March 27 practice quotes: Darryl Sutter

On what impressed him against Chicago in what wasn’t the most “technically sound” game:
“Most of them aren’t the most technically sound from up top. I came to the game last night. Jeez, it was easy…up there. I can see why everyone when they come down here knows so much. I forgot how easy it was from up there. You know what? We’ve done it all year. We’ve been behind. I would like to see what our record actually is when we’ve been behind – even how we’ve lost games – how we’ve found ways to get back into games. I have yet to see a perfect game, win or lose, and when I said that the other night, it’s absolutely true. Hey, Chicago could’ve won it. Chicago could’ve won just as easily as Los Angeles. Basically, you’re just looking at points now, right? We’re getting the most out of the players, but it’s hard for them to give any more.”

On whether he expected the challenge for the players to give more, “given the circumstances”:
“You know what? It’s like we talk about all the time with the players and coaches. You always expect more. That’s a good way to look at it. Don’t look for excuses or reasons why you lost. Just expect more. If you do that of yourself, then you expect more out of each other. I’m not a win-loss guy. I’m the same after a win as I am after a loss. Just find a way to get better. Take what you did good and get better. And then if you’re good enough, you’ll win a lot more than you’ll lose. I came to that game last night. St. Louis I’m sure is very disappointed that they lost three-nothing, but halfway through the game they were outshooting Edmonton 35-7 and they were losing three-nothing. It really wasn’t the score. You get points because you get more goals than the other team, but really St. Louis actually won the game. [It just wasn’t] based on scoring goals. [Edmonton] had seven shots. One line had six shots and had three goals halfway through the game.”

On Bill Ranford playing goal at practice:
“He wasn’t as good as the other guy. Just based on what we were talking about – you get points for goals? (Reporter: He got a lot of points?) You’re sharp. You know what? I kept going to ask him if he’s getting hot because you’re worried about heating. I wasn’t interested in giving him mouth-to-mouth. He looks good, though. Quick and I were standing there after watching, and it’s funny how the game’s changed and the style, the goalies, how they play, right? But he looks good. Hey, he was a top goalie, though. Look at Khabibulin last night. He was 40, and he was awesome. He literally stood on his head last night. He made great saves. Breakaways. Good to see that.”

On why goaltenders tend to remain effective as they advance in age:
“I don’t know. Probably most of them play less. The most [those] guys play [in] a regular season is probably around 70 games, maybe. I don’t know. It’s a good question. (Reporter: How old was Rogie when he retired?) I think about St. Louis – Glenn [Hall] and Jacques [Plante] were their first two goalies after expansion. They were both in their 40’s, and Glenn was still looked on as a premier goaltender. They were their two goalies. (Reporter: How old was Johnny Bower when he came up?) I was in training camp with Johnny Bower. I kind of forgot who he was – it was a guy with a helmet and the wires, right? And I was going ‘OK, who is he?’ I knew it was because his style, but I couldn’t figure out who it was. And then I took his helmet, and it was ‘Johnny Bower.’ He was like my grampa. He was probably 50. (Reporter: So in a pinch, we’re saying that Ranford could play a game?) Nobody said that. (Reporter: OK, I don’t know where I got that.) (Reporter: Ranford didn’t say it.) Hey, St. Louis is carrying three goalies. We could say we are, too.”