February 5 practice quotes: Darryl Sutter

On the team’s outlook before the Grammy Trip:
Just want to make sure we’re going out with the right attitude and frame of mind more than looking at the trip part of it. I think there have been games lately where our top guys have gotten away from the foundation of our team and the foundation of what helps you win. I want to make sure in the days leading up to it – being today is the first day – we’re getting those guys back in order in terms of the structure that we need to play with. [Reporter: Did you feel like you were able to take some steps in that direction, and did you like what you saw this morning?] Oh yeah, no question. We’re a team that our stars and our captains are the same group, so those guys drive the bus. They drive the bus for us, win or lose, so it takes a couple days to reset it and go from there.

On the objectives in the long practice:
I think some guys need to get their fitness back up again, guys that haven’t been playing very much, and you can see it as practice goes along. If those guys are going to help us do anything down the stretch here, then they have to push their fitness up the next two or three days, today being the first day of that. I know it’s not noticeable for everybody, but for me it’s very noticeable when we’re out two or three feet in situations and it costs you goals against, and if you look at our last few games, we played well enough to win every one, but the game’s you win, you’ve given up two goals against and the games you’ve lost you’ve given up three and four, so that’s two feet somewhere in a game, and if you can get those guys back on it recovering those areas, then you have a chance to only give up two, and then you have a chance to win.

On Brantt Myhres:
I had him as a young guy. Now he’s not a young guy. He’s actually getting a little bit grey. With that comes knowledge and with that comes maturity and with that comes growing up, with that comes a disciplined lifestyle – all those things. So that would be the difference for me. He’s a really good person and a good heart and all those things. I’ve had Myhzee in two organizations, so not just one.