Sutter: Kings must `keep getting better’

Just a few minutes after the end of Game 2, a 4-0 Kings victory, coach Darryl Sutter sat down, frowned and told media members that the Kings, essentially, hadn’t played a very good game. Sutter’s general point was a valid one. Putting aside the scores of the game, the Kings arguably had a better 60-minute effort in Game 1 than they did in Game 2. In general, though, there was no mystery as to what Sutter was trying to do. For Sutter, it’s all about preparation and focus. Two minutes after one game ends, he’s thinking about the next game. Dustin Penner was asked about the speed with which Sutter turns the players’ focus toward the next game…

PENNER: “He’s done that all series. He did that even before the playoffs. We had that mindset where it doesn’t matter what we did in the last game. I think we have developed that mentality now on our own, which has helped. He doesn’t have to be as stringent on it after the game. We know what we have to do. We know what’s been working for us in the past. It’s up to the leadership group and to (each) man to focus on what has brought us to where we are now. … I don’t think there’s a team that has made it far in the playoffs (while) resting on their last game, what they did and saying, `That’s the best game we’ve played.’ It’s that constant drive to that perfect game, or as close as you will get, that I think makes a team successful.’’

Told about Penner’s comments, Sutter said, “If you say that, and you honestly believe that, that’s a good thing.’’ Sutter knows, and wants his players to know, that a team like Phoenix didn’t get to the Western Conference Finals by being mentally weak. The Coyotes will be strong, and if the Kings show any let-up in their attitude and game, they could get in trouble.

SUTTER: “The biggest thing, and I heard John Tortorella said it and it’s dead on, is that you’ve got to keep getting better, and if you’re not, you’re going to get beat, and it’s going to happen. When you have individuals that go in and out, and it gets overshadowed when you win a game, then you’ve got problems. That’s why I wasn’t crazy about our last game, because I basically thought we didn’t play very well. They’re going to have to play a hell of a lot better to match up against these (Coyotes) tonight.’’