Call it the Code of Brent Sutter. Harsh words can be permissible. No wimpy hand wringers here. The longer-term reaction from the players, however, remains to be seen, on this team that has had eight different coaches in the past 10 seasons.
To some, the Devils coach’s so-public bench critique of Jamie Langenbrunner Saturday would border on rebellion-inciting disrespect. To others, the captain’s response could qualify as insubordination. Each said both were neither.
The Penguins are visiting the Devils tonight, trying to improve their perfect record in Newark to three games, yet the juicy topic in Devildom yesterday remained the verbal eruption between the coach and the captain during Saturday’s 6-3 victory over the visiting Kings.
Langenbrunner nearly duplicated an earlier error by Arron Asham, and Los Angeles’ Jack Johnson ducked behind his back to close the Devils’ lead to one goal. When Langenbrunner returned to the bench, Sutter let him have it. And Langenbrunner gave it back. All on camera.
“I know my nature. Maybe I’m going to argue anyway when I’m wrong, just for the sake of arguing,” Langenbrunner said. “He’s an emotional guy. He understands it.
“I don’t look at it as any disrespect. If he tells me I screwed up and calls me on it, that’s the way it’s supposed to be,” Langebrunner said. “If you do it all the time or in a way that you’re trying to show him up, that’s one thing. If you do it in the heat of battle, that’s another thing. I was badgering him to a fault, but I hope he didn’t lose any sleep over it. I didn’t lose any sleep over it.
Sutter also treated the incident as unimportant history.
“He was maybe a little frustrated with what happened and released some of that frustration. The intentions were all good,” Sutter said. “I’m not always one to let things [fester]. Sometimes it’s on the bench, sometimes it’s between periods. I didn’t know [cameras saw]. I didn’t care.
“It’s not always going to be soft love that does it. I’m not going to change as a coach. I’ve challenged players on the bench. It’s happened before. This time, everyone saw it and it was the captain.”
They both said it’s over and done with. It is, unless it happens again and becomes a problem.
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Jay Pandolfo said he would use this morning’s skate to determine if he will return to action tonight from the abdominal sprain he suffered Nov. 28, idling him 28 games. . . . While winning all three visits to Pittsburgh this season, the Devils have fallen 5-0 Nov. 5 and 4-2 Jan. 29 to the Penguins in Newark, both bad losses. . . . Martin Brodeur invited the whole team and their families to his house for a Super Bowl party last night.