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When Denis Savard and Brent Sutter were teammates on the 1996 Blackhawks, I wonder if they ever thought they'd be coaching in the National Hockey League at the same time. Beyond that, I wonder if they ever imagined they'd throw their players under the bus on the same night. After Chicago's 1-0 loss to Columbus last night, Coach Savard went rip city on a number of unnamed players that the team has committed to via long-term contracts, but whom he feels have not committed to paying the price for victory:

"They were very happy when they signed it ... Well, commit to us, commit to the jersey, commit to the people here. They don't want to commit to the Indian, let's go upstairs and get them out of here ...

The message of (Chairman Rocky Wirtz, President John McDonough and general manager Dale Tallon) is pretty clear: We're here to win the Stanley Cup. If they want to play like that, we aren't going to win the Stanley Cup."

If "Commit To The Indian" isn't the name of a Blackhawks blog within the next 48 hours, I'll seriously question my faith in Chicago puckheads. Savard went on to say: "If you get cut, too bad. It's the way it is. If you go into that locker room, there's nobody wearing an ice pack or having stitches getting done. None of them." I can't imagine which players he's referring to, but I'm pretty sure one of them rhymes with "Smavlat."

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Coach Sutter did his best Herb Brooks from "Miracle" impression.

Remember that scene in "Miracle," when Brooks had the boys skate endless sprints on the whistle? Last night, after the Devils blew a lead and lost 4-3 to Montreal, Sutter was as frustrated as he's been in his first season in New Jersey. From Devils beat writer Tom Gulitti's Fire and Ice blog:

Sutter was so upset that he ordered a 30-minute team stationary bicycle workout after the game before the players could head their separate ways for the break.

"If they don't like it, too bad," Sutter said. "Patting themselves on the back. They've already got their plans going to Vegas or wherever they're going when the game is half over. I can't accept that. They can work in the gym now if they don't want to work on the ice."

I'm guessing this is the last time any of the Devils will be discussing blackjack strategy on the bench during a game.