January 14 morning skate quotes: Darryl Sutter

On what he thought could be improved in five-on-five play from Thursday night:
I think our third pair and our third and fourth lines have not been very good five-on-five since Christmas. They spend too much time in their own zone, it starts going sideways on you. That’s why we’ve been in a win-lose situation.

On what Trevor Lewis can do to be the most effective alongside Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik:
Those guys should be thankful they’re playing with Trevor Lewis right now. He had seven shots on goal last game, scored a goal. I don’t think either one of them had a shot. That’s pretty effective. He had seven shots, that’s pretty effective. [Reporter: Is that a product of playing next to those guys?] Product of hardworking, going-to-the-net player. Just do the last game – how many shots did Jake Muzzin have? Five. How many goals did he score? [Reporter: I didn’t know there was a quiz today. Two.] I answered your question about Lewie. Same with Tanner. Tanner had three shots, scored two goals. Muzzin had five shots, scored two goals. A lot of these guys haven’t scored. I can’t remember the last time some of our players scored a goal. I mean, you asked about Kopi, he had no shots. So how do you score? Pretty tough. If you have one shot or one and a half shots on average, you ain’t going to score. The league’s too tough. Most goalies are too good.

On how the team game plans for different goaltenders:
Different styles, sizes, tendencies, play pucks – it helps us understand where to put pucks on the forecheck, where to shoot at ‘em, but at the same time, you can’t overload players, either, because if you have guys that are not scoring or troubled to score, then sometimes too much is too much. [Reporter: How do you kind of give them the right amount of information so they’re not overthinking. This is general – not just shooting on goaltenders. Like, everything so they’re aware of the detail.] I’m sure it’s the same as every other sport. You have to have a playbook and a style of play. I wouldn’t say it’s any different than any sport. [Reporter: Do you have an actual playbook?] I think you’re getting way too deep. [Reporter: Darryl, isn’t the thing just to shoot the puck, though? You were just saying that you can’t score if you don’t shoot the puck.] There’s a difference, but it’s important, too, if you’re a good shooter or not a good shooter. Why is Gabby not scoring? He’s not shooting the puck very hard. Easy saves. If that goes away on you, then you shouldn’t play. If you’re a good shooter, then it’s usually a hard, accurate shot. Not scoring? That’s why they wear the equipment. It’s a hard shot. It’s not a rubber bullet.

On honoring Jari Kurri with tonight’s Legends Night:
Hopefully we’re only doing this every 50 years. Like hot stove on-the-ice ceremonies. They get a little long. [Reporter: You guys have been good on Saturdays.] Depends what you say is ‘good.’ Jari Kurri’s a great player. I don’t remember him much in L.A., but I do remember him lots in Edmonton because Chicago and Edmonton were two really good teams and I had to play against Jari Kurri. I guess that’s not a surprise to anybody, but his best years were there. He had a hard, accurate shot.