November 26 morning skate quotes: Darryl Sutter

On Alec Martinez’s production, and his all-around game:
I think he plays a lot of minutes and plays in a lot of good offensive situations for us. He’s probably our best defenseman in recognizing when he can get into the rush. He’s one of the better defensemen in the league, actually, when you look at that, in terms of not just being there, [but] in terms of creating something or getting a shot or creating a quality chance. [Reporter: Is it safe to say that ability to do that is now more and more becoming a important facet for a defenseman in the game right now?] Yeah, but our defense, when you look at it over the last few years … is a high-shot, high-scoring defense in the league for a team that’s looked on with the perception of not being a [high scoring team]. We’re just trying to get six or seven of ‘em.

On the club’s increased offensive production of late:
I know, I understand. We’ve scored three and four goals, but I also understand that when there was ‘something terribly wrong,’ sometimes you don’t score. That’s a fact. When you look at Chicago, twice on this long trip they’ve been shutout. If you don’t watch hockey, you’re going to say ‘well, they’re a high-scoring team.’ They got shutout twice on this trip, too.

On Kevin Gravel:
We’re just trying to get him to be more consistent, a more mature player on the ice. I’ve said it before, we’re playing two guys with very little NHL experience, and there’s hiccups, and we’re seeing it. What’s not allowed is lack of compete or lack of work, and he’s tried to be strong on both those.

On whether any decision on whether Marian Gaborik will play has been made:
No, we haven’t decided. First of all, I haven’t even talked to anybody upstairs, and I’m good any way. We’re putting two extra guys in warm-up tonight. I’m not really clear on it yet myself.