Sutter on depth's importance for Kings

Coach Darryl Sutter, via LA Kings Insider, transitions from the growing experience of Tanner Pearson into a discussion on trusting young players. The last part of the quote is particularly insightful.

“Somebody said it after the last game – they asked about Tanner and Tyler. Well, Tanner and Tyler played just as much, and it’s always a Tanner and Tyler question,” Sutter said.

“When they dress, we expect them to play as much as everybody else, and if they’re playing well enough, then they do. And if they’re not, then they don’t. It’s no different than any other player. It’s very much, as playoffs go along, just the way it works. Hey, it’s a harder game.

"We were very fortunate, quite honest, to win the game in overtime that we won because we had to use a short bench because some guys weren’t up to standards. We were very fortunate to win that game. Some guys played too much, some guys didn’t play enough. All you had to do was look at ice times at the end of the game, and you know on our team pretty much how guys were playing. Because we expect them to perform, and that’s a big adjustment in the conference, to be quite honest, is you need a whole.

"You say there’s depth, or you use your bench; well, they’ve got to play a lot, and they’ve got to play against good players. It’s not junior or college where you’re playing freshmen against freshmen or seniors against seniors or 20-year-olds against 16-year-olds. This is a different deal. The young guys have to be better prepared for that.

"When you look at our team, quite honest now, with the injuries on the back end, those guys, hey, they’ve got to step up and play against top players. We’re going to win and lose that way. We’re not going to win and lose by somebody playing 35 minutes. We’re going to win and lose by somebody going from a 13-minute guy going to an 18-minute guy.”

Source: Jon Rosen, LA Kings Insider