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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: FLAMES v LIGHTNING

June 5, 2004

Darryl Sutter

CALGARY, ALBERTA: Game Six

Q. You gathered your troops around this morning at the morning skate; without telling us exactly, what was the gist of what you told them?
DARRYL SUTTER: We didn't obviously travel and didn't skate yesterday so it was important that -- I saw it in Tampa too early in the game that three or four of our guys didn't have their legs under them and they got to make of that tonight.
Q. Special teams you always said was a key. You guys right now in this series have the edge. How important is that even heading --
DARRYL SUTTER: I never always said it was the key. I think that it becomes important when it -- any time something doesn't work, then that's when it becomes important, right, we have seen that.
But our focus is for our team to get better in Game 5. Our focus was to be a better team offensively 5-on-5 going into Game 5. I think we scored three goals in the series 5-on-5. So we feel and we are the. Numbers show that we are a really good 5-on-5 team and in this series, going into the last game we scored two in the last game, that ends up being the difference.
Q. Against Vancouver they were able to win here and force a 7th game. But against San Jose and Detroit when you had a chance to finish it you did. How do you feel about that first chance --
DARRYL SUTTER: Unfortunately we are not going to win them all. I have been asked that so many times in Playoffs, you prefer to be -- what is it right now, you prefer to be 15 and 0, but you know, it's hard to do. So that's why we're not too excited about this. We're just going to take it like it's another step along the way. Our focus as a team all along in every series that we played right from the very start of Vancouver, if we can extend it out, if we can extend it out, if we can do this, do this, give us a better chance. You look at, you know, the game that we lost in here, the triple-overtime game. We thought that helped us in Game 7.
Q. With the Donovan game-time decision, can you just talk about the ability of your players to step in and fill rolls?
DARRYL SUTTER: They have had to do it from day one. Our lineup that we expected to start the season, we haven't had it once, not once, not one game. So we have had to do that all year and fortunately there has been three or four guys that come in, really helped us and three or four guys come up, really helped us. But you even look at it the other night, I mean, every game and the guys know that, that's one thing they have been really good at in these buildings that get so loud and you can't hear, you can yell all you want but guys can't hear and we mix it up so much and they know that. They talk about being sharp, know who is got who all the time, because it's not just about guys stepping in; it's about guys stepping out of position or playing a role that's not -- that they have never played before.
Q. Give us a sense of the mood of your guys this morning.
DARRYL SUTTER: They are fine. I thought they were great. I mean, we met with them last night and I don't -- I have said this a lot but I have only seen our time once in the Playoffs where I wasn't real happy about it and it was after our last game in here and it wasn't to do with anything that they were really frustrated.
Q. Have you been able to appreciate the quality of play in this series, the excitement in this series or are you so consumed that you can't step back and say, that's some pretty damn good hockey being played?
DARRYL SUTTER: Obviously I think there is. I have said it after Game 5, I thought the second period and I was surprised how well we played in the first, quite honest. I thought it was going to be one of those wait and see from both team's games. But you know, I think what is getting overlooked in this, I remember last year watching the Finals and it was Brodeur and Jagr, at the end, those guys you look at how Khabibulin and Kipper have played, I don't think they have gotten the credit yet either.
Q. I know you are concentrating on the right now but will you be back coaching next year have you given any thought?
DARRYL SUTTER: Wow. Might not be allowed to (laughs). No, I haven't thought about that. That's totally unfair, that's like a player thinking he's going to score four goals tonight and get beat 5-4. I just stay in the moment.
Q. Just if possible to read into the minds of other coaches, Ron Wilson in the San Jose series said, oh, Calgary is Canada's team, the pressure is all on them. John Tortorella said pretty much verbatim yesterday. Do you think that is a way to put pressure on your team or why is that being said?
DARRYL SUTTER: Well, it doesn't really work (LAUGHTER).
So, I mean, I am not that smart a guy, but Calgary is one of Canada's teams, so -- I mean, (laughs) it's like when you ask me questions that I don't really have an answer for, whatever. It's not about the coaches. What is it got to do with the coaches? I think they have done a great job and I think we have done an all right job. It's got nothing to do right now with the coaches. I prefer everybody else did the press conference and let, even them, they can do mine if they want.
Q. Is there a guy, maybe Iginla, who will give your team a pre-game speech tonight or anything or will guys pretty --
DARRYL SUTTER: You said a guy and maybe Iginla, what did you mean?
Q. Is there a guy on your team who will address the team or?
DARRYL SUTTER: How the hell do I know? How would I know. If the guy wants to address the team he will address the team. I mean, you are trying to really complicate the issue here. There's lots of other real important things here.
Q. My question was about Iginla as well. Do you feel that he has maximized his role in these Playoffs?
DARRYL SUTTER: He's played a lot and he's played -- and in every situation and for our team to still be playing he's leading -- I think he's still leading the goal-scorer thing, isn't he. That speaks for itself. I think that carries over from the regular season.
Q. Are you worried or partly worried that your players might want to do too much --
DARRYL SUTTER: No. I don't think so. We haven't seen that with our group at all. I think that you know, any time -- that's one thing we have learned all season. Any time a team like ours tries to do too much, they will have a hard time because you know, there's one area we don't quite match up in, but we think in the other areas that, in the game that we play we can be really successful. So that's what we'll do. It's not going -- I don't think it's a game that's going to be -- I don't think it's going to be about the first three or four minutes or anything like that. I think that we have seen in every game that it's a last-five-minute deal usually.

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