Kings Coach Darryl Sutter ups the intensity for Sharks series

Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi noted the other day that Coach Darryl Sutter was happy for about, say, half an hour after the Kings eliminated the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the NHL playoffs.

Then Sutter quickly started channeling his inner Scotty Bowman, meaning, hello intensity. The legendary Bowman was famous, especially in his Montreal coaching days, for keeping everyone, including his players, off guard.

But Kings captain Dustin Brown, several hours before Game 1 of the second-round series against the San Jose Sharks, noted the key differences between present circumstances and last year’s run to the Stanley Cup.

“There’s a lot more to clear up in our game this year,� Brown said after Tuesday’s morning skate. “We’re going through a little more adversity than we probably did last year. Like I said, I don’t think he [Sutter] has changed but the situation is a different situation.

“We went 16-4 [lin the playoffs last year] .… You look at the games we did lose and they were right there for us. This year is a whole different year. We all understand that in here and I think he understands that. It’s a whole different situation today.�

Brown joked about Sutter keeping his players -- and the media -- off balance, saying: “I think that’s his goal in life.�

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