Canucks' Ruutu takes out frustration on Cooke

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Vancouver Canucks winger Jarkko Ruutu took out his frustration over his minimal playing time by getting into a fight with teammate Matt Cooke during Friday's practice.

Ruutu took exception to a slash from Cooke, who dropped his gloves, pulled Cooke's jersey up over his head and began throwing uppercuts before the other players broke it up.

Neither player was hurt.

"There's a lot of frustration on my side," said Ruutu, who has played in just three of his team's 13 games this season.

Cooke shrugged off the scuffle.

"I slashed his stick, and apparently he didn't like it," he said. "He's a guy fighting for a spot to get into a game. He'll do what it takes."

It's the second time this year a fight has broken out during a Canucks practice. Earlier in the season, goaltender Dan Cloutier was angry after a high shot and went after enforcer Mike Brown. Brown was later put on waivers and picked up by Anaheim.

Coach Marc Crawford wasn't concerned about Friday's fight.

"I read an article in the paper today on how fighting in games is way down," he said. "Maybe it's a good thing it's way up in practices. We'll start selling tickets to practices."

Ruutu, who was a member of the Finnish Olympic team, played in 49 games last season, scoring two goals and contributing seven assists. He said he has talked to management about his concerns, and he hasn't asked for a trade.

"All I want is to play," he said. "I'd rather play here, that's my goal. But if it's not going to happen here, hopefully I'll get a chance somewhere else."