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Sutter on road teams having a playoff edge: “That’s all B.S.”

Darryl Sutter

Los Angeles Kings’ coach Darryl Sutter, center, looks on from the bench as Dustin Penner, from left, Dustin Brown and Justin Williams are seated in front during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck)

AP

Darryl Sutter isn’t Nostradamus, but he has become a surprisingly decent source of interesting (and often delightfully cranky) quotes. The eighth-ranked Los Angeles Kings were stout on the road in the first round and the Calgary Flames squad he coached within a game of the 2004 Stanley Cup were a low seed, too, but Sutter told Rich Hammond that he’d still prefer home ice if given the choice.

“As you go along, that’s all B.S., to be quite honest. I know from experience,” Sutter said. “It’s very simple. I’d rather have players getting treated in our treatment centers, and not in a hotel and not on an airplane, and getting practice in your own building. We’ve talked about it enough. You want to play a deciding game in your building, always.”

The chaos of the postseason forces us to try to make sense out of the sometimes senseless. In the most literal way, home ice advantage provides the last change and some faceoff perks to boot, but the true impact might just be subjective.

That being said, if the Kings manage to overcome another high seed or two (they’re primed to face the No. 2 St. Louis Blues and wouldn’t have home ice if they advanced again), Sutter might just get a reputation for overcoming the edge of home cooking.

Whatever edge that might be.