Sutter postgame quotes (May 13)

Darryl Sutter’s postgame thoughts…

(on Slava Voynov’s pass to Dustin Brown, and his play…)
SUTTER: “Good partner for Willie Mitchell. Plays the right side, moved the puck, played against the top players.”

(on the importance of being aggressive early…)
SUTTER: “You know the Coyotes have won both games at home (to start) prior series, right? It was really important we had a good start. It wasn’t so much scoring or any of that stuff. Just make sure we match their start. We were able to overcome a rare bad goal against us (and) have the resilience to stay with it.”

(on the Kings’ penalty killing…)
SUTTER: “We weren’t very good at it early. We got better as we went along. The key is, stay out of the penalty box. I think there’s a lot that goes into the penalty kill: faceoff, shot blocking, clearing the puck down the ice. It’s a big job against, obviously against these guys, because the way Yandle moves back there and Larsson moves back there. Whitney, then they get the net presence. It’s tough to handle. Then you’ve got to be careful in your clears because Smith moves it back up against the wall.”

(on having the trust in Dwight King late in games…)
SUTTER: “(I) trust putting everybody out there late in the game.”

(on whether he was concerned that Derek Morris’ red-line goal would rattle the team…)
SUTTER: “I don’t think it rattled them at all. As I said, it’s a rare bad goal against them. Our team was resilient enough just to play through it.

(on Dustin Brown’s play on Anze Kopitar’s goal…)
SUTTER: “I think it’s an important play because Kopi scored. Don’t you? [laughter] If he didn’t, you wouldn’t have said anything about it. That line, in the first period, had a lot of good opportunities. Because they scored, it sort of highlights it. But the line was really good in the first period.”

(on the team’s mindset after the second period, playing well but tied 2-2 with a lot of shots…)
SUTTER: “(It) means we probably had lots of missed opportunities, you know? That’s the way the game is, too. We’ve been on the other side of it, too, where you’re outshot 2-1 and we’re on the other side of it. That’s the way it works some nights.”

(on Dustin Brown’s game…)
SUTTER: “You know what, the playoffs have been something for him, that he’s taken the next step. That’s the key to it. Right now, he’s a playoff-type player because the game, it’s the way you have to play at playoff times. You think about the intensity, the controlled emotion. Probably…he’d like to have the penalty back in the first period, and he certainly covered his butt good by scoring the game winner.”

(on whether the first line is doing its best work of the season…)
SUTTER: “I think the lines got good after we were able to play Richards and Carter together. Makes a difference, right? Makes a difference who is playing against who. It’s just another dimension. I don’t think it’s got anything to do with this year. We started at zero tonight, right? Everybody did.”

(on Jonathan Quick’s big third-period saves…)
SUTTER: “You’ve got to make some big saves at some point to win a hockey game.”

(on whether Quick said anything to the team during the first intermission…)
SUTTER: “I’m not sure if he did or not. I mean, you’re reloading. I don’t think you can dwell on anything that’s a negative or anything like that. I think you’re getting ready for the next (period).”