Pre-Game 2: Sutter on Richards’ health, Stoll’s play and the re-match with Chicago

With just a few hours until puck drop for Game 2, here’s what Kings coach Darryl Sutter had to share when the team arrived at the United Center this afternoon…

Q. Can you say anything about Richards?

COACH SUTTER: He’s fine.

Q. You were able to get a look at that hit. Did you think it was fine? Bolland isn’t facing any penalty.

COACH SUTTER: Nothing more to say about it. It’s really not an issue.

Q. Mike bounced back well, no issues?

COACH SUTTER: I really have nothing to say about it. It’s not an issue.

Q. What do you want to see from your team tonight?

COACH SUTTER: Puck management. We were actually pretty good. We just turned pucks over in the neutral zone. Guys forcing the issue a little bit. In the neutral zone, you can’t do that. Allows their defensemen, their mobile guys, to get up in the play. They’re taking a lot of shots, which is the game plan of everybody when they play Jonathan Quick. Obviously they’re going to shoot the puck from everywhere. I got no problem with shots from the outside, but not odd-man ones or ones that come off of turnovers.

Q. The Hossa goal last night, is there any way to defend that play?

COACH SUTTER: Well, puck comes all the way around. It’s not the deflection. You tip the puck, the way you stop the tip, the goalie stops it generally. But if the puck goes all the way around to this side, Duncan Keith shoots the puck, you got to try to get into the shooting lane to avoid the shot. That’s part of giving them a puck back.

Q. The question more being, once the puck gets around to Keith, he’s in position to get the shot, Hossa is set up right there, is there anything you can do?

COACH SUTTER: Not really, no. I mean, what’s the big deal? Deflected the puck. Watching girl’s softball, hit their eyes, missed the drop. Not that big of a deal. Just a deflection. Goals are scored off of screens, tips and rebounds generally.

Q. The team looked tired the first game of the last round.

COACH SUTTER: No, not at all.

Q. You don’t believe that?

COACH SUTTER: No, not at all. I thought we were good in the energy area. That wasn’t the problem at all.

Q. Are you as confident of your game after seeing them last night?

COACH SUTTER: How do you mean ‘confident’?

Q. Are you as confident of your team’s ability after seeing last night’s game?

COACH SUTTER: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Q. Do you expect this series to be more physical based on a couple of the hits in the final minute last night? Does that concern you?

COACH SUTTER: No. I don’t think that’s a concern.

Q. What did Jarret show you last night in his return?

COACH SUTTER: Really good early. As the game went on, a typical player coming back from time off. Game situation, had trouble at the end of shifts, obviously as the game went on.

Q. In general, what does he give you? He’s good on faceoffs. What does he bring to the team?

COACH SUTTER: In general, he’s very good on faceoffs.

Q. Should we expect any changes for you guys tonight?

COACH SUTTER: We just met and did video, so… We’ll go through that tonight still.

Q. Confidence in the way that the first round went for you guys. You lose two in a row, come back home and win the series.

COACH SUTTER: I don’t think confidence is an issue for us, ever. I have yet to see it in 17 months or whatever it is. It’s kind of a funny question to ask when you’re in the Conference Finals, if the team is confident.

Q. Would it concern you to fall down 2-0?

COACH SUTTER: In the game, yeah.

For pre-game comments from the Blackhawks – including Chicago captain Jonathan Toews on a hit from Dustin Brown late in the third period of Game 1 – see the links below.

RELATED CONTENT:

Pre-Game 2: Blackhawks’ Toews on Brown’s late elbow, leadership of Doughty and Richards

Pre-Game 2: Chicago Blackhawks players talking Penner and the Kings

WCF Post-Game 1: Comments from Kings coach Darryl Sutter

WCF Post-Game 1: Blackhawks coach on Chicago’s 2-1 win over LA

Flash quotes from the Kings’ locker room after 2-1 loss to Blackhawks in Game 1

VIDEO: Dave Bolland’s questionable hit on Mike Richards

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