Rupp "ticked off" about not playing tonight

Devils forward Mike Rupp tried not to talk about it, but said he is unhappy about being a healthy scratch for tonight's game against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre.

Rupp will sit to make room for Bobby Holik's return from a fractured right pinky.

"I was kind of caught off guard by it, but it is what it is," he said. "I'm not going to accept it and be fine with it. I'm ticked off about it and I'm going to do what I can to get back."

This will be the first game this season that Rupp won't play.

"I don't really want to talk about it," he said. "I'm just disappointed."

Even with Holik's return, Rupp could have remained in the lineup and shifted to left wing, but Devils coach Brent Sutter decided to dress rookie left wing Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, who is from Levis, Quebec, instead.

Rupp isn't looking at is as being caught in a numbers game.

"I haven't been told that," Rupp said. "I'm not looking at it that way. I believe that I can help this team. I'm part of this team. A decision was made and I'll continue to do my thing."

Sutter said deciding which players play and which don't and telling them that is part of the job of being a head coach.

"It's difficult to tell anybody they're not playing," Sutter said. "It's not easy to be in a situation where you tell a player he's not playing. It is what it is. It's part of it. It's the responsibility of the coach and it's my responsiblity.

"We have 13 forwards here, 14 if you want to count (Sheldon) Brookbank as a forward or seven D if you count Brookbank as a defenseman. So, two guys can't play and it happens to be those two guys tonight. It could change come next Wednesday (against Pittsburgh). We're just taking it game to game. It's never an easy situation to be in, but decisions have to be made and you make them and you move forward."

Comments

[DS]

Rightfully so! Rupp has been great for us while we've had these injuries and elevated his game to another lever..especially while Madden was out. He's been getting offensive chances too and scored in Tampa and in Pittsburgh last week.

Instead Sutter lets a rookie forward like Leblond play, a player that has done absolutely nothing for this team. I have nothing against Leblond, but he's done nothing to be chosen over Rupp.

These kind of decisions by a coach can easily errupt a room, and don't think for a second that the players on the team haven't noticed Rupp's stellar play of late. Now they see him being scratch in favor of a callup.

Brent Sutter is one messed up dude and every day that goes by he just strenghtens my hatred towards him.

[Eric]

I would be surprised if Leblond held the roster spot over Rupp for very long, but its good that its inspiring, or angering, Rupp. I can only hope that when he gets back in the lineup, he has the motivation to want to stay in the lineup.

[Sohl]

I feel bad for Rupper. He's been playing very well lately.

[Xander Crews]

Good he should be ticked and do whatever he can to get back on the ice and hopefully he will play harder so this doesnt happen again. Id hate to have a player who wasnt upset about being benched.

[sundstrom]

rupp has every right to be pissed. this move makes no sense (PL3 in for Rupp). Sutter said its not about doing PL3 a favor by playing him in his home provence (which of course it shouldn't be).

but rupp has done nothing wrong and, in fact, has done everything asked of him.

i am not one of those that thinks sutter has done a bad job but it seems he makes more mistakes than he gets things right. playing the hot hand in clemmer and actually keeping his top two lines together while junking the idea of 22+ minutes a night of madden - good.

shuffling lines in the past, being outcoached by the likes of renney, killing any confidence in the younger guys, and generally jerking certain players around over the last two years - elias, zubrus, gionta, rupp, zajac - bad.

[Bill]

Bert is a horrible coach and if we another cup with him at the helm it will be in spite of him not because of him.

[DH]

This is a great move. Rupp is fired up and wants to play hard. Nothing wrong with a little competition. I hope Sutter rotates them all year. And I don't get these "devil fans" who bash sutter. We've had tons of injuries and we are in the top 8. What is your definition of success?

[Falcone]

I have no idea why he'd sit Ruppy. I mean PL3 isn't that great of a player and besides Georges Montreal isn't a rough team, they're more of a finese team. Doesn't make sense to me. But if he comes back on Wed night with a fire, I guess I'll look back and say it was smart. But it could easily go the other way.

[D3]

DS said it best above.

Rupp got benched because he didn't play his role. Slutter is pissed because Rupp didn't pick a fight with Asham. Slutter is a poor exuse for any type of manager. And he bad mouths certain players to other players in the locker room. That's not how you get the most from people.

[D3]

One more thing. TG, ask Rupp if Sutter ever told him once that he did a decent job filling in while Madden was out. I seriously doubt it. At least the players did!

[JJ]

@sundstrom - Funny but all of the things you say he's done badly are things Jacques Lemaire did on a regular basis also. I assume the young player that you refer to whose confidence is being killed is Vrana right? Well instead of naval gazing (if that's what he's even doing) he should work harder on his defensive game and force himself into the lineup and prove he can play on this level. (Elevate your game Petr and you'll play, end of story. Look at what that poor baby Travis Zajac whose confidence was so destroyed by Sutter did during the offseason and camp to put himself where he is now) Otherwise he can have "his confidence built" on another team that is willing to accept the kind of bonehead plays he makes on the defensive side of the puck. It's quite obvious that the only reason he's even on the NHL roster is because he will have to clear waivers to be sent down. I'm not saying the guy is the next Scotty Bowman but please, you Sutter haters are so over the top with this garbage.

[JerseyLove]

What the...? I don't get this...did Sutter give a reason why, TG? Is it because of Holik returning, the cap?

[sundstrom]

JJ - i was not just refering to Vrana. Bergfors also got a bit of a raw deal in his brief stay.

as i said, i certainly don't hate on sutter. i just question this move - a lot. i see no positive to it. is rupp not playing hard enough? sorry, i don't see that at all.

[Jeremy]

I disagree with Sutter's choice to scratch Rupp. I think that he has done a great job this year. Scoring a couple goals here and there, crunching guys at the right time. He gets winded quickly, but when he first gets out there he looks for anything that moves and hits it. PL3 is a decent player, but I'm not sure he adds anything to the lineup that Rupp doesn't provide.

[george]

I think they are just playing PL3 because he's French Canadian and they want to let him play in Montreal. His family got a bunch of tickets to this game.

[JJ]

Bergfors too sundstrom. He goes to Lowell and tears it up. His confidence isn't shot, if anything he's got a chip on his shoulder like Zajac did and like Rupp does now.

[Al]

Bill, Brent is not a horrible caoch at all. Yes, I think Rupp should play tonight, but he is giving Leblond a dream of a lifetime because he'll never play in Montreal NHL wise again probably. I am more upset with him not playing Bergfors and Vrana. In fact the worst move Brent has made was sending down Annsi and dressing journeymen with no future like Mikey Mottau.

Other than that, Brent has got this team working hard, playing hard and the inmates are no longer running the asylum like the Claude Juliien year.

[OzolinshDrivesDrunk]

"I think they are just playing PL3 because he's French Canadian and they want to let him play in Montreal. His family got a bunch of tickets to this game. "
This is the National Hockey League, not pee-wee's. That should not be even thought about. The objective is to beat the Habs, not to make a player happy.

[Jeremy]

Bergfors in my opinion played awful when he was up. He has nothing on his shot. I would have like Salmela to stay up for a bit longer. He has a great shot on the point, and is a great skater.

I doubt that Brent is playing PL3 because this is his hometown. I guess it's possible, but this isn't Pee Wee where the coach makes decisions based on whose coming to a game where it is being played.

[mikeK]

I don't think you guys understand what Sutter's looking for out of a 4th liner.

Basically, the 4th line is a pure physical checking line. Rupp's job is to go out there with his size, use his body, and if he has to, stand up for his teammates. Rupp and Sutter have bumped heads before over this issue. Rupp does not bring huge hits and rarely fights. In fact, he hasn't had a FM since October.

Sutter is a believer in players policing themselves. He wants 4th liners to play that role in making sure opposition players don't run players like Parise and Gionta. Is it nice when they score? Sure. But it's not a scoring line.

[mikeK]

Also, I think it's kind of sad that you guys trash this guy, saying how he's got no future, etc... And what, does Rupp have a good future? He's a 4th liner enforcer who doesn't enforce. He scores a handful of times a season, and you guys think he's God's gift to the Devils. He's MIKE RUPP. He's not Gionta or Elias or Parise. He doesn't score much. He isn't physical. What exactly is he supposed to bring to the team?

[Afro Thunder]

Everyone calm down. The only reason Leblond is in over Rupp is that this is P3L's first game in his home town and Sutter wanted to make it special for him. Rupp will be back in on Wednesday vs. the Pens, I guarantee it.

[Tom Gulitti]

Sutter said yesterday that letting PL3 play in Montreal had nothing to do with the decision.

At least that's what he said.

[Guy]

Good, we need someone who can score on the pens lol

[Al]

Rupp should calm down, he'll be in the next game and PL3 will be out. Let the goon have his night.