"In the long run, that's what separates you," Sutter said as the Flames prepared for Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round against the Dallas Stars at Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, TVAS, BSSW).
The winner will play the Edmonton Oilers, who defeated the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 in Game 7 of their first-round series on Saturday.
The Flames won the Pacific Division this season and are looking to advance to the second round for the first time since 2015, when they defeated the Vancouver Canucks in six games in the first round. The last time they won the Pacific, in 2018-19, they lost to the Colorado Avalanche in five games in the first round.
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Forward Johnny Gaudreau, who led the Flames with 115 points (40 goals, 75 assists) and leads them with six points (one goal, five assists) in the playoffs, could become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
The Flames will have defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who did not receive any supplemental discipline from the NHL Department of Player Safety for his check to the head of Stars forward Luke Glendening in Game 6. But they may be without defenseman Chris Tanev, who left in the second period of Game 6 with an undisclosed injury. Sutter said Tanev would meet with doctors and get treatment on Saturday but did not say what his status was for Game 7.
Sutter knows Game 7 intensity well. He's 7-3 as a coach in Game 7s, including three consecutive Game 7 wins with the 2014 Los Angeles Kings, who won the Stanley Cup that year. Forward Milan Lucic is also in familiar territory, having played in 10 Game 7s (4-6). He was with the Boston Bruins in 2011, when they defeated the Canucks in seven games to win the Stanley Cup.
"You remember when you were a kid and you were about to run a big race and you feel like you get punched in the stomach right before you start? It's that kind of feeling," Lucic said. "But you want to bottle that up and put it into a positive thing.
"It's big players making big plays in big moments, and also sometimes it's guys who kind of come out of nowhere that make a big play at a big time of the game. This is where you truly need everyone, this is where you truly need your best players to be the best players, and it's something you need to look forward to and not shy away from."
Meanwhile, the Stars are coming off what forward Michael Raffl said was, "one of our better third periods of the year," in which they kept the Flames at bay to win Game 6. They'll likely be feeling some pressure, too, but since they've been fighting for a playoff spot since starting the season 4-6-2, they said they're used to it.
"We knew we had to have a good March, and we did, a good April, and we did. We knew we had to get seven of those last eight points in the last week of the season, and we did," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "Playoff mode, yep, that's where we've been for a while and it showed last night and it's going to show itself tomorrow."
