Kariya Sits in Silence

Paul Kariya would not say Wednesday whether he was angry at Chicago Blackhawk defenseman Gary Suter.

He would not say whether he was satisfied with the four-game suspension Suter received for giving him a concussion with a cross-check to the jaw.

And he would not say if he believes the NHL needs to do more to curb physical abuse against its skilled players.

“My job is to play the game,” Kariya said before the Mighty Ducks’ 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers before 17,174 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim. “What I say isn’t going to help.”

Instead of venting some anger because he couldn’t play against the Rangers because of the lingering effects of Sunday’s concussion, Kariya stuck to a self-imposed gag order.

But unlike the past three days, he agreed to speak to reporters about his condition. He said he is plagued by headaches, nausea and fogginess after Suter cross-checked him in the jaw after he scored his second goal of the game at 3:39 of the second period.

“Basically, I’m day to day until the symptoms calm down,” he said. “I think I’ll probably play Saturday [against the Kings]. I thought I would be playing tonight. I didn’t think it would be that serious. But the more concussions you have, the more risk you have.”

This is the fourth concussion Kariya, 23, has suffered. He has been hospitalized twice--once after his first concussion as a teenager and again after Toronto Maple Leaf defenseman Mathieu Schneider elbowed him in the head in a Nov. 13, 1996 game.

He also suffered a concussion while preparing to play for Canada in the 1994 Olympics.

“From what I’ve investigated about it nobody knows much about concussions,” he said. “I’m drinking lots of water, trying to flush it through my system. For sure, I can’t have any symptoms before I come back. If I got hit the same way [Wednesday] there’s the possibility of death or brain damage.”

It’s possible Kariya could be sidelined until he joins Team Canada next week in Nagano.

Meanwhile, the grumbling continued from the Blackhawks over Suter’s suspension. Suter and Coach Craig Hartsburg questioned the severity of Kariya’s injury.

“We’ll see how hurt he is,” Suter told the Chicago Tribune. “If he plays [Wednesday] the suspension is a joke.”

Said Hartsburg: “If the league has to look at every play like that there would be a lot of suspensions. Suter was just trying to move Kariya out from in front of the net.”

Kariya refused to join the war of words, but (surprise!) Duck President Tony Tavares leaped into the fray without apology.

“I’m quite surprised at Craig Hartsburg,” Tavares said. “For a smart guy, he sounded stupid to suggest it happens in every game. People are not cross-checked in the face every game.”

Kariya would not speak about rule changes proposed by NHL general managers at a meeting Wednesday in Phoenix that would improve the flow of games by cutting down on the hooking and holding now in style.

General managers will instruct referees after the Olympic break to crack down on the obstruction fouls that have gone unpenalized in the last few seasons.

Dan O’Halloran, Wednesday’s referee, certainly stuck to the old rules--particularly when it came to the Rangers’ defense of Teemu Selanne.

Selanne scored his NHL-leading 40th and 41st goals, but he also fought unsuccessfully through at least two noteworthy takedowns.

Steve Rucchin also scored for the Ducks, who won their second consecutive game.