Most teams are either into or about to go into the postseason playoffs. The following are preparations that should be done for the playoffs as opposed to regular season games.

Certainly, most preparation for the way a team will play must have already been done during practices and games as the season progressed. This includes building the basic skills of skating, passing, shooting and stickhandling, as well as development of systems of breakouts, forechecking, power plays and penalty killing.

It is not a very good idea to try to introduce new systems at this stage of the game. A new power play, for example, that has not been tested in games will not likely be very successful. It is also not the time to switch lines around too much, although minor fine-tuning is still in order.

I believe that it is not a good idea to leave lines and systems the same all year long because teams get flat after a while, even if everything is going reasonably well. Changes during the season also make players a little more flexible. They find out that if a line is changed somewhat, they may even get better – or a different forecheck system can be good. If a change is necessary due to injury or other problems at the end of the season or in the playoffs, the players will remember and will more easily go with the flow and continue to perform well. 

I also believe that variations in levels of positive response and levels of confidence building provided by coaches need to be varied over the length of the season. There really isn’t anything wrong with some (not too much) turmoil on occasion. Sometimes teams need to have some tough times with some equally tough coaching at a few spots during the season to be able to lift up to another level. 

Hopefully, the playoffs will help lift a team up to meet a bigger challenge. Just before and during playoffs are good times to be positive and enhance players’ confidence.

As the playoffs approach, consistency and control become very important. Playing with good intensity for as large a percentage of each game as possible becomes one of the key goals that coaches have to get their team to strive for. Teams that can get and stay focused throughout the playoffs will generally do the best they are capable of doing. 

Inconsistent play and loss of emotional and physical control are the biggest enemies in the playoffs, especially when they are single elimination. It only takes a couple of players to be out of control or for the team to take a half period off and the season could be over. The playoffs involve increased pressure when teams need to “do their jobs” the best they have all season. Confidence helps overcome pressure.

As the playoffs approach, all players should finally be comfortable with what their jobs are at all of the different areas of the ice. Sometimes it takes all year for this to happen. That doesn’t mean that all players can do their jobs in all different areas. This is a matter of skill, rather than understanding – and skill improvement goes on over many years.

The skill work needs to continue in practice as do occasional check-ins on systems. Otherwise, coaches should be trying to generate good line flow, good competitive feelings and be working on the little things that can make the difference in close games.

Specifically for playoff games, a few key things are more critical:

• Early in all games, the systems should be conservative, to get the feel of the game and the other team. The coaches need to feel what the “rhythm of the game” (as my son John calls it) is. The other team may be aggressive or playing conservative. They may be waiting for the other team to make a mistake – or trying to force mistakes.

• Coaches need to be careful to match up lines and players. They need to know which lines(s) and players on the opposition have produced the most goals, and which opposition defensemen are the weakest and strongest. Depending upon depth, they will want to either play three or four lines – but must match the opposition to cover their top lines. The coach can choose to be the leader or follower as to line matches.

• Coaches must keep their team relaxed, but ready to play. It is much better to not “rah-rah” too much. Many players don’t perform well under those conditions. I always have liked a minute or two of positive visualization just before going on for the puck drop.

• Coaches must be very well-prepared – no last minute emergencies with any controllable items, such as pucks, equipment, discussions before and after warm-ups, and the like.

• Most coaches want to have scouted the opposition and have a specific game plan that will work best, and know exactly which opposition player must be watched more carefully or even “shadowed.” Of course, most plans fall apart early, so players must have on-ice leaders as well as players that can react to the situations.

• Trying to stress minimizing penalties is, of course, very important.

One of the things that coaches must also do is to make certain that success in the playoffs is not a make-or-break for measuring full-season success. After the first round, half of the teams in the area will be done! The playoffs have to be the icing, rather than the cake. Everyone wants to win and go to the district, section or state tournament. 

It’s mostly too late now to do the most important things that needed to be done all season long. But watch those little items. They may be all it takes to get to the second round or the finals. Then you can never tell what might happen. The players all dream and so do we as coaches. Dreams only happen, however, with good solid play for three periods each and every game of the playoffs.

Order John Russo’s new chapterized book, “The Best of 26 Years of John Russo’s Coaches Corner”. It has been described as a “must read” for all youth coaches. Go to Russocoachescorner.com for information and ordering.

John Russo, Ph.D., is founder and now mentor to the Upper Midwest High School Elite League. He was a captain at the University of Wisconsin and recipient of prestigious hockey awards at the state (Peterson award) and national levels (Snooks Kelly). His Coaches Corner columns have appeared in Let’s Play Hockey each year since 1986.

Photo: Mike Thill