Following the Kings 4-3 win over the visiting St. Louis Blues in Game 4, here’s what coach Darryl Sutter had to share…
On the key to winning a game in St. Louis:
“Try to play a complete 60 minutes. Really hasn’t been much difference in any of the games whether it’s home or road. They’re all one goal games, and they’re all third period games, and try and just go shift-by-shift.”
On if he feels they need to bring more physicality to the game:
“You gotta stay out of the penalty box, you gotta finish checks, you gotta try and outnumber guys in situations, and it’s very difficult. It’s not easy to…I’m not sure…Like when you say physicality. (Hits) I don’t think it can be much more than it is. (I’m thinking more like after Regehr’s hit, you guys picked it up.) Some guys naturally finish more checks than other guys. Not everybody does. Both teams are big. Both teams can really skate. Both teams defend really well. So you gotta be careful with that.”
On the mentality after going down 2-0 being to stick with the way they were playing:
“There really was nothing to build back. They scored a weak goal, and they scored a power play goal. We got a big goal from Jeff, makes it 2-1, and it’s pretty much how the series has went. Score was 4-3 coming in tonight in 10 periods, and after three periods tonight, it was 4-3 again. So there’s your…We’ve played 13 periods, and it’s now 7-7. 8-8 or whatever it is. That’s how close it is. We’re not building back or anything like that. That’s why they call it seven games. Most series are six games. Not going to get too excited about a loss or a win.”
On if the way they won helped team morale:
“You know what? It’s not about morale with our team. And it sounds repetitive, but this team has resilience. I know there’s a faction, that when it was 0-2, was throw it in, or let’s go home. That’s not the way it works.”
On the big guys getting goals tonight:
You know what? Jeff scores a goal to get us, Willy’s been good the whole series. It’s good to see Kopi score. That’s what they’re supposed to do. That’s what series are about. You know what? If you covered the playoffs last year, it’s about big goals. Not who scores them, but at the same time, who normally leads your team in scoring has to be close to that.”
On what the team needs to improve on to win the series:
“We haven’t looked at it as a series. We’ve looked at it as one game at a time. Because everybody talks about the series. Everybody talks about last year, which has no bearing on anything. You just play a game at a time. You literally just play a game at a time. And with the schedule the way it is, you play every other day with a lot of travel. Unlike last year, where if you look at the rounds, during the round there’s five and six day breaks. During the rounds, not in between, during the rounds.”
On if there’s any momentum when looking at it one game at a time:
“We’re just going back for a game five.”
On if tonight’s game felt like last year:
“No, it felt like game three, it felt like game two, and it felt like game one. That’s what it felt like.”
On how he rates their compete-level:
“We don’t question work or compete. We don’t question that. We try and execute things we’re trying to do system-wise against two teams that play similar styles and do it almost perfectly.”
On Jonathan Quick’s two big saves in the third:
“That’s what he’s supposed to do. I mean big saves and bad goals are what highlights goaltenders in the playoffs. It’s simple. No more than that.”
On Justin Williams’ play:
“Yeah, he’s had a really good series. As I said, he’s a guy that’s got to touch the puck in the offensive zone. It sounds simple, and it sounds silly, but he’s got to touch the puck a lot. Whether it’s in the corner, or wherever it is. When he’s doing that he’s on his game. I think that gives him confidence too.”
RELATED CONTENT: Game 4 post-game comments from the Blues’ locker room
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