Sutter Stands by Criticism of NHL

Calgary Coach Darryl Sutter didn’t back down, but neither did he offer much comment about the furor caused by his statements Wednesday that the NHL was trying to sabotage his team’s chances of winning the Stanley Cup.

Sutter’s comments came after the NHL had suspended Flame forward Ville Nieminen for a hit on Vincent Lecavalier in Game 4 on Monday. Sutter said no one wanted to see his team in the finals and people wanted to “make sure that we’re not successful.”

“It wasn’t emotional,” Sutter said. “I told the truth. The truth hurts. Not everything you read or hear is fact or fiction, but when you tell the truth, sometimes it hurts.”

Then again, Sutter said Wednesday that Nieminen had not traveled with the team from Calgary. But Nieminen arrived with the Flames and went through the morning skate.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman issued a terse statement Wednesday, saying that Sutter’s remarks were “ill-advised, inaccurate and inappropriate,” and indicated that they might bring a fine. Asked about Bettman’s statement, Sutter said, “What did he say?” When told, Sutter said, “Whatever he says.”

Sutter’s rant Wednesday was similar to one that Wayne Gretzky, then Team Canada’s general manager, expressed at the 2002 Olympics, which helped take media attention off the Canadian players.

“It was nice yesterday to get a break and get a chance to relax,” Flame captain Jarome Iginla said.

But Flame players had the controversy fall in their laps after the morning skate Thursday. All said Sutter’s comments did not affect them.

“That is not our focus right now,” Iginla said. “Our concern is the game tonight.”

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Nieminen, for once, was less than hard-hitting.

Asked about the suspension, he said, “I can’t comment on that.”

Asked why he accompanied the team on the trip, he said, “Because there was a seat available.”

Asked about Sutter’s remarks, he said, “I can’t comment on that.”

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Calgary defenseman Toni Lydman, out 20 games because of what was called a lower-body injury, returned and had an immediate effect.

Lydman fired a shot that Martin Gelinas redirected past goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin for the Flames’ first goal.

“The decision was made just after warmup,” Lydman said. “I felt pretty good, considering all the time I had off. I was a little rusty, but the adrenaline took care of that.”

The Flames may have lost center Shean Donovan, who left after the second period with what Sutter called a “charley horse.” Tampa Bay’s Ruslan Fedotenko and Pavel Kubina also returned after sitting out Game 4 with undisclosed injuries.