Sutter's stare

  ot just about hockey.

Most National Hockey League coaches are stoic.

When their emotions are free falling on a rollercoaster, they look calm, cool and collected.

Sutter walks behind the Los Angeles King bench, rarely ever smiling. He sighs, twirls his tongue in the side of his mouth, raises his eyebrows, and generally looks like he could care less about the spirited mayhem in front of him. When the Kings score, he might smirk. But that’s it.When someone screws up, it’s the Sutter scowl, which could easily be sold as a Halloween mask and scare anyone.

Maybe, it’s because he knows there’s always work ahead of him: preparing for another playoff series or mapping out what needs to be done during the summer on his farm in Viking, Alberta.

Come to think about it, do farmers ever smile?

Perhaps it’s something we all can learn — to be on an even keel, not getting too high and not getting too low.

Just zone in on work to be done. And so we come to today when Sutter wakes up after a 2-1 Game  7 win over the San Jose Sharks to advance to the third round of the Stanley Cup final.He may crack a smile, but only for a second. Then, it’s back to work. And that could very well be a trait of success.