Ducks earn 2-1 overtime win over Kings, whose Sutter is in tinkering mode
Kings’ Jeff Carter controls the puck in front of Ducks’ Ryan Kesler during a preseason game at Staples Center on Tuesday.
A sure sign that Darryl Sutter is encouraged — or at least that he is not annoyed — is when he trots out a certain word.
Awesome.
The Kings coach was taking off his skates after a recent practice and discussing how the team was approaching the challenge ahead after a season in which it missed the playoffs. There are new looks and new faces aplenty in training camp, and Sutter is adjusting and tinkering in his coaching lab.
“Our guys have been awesome,” he said. “They’ve been receptive and good. We’ve been trying guys in lots of different situations, different combinations, different pairs. All it does is make you want to help each other out even more.”
This juggling was on full display in one of their final dress rehearsals for the regular season, though the Ducks won, 2-1, against the Kings in a preseason game Tuesday night at Staples Center when Corey Perry scored in overtime.
Several regulars were not in the lineup for the Kings, including Anze Kopitar, captain Dustin Brown and Marian Gaborik. Sitting out for the Ducks was captain Ryan Getzlaf. Ducks forward Carl Hagelin has not played in a preseason game yet.
Kings defensemen Jake Muzzin and Matt Greene, who suffered upper-body injuries in Sunday’s game at Colorado, are considered day to day. Muzzin was injured in the preseason last year and missed the first six games of the regular season. This injury is believed not to be nearly as serious, according to Kings hockey operations.
The team traded goals in the second period, with Perry converting a nifty feed from Rickard Rakell, at 7 minutes 47 seconds of the second period. But the Kings responded with 1:01 remaining in the period with a goal off the rush. Center Andy Andreoff directed the puck through the crease and it went in off Kings left wing Kyle Clifford’s skate.
The game also featured a battle of backup goalies: The Ducks’ Anton Khudobin and the Kings’ Jhonas Enroth. The Kings start the regular season Oct. 7, hosting San Jose and the Ducks open Oct. 10 at San Jose.
“Camp moves fast. You always say at the start, ‘Oh, it’s a long camp,’ and you’re trying to put it all together and you get into it and it’s gone before you know it,” Sutter said.
“You’ve got to get down to your numbers and get going. That’s what we’ve been preaching all along — don’t be thinking about being ready for the first game. You’ve got to be ready before the first game, not be ready for the first game.
“That’s clear now. We’re going to have to prove ourselves. Quite honestly, we talked to the players about this. We had a good start last year. October, November and December were good months for us. Our problem was the home-road discrepancy and then January really dropped off.”
His mixing and matching have helped the process, in particular when Muzzin and Greene got hurt on Sunday and the Kings were forced to adjust. It meant bigger minutes for the defense pair of Christian Ehrhoff and Jeff Schultz, and they were together again Tuesday against the Ducks.
“He’s a good skater,” Schultz said of Ehrhoff. “He does a really good job of moving the puck up to the forwards and he has a great shot and uses it a lot.
“We’ve been with everybody in practice so you kind of learn everyone’s tendencies and get to know them there. It’s just a matter of communication. That’s the biggest thing, helping your new partner out.”
Twitter: @reallisa
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