March 24 morning skate quotes: Darryl Sutter

On where the Kings are at right now:
Just trying to get through the rest of the schedule. We’ve played a lot of games lately and used a lot of guys. Just continue to bang away.

On what makes Drew Doughty “one of the elite”:
Pretty good two-way player. Plays on a good team. Usually makes players better. [Reporter: There’s obviously been a lot of talk, especially in the last couple months, about him with the Norris again and having been overlooked in the past. Do you think that he’s getting more attention?] We really don’t get much attention out there. [Reporter: Do you get asked about it a lot, though?] I have lately. I don’t know if there’s something going on or a bandwagon or what. I think it’s pretty inside the game, meaning the players and the coaches all would say he’s up there with the top handful. I think when you win championships and you’re a big part of winning championships, then he should get that recognition.

On preparing for a Jets team outside of the playoff picture and “banged up as they are”:
I think we’re banged up as we are, too, so I don’t really look at the other teams too much. When you’re trying to get ready for the playoffs, you’re trying to take care of your own business.

On how far the Kings are from where they want to be:
We’re a long ways. I mean, there’s still a month before there’s a playoff game. Hopefully we can see where we’re at with some players, and hopefully some of our younger guys that have had none or very little playoff experience get their games in order. Then we’ll know.

On the difference between Doughty this year and in previous years:
We’ve had to put him in a different role. Until we got Rob Scuderi, it was a pretty young defense, so obviously he’s in a different role than he’s been in in the past because of the veterans that have sort of surrounded him. Now I think until we got Scuderi, I think Marty was our oldest defenseman. It’s a pretty young defense, so that expands the role of all your defensemen. He kills penalties now, things like that that he didn’t do much in the past.

On how Doughty generates looks on the power play when opponents game plan for him:
I would think that a lot of it would have to do with one of the best passers in the game in Kopitar putting him in a position where he should score. [Reporter: That’s probably a good point, too. Also, the movement away from the puck, too – is it a two-way street there between them, the sense that they have together?] Well, there’s five guys out there. He should be scoring. Those are wide open opportunities. The highlight reel should be the puck in the net, not that it’s “a good chance.”