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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: FLAMES v SHARKS

May 12, 2004

Darryl Sutter

CALGARY, ALBERTA: Practice Day

Q. Inaudible?
COACH SUTTER: I think that he is, especially this time of year, I think he's a playoff type player. I think that, you know, I had coached against him previously in Colorado and you can see what he can bring, sort of in the role, how effective he can be.
Q. Inaudible?
COACH SUTTER: Well, I think two minutes, 30 seconds after ge did that, you know, that's what I said after the game, that was a natural to do that. He knows what the game is and he's really smart about it.
Q. Being up two games, are you concerned at all --
COACH SUTTER: With our team? Not a chance.
Q. Why?
COACH SUTTER: Because I think it doesn't matter, our game doesn't change, we still have to -- doesn't matter where we are at in the series, if we are up or down or what round we're in. I think our mindset has stayed the same and we're not getting -- I've answered almost the same thing over from all of you. It's not going to change irregardless of what anybody is thinking or thinks we can do different or should do differently. Our guys have a good handle on it and it doesn't bother them.
I think that, quite honest, if you talk to them, a lot of them thought they played better in Game 1 than they did in Game 2 in this series. So they are still trying to find ways to get better. That's what they talked about all the time is the system and sticking with it.
Q. The penalties yesterday --
COACH SUTTER: There will there will be a new ref. You get on your legs two games in a row and your ref changes everything. First penalty yesterday, Clark, and the second penalty with Saprykin was a penalty. So I don't look at it as trying to pick out guys or what. I think they're doing a pretty good job.
Q. Inaudible?
COACH SUTTER: I just don't think there's any -- I don't think coming into the playoffs, I don't think anybody on the inside looked at as if there was a favorite anywhere, put it that way. So it comes down into coming back to injuries and schedule and who gets hot and how good guys play, goaltending, and that pretty well makes it even. Irregardless of what happened during the regular season. I think it's pretty well an even playing field when you can get through all of the contrast and things I talked about.
Q. Were you surprised at the --
COACH SUTTER: Well, I don't really get into it. Somebody else does. I know how important ours are to us, and I know up a goal or down a goal, we need them. It's one of those things we talked about last summer is how important our home crowd was going to be. They had to elevate their game, too.
Q. Inaudible?
COACH SUTTER: I must be sleepwalking or something because I don't even remember it. You'll have to talk to the guys.
Q. Inaudible?
COACH SUTTER: Well, Marcus has played with a lot of different guys in the Detroit series. I'm sure the lines that you start with are very seldom -- Nieminen didn't play Game 6 against Detroit, Donald has moved around, Marcus has played in a lot of different situations, different people. I think they like playing together when they are together, but Donald is hot right now. So you have to keep him out there.
Q. Does this mean to you a change in style, does that mean you guys are able to win in a whole bunch of different ways? What does it say?
COACH SUTTER: I look at it totally different. We didn't give up a goal, other than one, and against Detroit, which tells you how well we did way and Game 1 in San Jose, the question was, when it was from the other side, how they dominated and so forth. But we scored in the first period, which is good, so it doesn't really matter when you score. Four goals is enough to win; it's how many you give up.
Q. Inaudible?
COACH SUTTER: Well, you could say it's an extra day off for Game 4, but there's back-to-back again, so I don't think we can look past tomorrow. We've done a really good job of handling that straight through and that's how we'll approach it again.
Q. Saturday night outside --
COACH SUTTER: WWF, the guys are in San Jose over there, they didn't mind getting bumped for them. That's part of the deal this time of year. Buildings aren't necessarily set up for third round playoffs.
Q. Can you talk about the development of your team and the confidence, do you walk in every game and see that more and more each game when you come in after the game? That they believe in themselves?
COACH SUTTER: I don't think you get to this point without believing in yourselves. That's been the mantra all along is not let -- not let everybody else or anything else get in the way of what they want to do. And that didn't mean they would get to this point, but it certainly didn't make the playoffs without believing in themselves, believing in how they got to play and how they wanted to play.
Q. How satisfying is that for you to see? You preached that all along.
COACH SUTTER: Well, I think you only do so much of that because it gets old. They have to preach to each other. They have to hold themselves accountable and they do that.
Q. Any thoughts on their goalie?
COACH SUTTER: Best goalie we have faced so far in the playoffs.
Q. Inaudible?
COACH SUTTER: It's enough to win games, or get you into overtime.
Q. What's your thought on the --
COACH SUTTER: Doesn't help us at all. We lost a player. Would have helped us if they had called a penalty.
Q. Inaudible?
COACH SUTTER: Experience, energy, play a couple positions, kill penalties, play against top players -- inaudible -- if you want to win.
Q. You made a point last night talking about -- in terms of what they provide you in the playoffs --
COACH SUTTER: Well, Marcus, I've said that before, about what kind of player he is. He's a playoff-type player, too. He's a disciplined guy. He plays both ends of the ice. He sacrifices himself. He doesn't put himself ahead of his teammates. That's sort what have Yelle does, too -- not sort of; that's what he does, too.
Q. Did you expect it of him?
COACH SUTTER: Did I expect it of him? Yes. No surprise. I wouldn't have traded a second round pick for him if I didn't.
Q. Inaudible?
COACH SUTTER: I think we have it. I don't think it's something that, okay, we have to have that now. I think it's something that -- I think that's why teams are still playing because the majority of them play like that.

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