October 22 media availability: Darryl Sutter

Sutter

On whether one game in five days allows the team to refresh and re-focus:
Yeah, a little bit. I said it after the game last night – I think it really showed in our game. We made a lot of mistakes, just cause we looked like we were lacking the energy or the focus to do it, and that was disappointing. Hey, we lost the game. We took six penalties after the first period. It’s impossible to win when you’re playing teams that score three and a half goals. [Reporter: Continuing what you said last night, is it a byproduct of fatigue?] Both. I mean, hey, whether you like Clifford’s or Kopitar’s penalties, you can’t take those penalties in the neutral zone. If they’re penalties from behind, that means you’re out of position or you’re tired. They’re both penalties you can’t take, and we got scored on both of them.

On whether Willie Mitchell’s heavy usage has been “encouraging”:
Yeah, it is encouraging. Let’s touch wood on it, but I think he’s gotten better and been really solid. I think we need Slava to be a lot better in terms of his detail like Willie is for that pair to better so they’re not on the ice for goals against. Willie’s played fine. But I didn’t like, quite honest, that at the end of the game it cost us. He and Greener had to kill too many penalties, and in the end it cost us.

On the rare Mitchell-Greene pairing:
I think we’ve done it once. Once in a while we’ll have to come back to them after a power play or something based on how Drew and Slava are.

On Dustin Brown:
He wasn’t as physical last night. He wasn’t sharp. It was sort of an indication of how our team was, and he’s one of the leaders of the group that has to demonstrate the detail and the energy and the physicality and the discipline, and he wasn’t as good last night as he was the night before.

On the lack of scoring from the team’s centers despite the strong 200-foot play:
They’ve got to produce. The bottom line is Kopi, Mike and Jarret for that matter are all pretty well-paid guys, and they have to produce. They have to be better players. They have to finish the job. Kopi’s getting a lot of good looks, quite honest, and he’s getting a little bit of bad puck luck. He’s hit a lot of posts and hit other guys’ legs, hit Brownie’s legs, things like that. But he’s getting really good looks and he just needs a little bit more luck. The other two guys clearly [at] five-on-five have to produce more for us. Quite honest, I think Richie should’ve gotten the goal last night. Even though it goes of their defenseman’s stick at the end, I think it does touch Richie’s coming through, and that’s the League’s call. That’s not Carts’ call. That’s the league’s call. It would look better today at one-and-six or whatever it is. [Reporter: Richie would never say that, right?] I know. But I’m saying it as a coach, because I watching everything in super slow…I don’t know why they just wouldn’t leave it on.

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