March 9 morning skate quotes: Darryl Sutter

On puck possession:
You guys who watch it [a lot] see it. Guys who don’t don’t understand it. They think it’s defending. Well, there’s no defending in a game. It’s how much you’ve got the puck…It’s simple. It’s not hard to figure out. Teams that stand around in their own zone and say they’re defending, they’re generally getting scored on or taking faceoffs. They need a goalie to stand on their head when they do that.

On Marian Gaborik’s adjustments in joining the Kings:
The biggest adjustment for Marian is coming back to the Western Conference. It’s the biggest adjustment. You see it always with players. So it’s not just going to be a one-off thing.

On any concern that Marian Gaborik has been hurt “a lot”:
He was only hurt…this year. He played a full year two years ago, and last year he missed two games. So he hasn’t been hurt. He was hurt earlier in his career, so when he was a kid, maybe that’s just coming over, and this year, quite honest, you look at the two injuries he’s had, well, you break a bone – you break a bone, sprain a knee. [Reporter: That’s just the law of averages of playing a long time.] Yeah. The best thing about him is he’s played in two conference finals, and the last playoffs he was in, he played 18 games or 20 games. He’s an important player.

On Ben Scrivens’ performance in Los Angeles:
Made the team in training camp, played behind Jonathan Quick. Jonathan Quick got hurt, and he came in and was ready to play and it probably allowed him…this opportunity here. [Reporter: He’s really grateful. That’s what he said.] It’s not that hard to figure out. I mean, his name is Ben Scrivens. He came to Los Angeles in a trade. As I said, he made the team in training camp. [Reporter: Technically he’s not the most technical goalie. But he’s kind of a battler.] He gives up a lot of shots, and he makes a lot of big saves.

On whether he believed Los Angeles would open the post-Olympic break on a streak:
Generally, yeah. Used to winning. [Reporter: With six in a row, and considering what happened prior to the break-] Nothing. What happened prior to the break? I’ve answered that question every game, and I thought we played really well. Once in a while, you get some breaks, and we’re not a high scoring team. Once in a while you do, and once in a while you don’t. We play the same way every night. Same way. The other team knows we’ve played ‘em, and that generally means that you have a good playoff team, which we’re used to [having].

On Trevor Lewis’ team-best net penalty plus-minus:
I didn’t know that. [Reporter: Is it just moving his feet, working hard?] If he is, then yeah. There’s not many penalties that are called. You’re probably basing it on ice time or some stat – I don’t know. I really wasn’t aware of that.

On whether it’s “comforting” looking down the bench and seeing Drew Doughty:
I think every team that has a defenseman that plays 20-plus minutes and is a possession guy, that’s comforting. I mean, the best teams in the league have one, two, or four of those. [Reporter: Well, even at the Olympics, the greatest players in the world, that position stood out. He and Weber kind of drove that team to a large degree.] Well, Weber played with Duncan, and Drew played with [Marc-Edouard Vlasic.] They had seven Western Conference [defensemen] on the team that won the tournament, and two lines that were Western Conference they put together that won the tournament, when you look at it.

On the biggest adjustment coming to the Western Conference:
You’ve got to get used to the travel, you’ve got to get used to the possession-type of game that everybody plays out here. There’s a big difference, and I think it’s really going to come into balance. You know the biggest reason that there’s a discrepancy in records this year is because two teams went there and one team came here. It doesn’t sound like much, but once everybody gets that balance and understands, there’s a big change and difference in personnel. A lot of these guys haven’t played each other, so there is a big difference in personnel and style of game. So I think now that we’ll get it in balance in terms of the teams, then you’ll see, I think, a much more even [balance], especially with coaches changing sides, too. Good coaches. [Reporter: Does it bother you that because the West has five of the best seven teams that the first round of the playoffs has some awfully good teams?] It’s the way it works. Somebody’s going home early. Somebody’s not making it. Good teams are not making playoffs out here. That’s a fact, and it’s exactly what I said. If you don’t say ‘100 points,’ you’re not in a playoff race. That’s what you have to say at the start of the year, and that’s 50 wins in some fashion. You need 100 points, and as it plays out now, it’s probably going to be in the low 90’s, but you better say a hundred, or else you’re not getting in. A hundred gives you a chance with the way it’s set up now in the three-three-two, in terms of three teams in each division, two wild cards. It gives you a chance to stay out of the wild card. So that’s what you have to do. It’s hard. Quite honest, Vancouver’s used to winning their division every year, and it’s a whole different set now, so it tells you what’s going on out here. It’s tough.