up on who we are. I think you’re just trying to play your game.

On what makes Chicago successful:
They’re a pretty deep team in terms of their offense, which is right through their team, and it’s not like they have a big drop-off in their defense from one-through-seven. I mean, on-through-four is probably everybody’s one or two.

On Martin Jones’ play:
Goaltenders have competed for the position. Hopefully they continue to. Obviously we don’t know what Jones is because he’s a young guy that’s just proving himself, and Scrivens is a backup who’s trying to prove he can play a little bit more.

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