March 31 morning skate quotes: Darryl Sutter

On what the Kings have created in an attempt to find offense:
I don’t think very much. We’ve had guys that have been off their career numbers that are good players and are just kind of getting back to that. I think the guys who came back from the Olympics have come back in a really good place. I think there are some teams…that are concerned about how guys would come back, but our guys didn’t miss a beat. Probably about three or four games in they had a little bit of a fatigue thing, but they came back. Hey, they’re our best players.

On whether there is anything innate in Anze Kopitar’s play that all great players have:
Well, one thing about this group, because they’ve had it now, and he’s a central figure in it, they don’t put anything to do with themselves first. It’s like last week when we moved Mike around, we moved Jeff around and all that, everyone thinks it’s some sort of a controversial thing or a problem with Brownie, it’s like probably in the locker room. It’s actually the opposite. These guys aren’t about the individual stuff. They’re actually the opposite. They’re trying to help the team in different ways, and that’s what they want to do. It’s the best part, still, with those guys. We’ve talked about that type of player, because you can go to them and talk about it…’What do you think seems best?’ I mean, Kopi and Jeff aren’t playing together…And same with Mike. Mike and Jeff aren’t playing together, but they know that it’s probably better for us to shift it around. Kopi’s awesome like that. I said it right away when I was on the ice with Kopi. I didn’t know enough, either. Just…watching him as a young guy from upstairs. But once you get him, and you get him in the practice stuff, in the meeting stuff and all that, those guys are special guys because they play the game, they’re different. They see it different. They’re special…It’s like talking about the Selke, I said it the first game. Friggin, he was the best that I’ve coached in that. You know there’s the great checking guys, but not somebody that was so good at everything.

On whether the Kings’ offensive balance is as good as it has been this season:
Well, we didn’t have Gaborik to balance it, and we didn’t have Pearson and Toffoli here regularly. There’s no balance if those two kids don’t play well. There isn’t. If they’re guys that go in and out of the lineup, there’s no balance. There’s some pressure on Tanner and Tyler to be solid players for us. We’re finding out if they can when it starts for real. Gaby’s given that because it allows Jeff and Brownie, Mike, it gives you that. So it’s up to the next guys. It’s not up to Gaby or those guys. I know how they’re going to play. They’re playing like that now. That’s how they’re going to play if we make it. But it’s those young guys you’re wondering. And that’s the challenge. That’s the only pressure on our team, those guys on defense, and the pressure on those forward. Let’s see how you guys are going to play. It’s good for ‘em. We’re giving it to ‘em, and now they’re going to give it back. It’s a pretty clean way of looking at it. It’s honest. It’s a good way of looking at it because they want it.

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