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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: FLAMES v LIGHTNING

June 4, 2004

Darryl Sutter

CALGARY, ALBERTA: Practice Day

Q. Your success in overtime. That first overtime game you guys played in these Playoffs, the triple overtime loss against Vancouver, how much did that kind of change your group not wanting to feel that again for lack of a better phrase?
DARRYL SUTTER: We thought we had the best opportunities in that overtime, but still it's about finishing them. When you go into that long of an overtime that's just about kind of survival. Last night I don't know what we have learned from it. What you have learned is you are going to -- really when you get in a tie game in the Playoffs, last five minutes are overtime anyway, I was thinking about during the whole third period last night really whoever was going to score was going to win then.
Q. Do the players talk about that particular overtime as a defining moment in this season?
DARRYL SUTTER: The Vancouver one?
Q. Yes.
DARRYL SUTTER: I think.
Q. To get through that?
DARRYL SUTTER: I think it really helped us win Game 7 because -- not because we went to overtime, the fact that we came from down to -- and then took it as long as we did.
Q. What do you think the perils or the dangers are of being so close that you can just about touch it? You are on home ice; are there some things that you have got to keep an eye on and kind of make sure don't get carried away?
DARRYL SUTTER: I don't think so, I don't think our guys are -- don't get too big on themselves. I think we saw that right away after the Game 4. Only thing that I saw their team the first time ever, that's how frustrated they were because they thought they played well and they thought they got a little short end. That's the only time I have seen anything in the whole Playoffs that has demonstrated any sort of not being totally focused.
To me I don't even look at it like it's that big a deal. It's like we were preparing for Game 6 against Vancouver and then we had to go get ready for Game 7 against -- that's how I have kind of looked at it.
Q. Don't you think the guys are apt to sense how close it is though and sort of be --
DARRYL SUTTER: I think -- that's normal naturally I would think. But one edge -- not an edge, but one something that really helped us is you have got stuff in Marty, they went through these deals Nieminen, Steven Reinprecht, they went through -- you look -- I guess 2001 Colorado and Jersey, Colorado wins Game 5, they go back to Jersey, Colorado beats them I think 4-nothing in Jersey and then wins Game 7. So just tells you every game is -- it's sort of an entity unto itself.
Q. Shean Donovan, do you expect him to be in the line number for Game 6?
DARRYL SUTTER: Well, there's Cory Stillman. There's Brad Lukowich, get an update for me yet.
Q. Your team really only has to go back to Game 6 of the last series. We were asking questions like whether they have killer instinct, all that sort of thing. How big a game --
DARRYL SUTTER: You know, we have been asked that when we were up two-1 and it's normal to be asked those questions when you are up two-1 in a series or up 1-nothing do you have the killer instinct to win one more. Well, if you have played 110 or how many games we have played, I think that both teams have a killer instinct.
Q. Talk about the importance or lack of importance of seeds in the Playoffs as if you are successful you may be the lowest seed to win in the modern era?
DARRYL SUTTER: Well, it's really tough to make the Playoffs. It's harder than -- anybody in this room understands how hard it is. So once you get in, then anything happens. That's a fact.
Q. Talk about the challenge you presented your players with 28 games left and how you were going to take the rest of the season in sets. Reflecting on it now based on what you accomplished, how much success do you think that has brought?
DARRYL SUTTER: I think they learned a lot from it. I think they learned not to dwell on a loss or a win, but on a series, and it's sort of answers Cam's question, that's why they handle it so well, I think just the fact that they taught themselves to handle it well.
Q. Can you talk about I guess maybe where the idea came from, Darryl? Was it something you thought up, something that you have heard of in the past being done? Where did you come up with that?
DARRYL SUTTER: True story. I drove up to All-Star break and drove to Cranbrook to watch my son play, was driving home thinking about, okay, now we have got to practice tomorrow (laughs), all that stuff. What are we going to do to get ready for the last -- just 28 divided by 4, you know, between Frank Slide and Longview it is about geez, you can think about lots of stuff.
Q. How far is it between those two points?
DARRYL SUTTER: About 100.
Q. It's a great idea, but to get guys to actually believe it and to buy into it --
DARRYL SUTTER: You know how you get them to believe it and buy into it? Because they all wanted to make the Playoffs so bad and that's -- when they understand -- you have to remember we had a lot of guys that weren't in the Playoffs the year before or never had been in the Playoffs or had never been in here. You have to understand that to them it was like -- that was just an endless journey sort of. So to be able to break that up for them, that gave them a focus.
Q. Is that the type of an idea or a type of a theory that maybe will only work with a certain type of team; maybe that's something that maybe wouldn't work with a team like Detroit or Colorado?
DARRYL SUTTER: Different aspirations, I mean, their flat-out goals guaranteed going to training camp last year was win the Cup or no satisfaction, right. We're not at that level.
Q. Since you say you are not at that level, does that make coming within a game all that much more sweeter that it's a little bit of surprise, and two, was that where you got this team playing -- how long did it take to get this team playing the style that you wanted to them to play and when did it click?
DARRYL SUTTER: They played it in training camp. They played it in March last year. So it's not -- you don't get 94 points just by all of a sudden start playing a certain way. That's a long haul.
Q. It has come together though here in the Playoffs, are you surprised, Jarome Iginla, his leadership and stuff, he's never been here either, this is a completely first thing for him and he's leading in a fashion -- put into perspective, have you seen a leader in your day do what he's doing?
DARRYL SUTTER: Well, I had -- you know, some great older leaders Dirk Graham, Brent Sutter, Chris Chelios, pretty hard to, you know, that's pretty elite group right there. That's three guys in one team. I seen Owen Nolan take Game 7 in St. Louis -- when they were the one first overall and literally win the game by himself. You know, so that's a major upset. That was a first-round upset against the first overall team, so you know, Jarome is an elite player, he's a special player. It was the first thing everybody talked about after the game last night, but you seen the first three shifts in the overtime, his whole purpose was to try and win it himself in those three or four shifts.
Q. Any thoughts on Jarome winning the Conn Smythe should you win this thing?
DARRYL SUTTER: I think we're very premature.
Q. Do you allow yourself after a game last night to view it again just for enjoyment purposes? I mean, it was a pretty good hockey game?
DARRYL SUTTER: It was a hell of a game. Second period was, geez, you know, there's times when you just got to go okay, stay where you are, you know, because it was both ways -- it was as good a second period as I have seen in the Playoffs this year. It wasn't easy for our team either to, you know, we had some guys getting their legs under them in the first period. Everybody thinks that you guys know what that two-day break was like. You guys travelled. There's really no break there. Especially you know, guys are beat up and there's no break. You could see it that they had to find other ways to get around it. But did I watch it? Guys, all the coaches this morning, just so we can go over some stuff for tonight.
Q. How surprising is it that Jarome has had the impact that he had had in what really is his first full playoff?
DARRYL SUTTER: I don't know if that -- to me it's not surprising at all. He won -- two years ago he won the heart and he won the scoring and this year he tied with -- for the scoring, so it doesn't surprise you he's the leading goal scorer in the Playoffs, it's no surprise. He's been a healthy player this year. Last year when I came here he was banged up a little bit, then he got -- then he hurt his shoulder, so his numbers -- he's going to score that's his -- he's learned other parts of his game that have made him so much more of a force.
Q. You are so close from the main thing. You seem relaxed?
DARRYL SUTTER: Tired.
Q. Tired but excited; what are you feeling?
DARRYL SUTTER: No, you know, today I didn't -- not even -- working on some junior things. Had to come down and do this. We got to try and get some -- talk to some agents, talk to some kids.
Q. How has the dual stress of GM and coach played itself out during the Playoffs?
DARRYL SUTTER: Stress is not -- I don't even got that in my book.
Q. Dual responsibilities?
DARRYL SUTTER: Just more, you know, somebody asked that last week, basically all you are doing is you are being three people, you are being coach, general manager and then you have a family, so it's not -- how much fun is it? It's not a lot of fun.

End of FastScripts...

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