Suter Loses His Cool, Mistake Leads To Loss

Added on May 06, 2011 by J Merrill in

NHL

It is not uncommon for emotions to get the better of some skaters on the ice, especially during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. When everyone realized it was Ryan Suter, every Nashville Predator fan in the building was saying to themselves, “Wait, that was Suter?” What seemed to make it all worse, was minutes later Vancouver scored the go ahead goal and the damage was done.

All tied up at 2, at about 6 minutes of the third period Suter grabbed a hold of Ryan Kesler by the head and and shoulders, and threw him down to the ice. Suter was handed down a 2 minute holding call, and you can only guess what happened next. Kesler made Suter and Predators pay for it with a sharp goal that pushed the Canucks ahead by one goal, and they went on to win 4-2 in Game 4 of their Western Conference Semifinal series.

Defenseman Ryan Suter has only amassed 54 penalty minutes in the whole season, and he is usually one of the most even tempered skaters Nashville has. So what prompted one of the most uncharacteristic penalties all year? In short, it was a high stick, but I am going to let Suter explain this one himself. He said “He hit (center) Mike Fisher right in the face with his stick, and I was just grabbing him to slow him down pretty easy, but it’s over with.” The obviously defensive Suter continued, and said “He’s no innocent guy out there. He gets his stick up on that one right before I got the penalty there, he hit Fish in the face. He’ll probably have to get stitches, but it’s part of it, obviously, I shouldn’t have done what I did.”

The play was a huge error in judgment, and it arguably cost the Predators the game. Coach Barry Trotz is usually quick to come to the defense of his players, but even Trotz didn’t know what to say about the Suter penalty. Trotz said with a player as experienced and talented as Suter that he expected more from him. He said “You have to have composure. You don’t know what that moment or that incident, there are a thousand different things, you have to stay in that moment. You don’t know what’s going to change the course of a game. Keep your composure.”

Ryan Kesler played the innocent card, and really had a ‘Who me?’ look about him. He also seemed to forget about the high stick to Fishman’s face, but what do you expect him to say. Kesler’s plays all over the ice, and when he spends close to thirty minutes on the ice a game, when Predators are getting frustrated it easy to attach that to Kessler. Kesler said “I don’t know. He usually, he’s good at keeping his composure. I wasn’t even by the puck and he ripped me down by my face. I don’t know.”

After Game3 Trotz accused a few of the Canucks players of embellishment, and taking a few falls with little provocation. Calls that lead to power play goals for the Canucks. Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault was looking to nip anymore of that in the bud after Game 4. Vigneault said calls went both ways on Thursday night, and that it was hard work and sharp play that won them the game. He said “I know we battled real hard tonight. I hope they’re not going to complain about embellishment tonight with the number of things that happened out there on the ice. Suter having the audacity to complain after he takes that penalty and just hauls Ryan Kesler down to the ice was utterly amazing.”

Vancouver has a 3-1 lead over the Predators, and teams will meet on Saturday night where Nashville will be facing a must win game.