What we learned from the Kings’ 3-0 victory at Montreal on Thursday

What we learned from the Kings’ 3-0 victory at Montreal on Thursday:

Coach Darryl Sutter, who can be so gruff in public, has a sentimental side

Sutter said that when he’s in Montreal, he always makes a point of looking at the banners that commemorate the Canadiens’ 24 Stanley Cup championships and the banners that honor the retired numbers of their many great players. He also said that winning a game in Montreal means more to him than merely earning two points.

“Always special. Count the Stanley Cups and the championships,” he said. “It was good for our players, being a California team, to come and see these Canadian cities and feel what’s going on around. It matters.”

He also said he remembers the first game he ever played at the old Montreal Forum, “and it’s one of the few games that I remember. Just because of the history of it. And as tough as those teams were, I liked playing in the old Forum more than Maple Leaf Gardens for whatever reason. Special place.” He considers the Bell Centre, the Canadiens’ home since 1996, to be nearly as imposing.

“This building, they recaptured enough of that feeling of the old Forum,” he said. “It’s special to look up and see all those banners and count all the players and count how many of them were on those Cup teams, and you try and remember how many guys you played against and how good they were. It’s pretty special.”

Sometimes moves you think don’t make sense turn out to be successful

Case in point: In the first period, Sutter deployed Jordan Weal and Michael Mersch on his second power-play unit, which seemed an odd choice given that both have little NHL experience and that Weal was scratched from the lineup at Ottawa on Monday. But it paid off in the second period when Mersch screened goalie Mike Condon on the Kings’ first goal.

Though Drew Doughty scored the goal four seconds after a penalty on Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban had expired, it was essentially a power-play goal for the Kings and a move that worked.

The Kings might help increase booking at ski resorts

That would be a good thing, as Eastern Canada could use the help, given the warm winter so far.

Their success Thursday, which players credited in part to having spent two days as a team at the Mont Tremblant ski resort following their 5-3 loss at Ottawa on Monday, might set a trend for other coaches who are seeking ways to revive players’ bodies and minds.

“Whenever you can get those team-bonding moments, they’re so important,” Doughty said. “When you’re at home, a lot of guys have families and we’re not able to all get together and do things that are fun for the team, and being able to do that and just hang out, we had a ton of fun and we were ready for this game, at the same time. It was a big win, and I think that has a lot to do with it, why we won.”

Players aren’t complacent

The Kings are not using the flawed logic they seemed to live by last season, when they insisted they’d eventually rally and make the playoffs — until the day they were eliminated.

With a 3-1-1 record on this trip, which ends Saturday at Toronto, the Kings have moved nine points ahead of second-place San Jose in the Pacific division. Only once in their history have the Kings won a division title: That was for the 1990-91 season, when they played in the Smythe division. They were the eighth-seeded team in the West before they won the Cup in 2012, and they were third in the Pacific division before they won again in 2014.

Right wing Dustin Brown said he didn’t know how far ahead the Kings are, though he acknowledged that it’s unusual for them to be at the front of the pack instead of chasing the leaders.

“It’s just about pushing forward and piling up the points as quick as possible,” he said. “It has kind of been a different year for this group. Normally we’re not where we are.

“But it’s about continuing to push and gather points because as it goes down the stretch, you want to have that cushion and be comfortable as much as you can be. I don’t think this team is ever going to be content or comfortable. … We just keep trying to pile up wins.”