May 23 quotes: Sutter, Penner, Brown

Darryl Sutter, on why the teams have dominated each other at times during each game:
“I think two good teams as you go along, quite honest. I think that we’ve gotten stronger as the games went on, and they’ve been better earlier in games than us. I don’t think there’s a real answer for it. I think you’re just talking about two good hockey teams.”

Sutter, on how he can get his players to come out stronger early:
“I think it’s based on your top guys. Again, I know we keep going back to that, but if you look at how especially their top two lines early in games have been really good, and we’ve had to sort of wade into that. And that’s basically a challenge of those groups – not so much individuals, but those groups.”

Sutter, on any concern of a “letdown” at home despite the team’s success at Staples Center:
“No.”

Sutter, on whether there’s any “special” handling of Anze Kopitar, given his lack of scoring:
“He’s a special player. You just want somebody to criticize. You go up to him and criticize him. I don’t. He’s a good player and he’s a top young player, and he’s playing against guys that for the most part are top players too. He gets that all the time. Hey, it’s part of the development of Kopi. He’s a top player in the league, and just because he doesn’t score doesn’t mean he’s not a top player.”

Sutter, on what has changed in Brent Burns’ game since he moved to forward:
“You get to play with Joe Thornton. That’s a big change.”

Sutter, on whether Game 4 was the best he had ever seen Joe Thornton play:
“Not since they brought him up. He’s a top player a team. They expect him to be. I mean, he’s done it every year. He’s played a lot of playoff games, and he’s probably been a guy that externally they expected more out ofJoe. Well, he’s a dominant player. It’s like talking about our top centermen. In their own ways, they’re dominant players. Thornton’s having some success in terms of goals or assists right now, or on the ice for goals for. Whether that makes his last game any better than the game before, I don’t think so. I mean, there’s a reason that they’ve won six games and there’s a reason we’ve won six games.”

Dustin Penner, on how he would assess his season:
“Not bad. Could be better.” [Reporter: In what ways could it be better:] Statistically I score more goals, hit more, get more offensive zone time. [Reporter: What do you need to do to get that?] I have to do it. It’s pretty simple. See, hear, do.”

Dustin Brown, on why the morning skate rushes featured more tape to tape passing:
“I don’t know. Sometimes you get into a routine on your pre-game skate, and today it was a little bit more work. Getting ready for tonight, we’ve got to come out with a good start. It’s just doing what you need to do this morning to get ready.”

Brown, on the words exchanged between the two teams through the media:
“It’s funny how much quotes in the media get played up this time of year. As a group of guys in here, we’re not worried about what they’re saying. We’re just focused on being better ourselves.”

Brown, on the on-ice “chirping”:
“That’s always a part of playoff hockey, and I think a lot of that has to do with playing the same guys over and over and over again. We play these guys a lot as it is…Throughout the series I think it builds up, the hate that you get on each other. It’s part of the game.”

Brown, on Jonathan Quick’s “edgy” moments, and whether he likes that makeup in a goalie:
“Yeah, I think he’s a guy who can keep his emotions in check. As much as he’s on edge, he’s focused on doing his job, and that’s stopping the puck. You can see that in his mentality. It’s a matter of just dealing with certain things in the right way and…at this point in the series, it’s about winning games.”

Brown, on Quick being edgy at the right times:
“Yeah, that’s a part of playoff hockey, is using different tactics at different times and trying to gain any advantage you can, whether it’s physical or mental. A lot of that probably goes unseen. It’s just one of the small battles throughout the game and throughout the series that you chip away at.”