Clutterbuck rejects Cherry's critique of his fighting stance

The Hockey Night in Canada commentator ripped Clutterbuck for fighting while wearing a visor, but the Wild winger says there are extenuating circumstances.

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: February 2, 2009 - 8:06 AM

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In the locker room before the Wild's 4-3 overtime victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night, winger Cal Clutterbuck and other players happened to be watching Don Cherry live on Hockey Night in Canada's Coach's Corner.

Cherry suddenly launched into Clutterbuck for fighting with a visor and called Clutterbuck "Buttercup." The longtime Canadian Broadcasting Corp. commentator and former coach of the Boston Bruins and Colorado Rockies said fighting with a visor was a "cowardly act."

"After the [fights], he takes it off because he's ashamed to go over and sit in the penalty box with it on," Cherry screamed.

Cherry showed two clips, one of Clutterbuck fighting Toronto's Ian White and one of him fighting Phoenix's Keith Yandle. In that one, Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky screamed at Clutterbuck, "Take the visor off, tough guy."

"If you look at the incidents, first time I asked [Yandle] to take our helmets off, and he said, 'No,'" said Clutterbuck, his assertion backed by replays. "I'm not going to be the only guy to fight and take my helmet off. The second time against White, he jumped me from behind. So what does he want from me? I mean, what do you want me to do? Really."

Clutterbuck noted that, on Friday, he fought Edmonton's Steve Staios. "He had a visor on, too. We both did. [Cherry] didn't show that. I don't know why. ... It upsets you. He's a part of the Canadian media. He's based out of Toronto and he's in Leafs Nation, so with the whole thing with White, he's biased. I think what he does for the game in Canada, he's an icon, but I'm going to have to disagree with him on what he says."

Penalty aggravates

Being one of the NHL's top superpests, Canucks winger Alex Burrows knows the tricks of the trade. He can be an aggravating chatterbox, a diver and a subtly late hitter.

Saturday night, the Wild felt Burrows intentionally put himself in harm's way in order to draw a penalty. Clutterbuck, instead of relenting, nailed him from behind.

Clutterbuck was assessed a five-minute major and booted from the game when Burrows' head smacked the glass.

"It's probably my fault for continuing on with it even though I knew who I was going to hit," Clutterbuck said.

The penalty came early in the second period with the Wild leading 2-1. Wild players were angry, but behind eight saves from Niklas Backstrom they killed off the penalty.

"Our killers played great," said Backstrom. "You know as a player that's going to be a big turning point. They score one or two or three goals there, it's going to be their game. ... For a player, it's tough, but you almost enjoy that challenge."

A ton happened between that point and the Wild's eventual win. But like Backstrom said, if the Canucks scored a couple of power-play goals during the major, it likely would have meant lights out for the Wild.

The kill still took its toll on the Wild, already tired from playing the night before in Edmonton.

"The bench was a little short and it made it a lot tougher to hold on to the lead," coach Jacques Lemaire said. "We killed it, and the guys that killed it, after that, they were beat up. Their energy dropped."

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