Postgame quotes: Sutter, Richards, Carcillo

Darryl Sutter, on Willie Mitchell:
Blocked a shot. No big deal. It was the only shot we blocked tonight. Defensemen are supposed to block shots.

Sutter, on Jordan Nolan providing more physical play:
Fourth line player. He has to. Otherwise, he won’t be in the lineup.

Sutter, on the goaltending competition between Scrivens and Garon:
I thought both guys played well tonight, so it’s not something we’re going to make a decision after the game about.

Sutter, on what he sees from the point on the power play from Mike Richards as compared to Jarret Stoll:
Well, it’s not so much that as we’re going to try and use Drew and Slava together on the point this year, which means that we’re going to be short one defenseman on the second unit. Mike can play anywhere. I mean, he scored a five-on-three goal tonight where that’s where he’ll play, is on the point. But with his regular line, then Jarret will probably play on the point when it’s five-on-four. We’re trying to put Jarret in situations where he can give us a little offense cause we need some more out of him, and obviously Mike will. It doesn’t matter where you play him.

Sutter, on Dustin Brown’s performance:
He looked very rusty. It’s a fine line, quite honest, how he played tonight whether he’d be ready for the first game of the year. [Reporter: Do you feel confident that he’ll be able to go with a good couple of days of practice?] No. No I don’t. He’s played one game in a long time, and that’s a lot of work.

Sutter, on anything in general that he takes from the preseason:
We accomplished what we wanted to, and we got to look at a lot of guys and give – quite honest, it’s what I said coming in – give lots of guys the opportunity, and I don’t think anybody can say they weren’t [given one].

Mike Richards, on his reaction to the two games in Las Vegas:
I think it was good to play back-to-backs, since we start the season that way. It’s obviously something that we have to put a focus to. Yesterday I thought we had a lot more jump than today. Today we kind of tailed off near the end.

Richards, on finding power play success so close to the season:
Yeah, I think specialty teams is a big emphasis for us, and it was again tonight. We killed some penalties. We gave I think one power play goal up. It’s obviously going to be a big point going into the season.

Richards, on the excitement on the verge of a new season:
Yeah, I think so. It’s a long couple weeks getting back into it. From testing right to now, it’s all built towards the first game, and it’s an exciting time for everyone. No matter how many years you’ve played, you’re always looking forward to that first one.

Richards, on similarities and differences to manning the point on the power play, compared to Jarret Stoll:
Well, it takes a little to get used to, that’s for sure. You’re kind of the last man back there, so you’ve probably got to be a little more careful. But I thought is a smart player, so he handles it well.

Carcillo, on his evaluation of where the team is at following the preseason:
I thought last night’s game went really well, and obviously back-to-backs, the first one of the year is a bit of a challenge, but it’s a good challenge because we start back-to-back on the road. We’ll go home and get geared up and work on some things that Darryl wants us to work on, but it’s always encouraging with this team, this leadership group and obviously the goaltending that we have to have a fast start.

Carcillo, on whether it’s tough to play back-to-back to play so close to the regular season:
I just think, yeah, playing back-to-back is tough. I mean, they’re a good team over there. They’re young, and they had legs, and we didn’t particularly play our best game. So there’s a whole bunch of factors, but no time for excuses, so a back-to-back right now is good for us, and we’ll see a back-to-back coming up here soon.

Carcillo, on his line’s ability to get in on the forecheck and physical play:
That’s our job. We’ve got to get the pucks deep. We’ve got to work their D. We’ve got to make it hard for them. We’ve got to tire them out and provide energy, obviously, to get the crowd into it. I think we’re gelling pretty well, and we’ve just got to keep it going.

Sunday, September 29 is an off-day for the Kings. The team’s next scheduled skate is at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, September 30 at Toyota Sports Center.