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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: FLAMES v SHARKS

May 19, 2004

Darryl Sutter

CALGARY, ALBERTA: Game Six

Q. Ron Wilson said yesterday that Calgary being Canada's team, all the pressure is on your club, on the Flames, because they have the weight of the nation on their expectations?
RON WILSON: Who said it to me?
Q. Ron Wilson.
DARRYL SUTTER: Ron Wilson? Whatever. I thought that was the Olympics and the World Cup. I think the team being from Canada that plays the game represents their country pretty well.
Q. You guys change up routines a little bit? Any reason why?
DARRYL SUTTER: No, I don't think we changed up our routine.
Q. Didn't stay anywhere didn't? Stay somewhere different?
DARRYL SUTTER: They have had the option all playoffs to stay in -- some guys stay in a hotel if they want. Some guys that have family in here.
Q. Did you have a lot of guys take you up on it last night, to do the sort of bonding thing?
DARRYL SUTTER: Dinner out.
Q. Did you tell them, "I would like to you stay in a hotel," or was it up to the players?
DARRYL SUTTER: No, that's up to the guys. We talked about it yesterday and I got a deposition on it from the media yesterday.
(Laughter.) And you know, everybody's different. I know from doing it myself some guys want to, need to be alone; some guys need to be like everything's different, so I don't get too involved in that.
Q. How were you as a player?
DARRYL SUTTER: It depended.
Q. I know, but I tell you like being on the road or staying at home.
DARRYL SUTTER: I can't -- I spent a lot of time at the rink, so it didn't really matter, you know. I didn't like going home.
(Laughter.).
Q. Nice hotels in Chicago, too?
DARRYL SUTTER: Yeah.
Q. You had some options.
DARRYL SUTTER: Yeah. Actually they owned the hotel we stayed in always. Do you remember that hotel? The Bismarck?
Q. I can remember going in.
(Laughter.)
Q. I want to talk about how teams deal with success and deal with being in the position to do something as opposed to being a team that's chasing, trying to catch somebody. Do you think the team is a little better prepared now or feeling better about themselves to be in a position to succeed?
DARRYL SUTTER: Well, I don't know about that exactly. But we have played two game 6's in our building, and we have won one and lost one, both in overtime. So I think that guys do draw from that.
Q. I know you just said it, but how important or how much of a factor is the fact that this team has been in the several big games in their short playoffs with game 6, two game 6's, game 7, a lot of overtime games as well?
DARRYL SUTTER: Well, that's the reason you're still playing. It doesn't matter the fourth -- to win a fourth game, doesn't matter if it's the fourth game, the fifth game, the sixth game or seventh game, so those are all, those all become big games. The way we look at it is very simple: This is the third division winner we have had played and so you don't have home-ice advantage, you have to get home-ice advantage. And that usually sets up for a big game five or a big game six or a big game seven. And that's kind of how we have looked at it.
Q. How comfortable does having Yelle, Gelinas, Simon and even Nieminen, guys that have been to the finals, going into these contests?
DARRYL SUTTER: You know what we learned against Detroit, we talked about it before the series, we talked to our young players, that because of all the experience they had, that our young players someday had to be those guys. The only way you get to be those guys is to play against them and get that experience. So what impact is Martin's experience or Stephane's experience or Chris's experience have on this game tonight? I think that we have got it in the last -- I think everybody's got that experience, so I don't know what advantage it is. I think we miss some of our young players.
Q. Among the many theories trying to figure out this thing, is that the teams may be trying too hard at home. How do you not try too hard in this game?
DARRYL SUTTER: I don't know. If that's Ron talking about it.
Q. No, it's not him. We're trying to figure it out like everybody else.
DARRYL SUTTER: I think we played well at home, so we could have won -- I said that we played better in three and four than we did in game one, so I mean, we have given up almost nothing at home. We have given up nothing after the first game, if you look at it. So I don't think anyone is trying too hard. I think that we got -- I know with our team we have got two or three guys that historically when you look at it, haven't played very well at home, so there is some carry-over, obviously. And we have two or three guys that have to control their emotions a little bit better. And both buildings are loud buildings. That's part of the environment now that you have to deal with that. If you let that affect you one way or the other, then you got to -- you have an issue personally. You can talk about those things all you want, but it's how you react.
Q. Did you guys vote on whether to stay in the hotel or how did that happen?
DARRYL SUTTER: I don't know if they voted or not.
Q. Did you just tell them? Did you say, "we're doing this"?
DARRYL SUTTER: No. No.
Q. Did you give them the option.
RON WILSON: No. They have had the option all playoffs. Some guys stay in hotels.
Q. You've talked about the 7-game increments that you divided the season up into. Obviously that's the length of a playoff series. Do you, in your experience as a coach, now basically say that in the 7 games, you're going to have two bad ones and what can you do about it? Are you that stoic about it that you're going to get a couple of bad ones along the way?
DARRYL SUTTER: I don't know. I don't think we have though. Everybody equates winning and losing with playing bad. It doesn't mean when you win that you played great and when you lose you played bad. I think that it's about consistency. And that's the biggest thing about our team is we're consistent. I don't know any other way to say it. The reason we're still playing.
I was asked yesterday about why we haven't scored in the first period, I think it was in our building or something. Well, I think what's more important is the reason we're still playing is because that other teams haven't had much success in the first period in our building. That's what our identity is, and San Jose's too. They don't give up much. You got to bear down on your opportunities. If you get three or four big opportunities and don't score, that doesn't mean you played a bad game. I don't really look at it like that. I think that for us to win tonight, we have some guys that have to play better in this rink, and we have to bear down on our opportunities. And if we do that, then we have a chance of winning.
Q. I guess what I'm saying is, is it humanly possible to be that consistent through seven games, give yourself a chance to win in every one of a 7-game series?
DARRYL SUTTER: Yeah, well, ideally it's not how many games you play, it's how many you win at this stage. So Tampa's played, what, 14 games maybe and we have played 18 or whatever it is, 19. So less is better for them. We don't dwell on it, to be quite honest. When you talk about all the history we have had, remember we went back to those 7-game series back to the All-Star break. So we didn't dwell on it, you have to move on all the time. That's why our team, I think, has had some success.
Q. This game has to be different though knowing that if you win, you go to the Stanley Cup Finals, right?
DARRYL SUTTER: You know, I don't know what the hell difference that makes. But here's the mindset: You have to really compete like heck to be a playoff team. And if you are, then you have a chance. Then you are one of 16. Okay? And then it just breaks down from there. It goes 36, 18, 6, 4, so that's it. That's how we have looked at it. And if you want to get excited about it, get excited about it. We just try and stay kind of even with it.
Q. Did you stay in a hotel?
DARRYL SUTTER: No, no. Went to swimming lessons.
Q. Was it the Cecil?
DARRYL SUTTER: It's the Cecil Hotel, yes.
(Laughter.) There's a bathroom on every floor.
(Laughter.)
Q. You went to swimming classes?
DARRYL SUTTER: Not me, no. Okay. Thanks.
Q. All the kids at home now?
DARRYL SUTTER: No. Just Chris. Everybody else is gone. Moved out. They don't want to live with me.

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