This last week of the regular season is different for coaching staffs of teams that already have qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, especially if they're already locked into a first-round matchup.
It is different from any other time in the regular season because there are so many things you're thinking about now that do not directly relate to the game immediately in front of you. At all other times you're thinking about the next game. Now you're thinking about Game 1, which is two, three or four games away.
You have to think about rest and health. You may know a player could play and he's 75-80 percent, but is that worth it? It's a matter of rest vs. work ratio. Are there certain little nicks and injuries players are playing through that they shouldn't be now? Is there a certain way a player feels when he plays vs. when he rests?
I remember back in San Jose going to Joe Thornton about playing vs. resting at this time of the year when we knew we were a playoff team. He's a guy that always wanted to play. He felt worse when he missed games. So those are things you think about when you think about what's at stake for your team.
But I think coaches have to be influential in these decisions. Unless you're going for a personal milestone, or you're like Thornton and playing is what makes you feel good and resting is bad, I think it's a strong suggestion from the coaching staff that they want you to rest. Most players will go with that because they know the grind they're about to get into.
Are some players going for personal milestones? That is a consideration. Maybe a guy has 38 goals and he wants to get to 40. Maybe a goalie is trying to get a career-high in wins. Maybe a player is trying to reach 100 points.
What is the travel like now and what it is going to be like next week? How far do you have to go? How long is your last road trip? Are you home or on the road? Are you playing a back-to-back?
You're asking all of that now and weighing it against the importance of rest. At no other point in the season are you doing that as in-depth as you are now.
People always will talk about how you want your team to be peaking at this time of the season, that you don't want to go into the playoffs losing four or five in a row. Is that a concern? Or is that a bit overblown?
To me, it's not as alarming as it may seem.
The switch naturally flips not only for the coaching staff but also for the players when everyone knows the last regular season game has been played and you wake up the next morning prepared for the first practice of the postseason.
Ask all players at this time of the year, especially the teams that are in, especially if they already know their opponent, and they will tell you it's tough to get mentally prepared for the remaining regular-season games. Their minds are on what's ahead. You can't blame them.
So, yes, there are teams now like the Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes that haven't been at their best for a week or two, if not longer, and have lost some games. But you can take the season as your track record and feel good about that as a coaching staff.
All of those teams have proven to be able to rise to the occasion in the important games. When you have a team with 100 or more points, you know you have a good team and you trust how it can play when the lights turn on. You know your team has been consistent all season or it wouldn't be a 100-point team.
So this last week is trying to get part of that motivation up and just sort of gear up for the playoffs while resting guys and making sure you're in the best position health-wise and rest-wise to be as fresh as possible for Game 1.
You're not doubting your team by how it is playing in the last week, especially if you know the players are not all mentally there because they can't stop thinking about what's ahead.
For coaching staffs, it also helps to know early who you're going to be playing.
We knew by the weekend that Carolina and the New Jersey Devils officially will be playing each other, that it'll be Dallas against Colorado, and the Los Angeles Kings against the Edmonton Oilers. There already is work being done behind the scenes by those staffs.
The coaches have their duties, they've been divided up, and they're already preparing, digging in, building and collecting information. When I say that, it could be analytically, the tendencies teams have, strengths and weaknesses, system changes that have been noticeable.
Obviously you go back to head-to-head matchups throughout the season and look at those guys hard and deep, really dig in.
The big thing becomes matchups. How do they use their top guys? Who takes crucial face-offs and on what side? You're breaking down special teams. You develop reports on every player to see how they're being used. That stuff is all going on already.
If you don't yet know who you're playing entering this week, you're doing multiple studies on the potential opponents to get you started for when that first-round matchup is set.
That first morning the players to come to the rink after playing their final regular season game, you need to have your video, meetings set and practice plan set so that when game day comes they're prepared. Hopefully in that time you're also healthy and you can get some rest, which is why you're working on that through the course of this last week of the regular season.
So, yes, this last week of the season is different for coaching staffs. As much as you're getting through the last few games, it's hard to stay focused, especially if you already know your opponent.
At the end of the day, you're just really just hoping that everybody gets out of the regular season healthy so you can put your Game 1 plan into effect.
