November 10 morning skate quotes: Darryl Sutter

On whether he’ll confirm that Peter Budaj is starting:
No.

On whether the best way to attack Carey Price at Bell Centre is to get a lot of shots on him:
Well, I wouldn’t necessarily say that was a good gameplan, because they haven’t lost here yet. [Reporter: So how do you guys do it?] Hopefully we get a little bit of luck around the net and just play our game.

On the biggest change in Dustin Brown’s game this season:
There’s probably a little bit less pressure. He’s playing with a little bit more energy. He’s got to play a physical game, a real straight line game. We still use him in situations where we think he can be successful, and Brownie’s a good player. He’s been a good player for us, we just want him to get back to that level where he was more consistent with his game, and lately he’s done that.

On how Peter Budaj has helped the Kings in the current injury situation:
He’s helped us for two years. Came in last year, if you look at it. This is not something that just happened this year because of injury, we were really undermanned last year with the goaltending situation, too, if you look at it. Budaj came in in training camp without a contract and earned one. He ended up playing more games than anybody in the American Hockey League, which tells you that there was nobody else to step in. He came in, I believe he was an All-Star [in the AHL] and had a really good season. [Reporter: Do you feel you shook him in a good way after the Anaheim loss last week?] It’s good to win every game. [Reporter: After your comments, though-] What was that? [Reporter: The way he should have stopped more pucks.] Yeah, he should stop every shot, every goalie. They should stop every shot they face. What’s wrong with that? [Reporter: No, no, it’s OK, but do you feel he reacted well after that?] Shouldn’t he do that? If you’re trying to stay in the National Hockey League, it doesn’t matter if you’re a first-time call-up or a star or whatever. That’s the bar you should set.

On getting power play shots, and whether the drought is an example of it running hot/cold:
It’s getting better.

On the difference between the Kopitar and Brown captaincies:
The difference, meaning? [Reporter: Between Brown and Kopitar. What do you see as the difference between those two guys?] Well, I think first off, Kopitar’s a star, and if you look in the league now, most of the captains are stars, whereas there was a time where it was a veteran player or a popular player or a player that had a strong voice, that sort of thing. Now most of it is their actions do the talking for ‘em, I think for most of the captains, and I think Brownie’s a play-by-example guy also. Hey, what gets overlooked in all this, Brownie was the longest-serving captain in the history of the Los Angeles Kings. That’s in 50 years. He was two Stanley Cups and once conference final. I don’t know if anybody’s really said this properly, but it was never a slight to Dustin Brown, it was time for other players to assume more of a role. It wasn’t just Kopi, it was Drew and Jonathan. That’s the way it works. [Reporter: Why do you think it was perceived as a slight, then?] I don’t really know. I don’t think anybody has really ever said it properly.

On how the Weber-Subban trade changed the “complexion” of Montreal’s defense:
I think it’s not just the complexion of the defense, Daryl. I think the perception of the team would be [part of it.] I think if you want to win championships, you win right down the middle of your ice in terms of goaltending and for sure two pair and maybe three, and then the center ice position. If you look at Montreal right now, obviously with Carey on the back end, he’s an elite goalie in the league, and down the middle of the ice they have two veteran pairs – Shea with Emelin, and then Markov with Petry – it’s two veteran, really, really stable … pairs there, and then if you go into the middle of the ice, Mitchell’s their fourth line center, he’s got five goals. You’ve got to be good down the middle of the ice. For sure, Shea Weber controls the middle of the ice. It doesn’t matter which team he’d play on – if it was Montreal, or anywhere – he’d be a control-the-game player. [Reporter: Is it a case of where he discourages players down the middle of the ice? When you say he ‘controls the middle of the ice,’ what does that mean?] You don’t turn pucks over, you’re on the right side of the puck all the time. You don’t have to be a star every game, you have to be a good player every game. It helps your team win games.