Kings coach Darryl Sutter shared the following comments after his team’s 4-3 win in Game 3 on Saturday night vs. the Blackhawks…
On dominating the first two periods:
“I didn’t think it was ‘dominating.’ I mean, we outscored ‘em.”
On how the team responded after giving up a shorthanded goal:
“We gave up the shorthander right off the faceoff, so it doesn’t go away, or we were tired on the power play or anything. It was just Slava went back out there and pounded it.”
On Toffoli, Carter and Pearson’s line:
“They had some really good momentum shifts for us during the game.”
On the key to success on the penalty kill:
“Well, we had to kill three in the second. Basically, that’s two stick fouls in the offensive zone. One on Tanner – accidental. One on Willie – accidental. But they are penalties, and then the too many men at the end. So the key is to kill those three.”
On their success on the power play:
“I think we used lots of different guys and tried to use different looks and make sure that we’re not passing the puck into the net. We shoot it in there. It sounds silly, but screens, tips, rebounds are still the best way to score goals. Was our last goal a power play goal? [Reporter: No, even strength.] I mean, basically, coming out of the box. It’s the same thing. Guys are pounding the puck.”
On the team’s scoring success:
“Well, we’ve scored just over three a game in the whole playoffs. Since the Olympic Break I think – probably getting Gabby coming here makes a difference because it spreads it around, but I don’t think there’s one thing in particular. I think it’s not a one-line deal. Kopitar’s line hasn’t scored a goal in this round, I don’t think, so you’ve got to spread it around. It wasn’t a problem for us in the 48-game [season] and last year’s playoffs wasn’t a problem, so it got to be made an issue, which wasn’t something I was ever really worried about this year.”