In the competitive playoff phase, you should try not to introduce new things, new plays or unexplored concepts.
It was right down to the wire! Were we to advance to the regional play downs or not!? Suddenly, a loose puck jumped out into our passive forecheck on an errant pass attempt by their D-man and our top goal scorer picked up the turnover, walked in and buried it with a minute left in regulation! That night, the hockey gods smiled on us. We found a way to win and managed the “W.” We advance! We advance!
This newly found puck luck allowed us to make up for lost time after what seemed like a long, lethargic month of more downs than ups. Injuries, Covid outbreaks, weak practices and mostly satisfactory performances – we seemingly needed to ramp it up now that we had found success.
So is it time to cram, add practices and beef up our overall training schedule as we go into the next round? Our GM certainly believes we need to push the boys hard…
Wrong!
While the post-season adds a lot onto the plate of coaches, it should not equate to more training. In fact, by adding more practices (frequency), longer skates (duration) and greater repetitions and sets of drills (intensity), we are creating deleterious stress and a de-training effect on our players. The result is maladaptation, exhaustion and/or injury. Commonly, these issues occur as general and residual fatigue accumulates. Residual fatigue is characterized by the inability to fully recover and is the most cited cause of performance failure during a playoff season, especially if it extends into extra games, long series and incidental travel.
Instead, your focus as a coach and as a team in practice should be the refinement of both group and team tactics as well as the fine-tuning of special teams. These metiers can be refined and brought towards the ideals needed in the playoffs by using fewer reps, drill sets and modified practice duration. Teams with resources may also choose to utilize additional training modalities and technology like video sessions, dryland setups etc. Coaches may also revisit teachables around positional assignments and the use of on-ice landmarks on escapes and entries. Offensive zone (OZ) faceoff options are also examples of suitable activity to include at this time of year. Above all, seek clarity and understanding from players and as close as possible the near-automatic and near-perfect enactment of these plays. Nothing is worse than drawing a low or high cycle option on the whiteboard in the room or on the bench and seeing puzzled faces and blank stares back at you on game day.
In the competitive playoff phase, you should also try not to introduce new things, new plays or unexplored concepts. Instead, practice familiar sequences that were introduced earlier and now just need a few tweaks to look even better. Consistent and predictable execution is required at this time of year because in competition it is rare to see and expect exceptional outstanding performances to win games, but rather it is the consistent performances regardless of the circumstance that tends to move teams forward from round to round and result in a win in your last game.
Playoff practice also does not mean adding practices (overall volume of training) nor does it mean adding work (raised intensity) above current levels in practice. If you are sensing this need, resist against it because raising training intensity and/or volume in the competitive phase of your season is simply a formula for disaster. The result of which is physical and mental fatigue, injury or exacerbation of sub-threshold injury. Ultimately it is the antecedent of poor performance when the opposite is required.
The recipe for success in the playoffs is an incremental and purposeful taper to training and your season. The need for taper in hockey typically occurs as a greater weekly frequency in games or perhaps back-to-back home and home series are scheduled. This suggests less than or equal practice frequency (practice to game ratios of 1:1 or less) and a noteworthy reduction in reps, sets and duration on the ice. Incorporate non-linear variation, that is in one practice you may run a low corner drill with repeats but in the next, you will not and instead opt for some positioning walk-throughs with instruction and discussion up and activity down. This may then be followed by game-related activity at the next practice to create a metabolic effect. This is known as a type of tactical metabolic training.
Practices during this phase should be short, productive, purposeful and quality-driven. Extend your skate around and warm up and select drills that have numerous puck touches and zone-to-zone movement and flow. Follow these sequences with small area simulations that change as you add constraints that match the predicted tactics from your adversaries. Also, use intervals of “walk-throughs” and positional trials that drop the workload, but increase rehearsal of the mental aspects of the game. For example, most pro teams reduce practice time by at least a quarter or more in their competitive phases and only work on what is needed. This leaves players time for players to recover, rest, recuperate and be fresh for when it matters – in games.
Special teams like the power play (PP) and penalty kill (PK) are also ideally simulated during this period by using small-area games (SAGs). Games and drills like the ones below are some great examples.
Also, don’t forget your non-special team players and the goaltenders. For these players, have them practice individual tactics as well as group escape options, rims, pick-ups and DVC possibilities. At the other end of the rink, offensive entries off the rush and offensive zone, face-off plays can round out your plan. The importance of face-off wins becomes more and more essential the deeper you get into the playoffs. It has been my experience that ‘tenders do not want to see a lot of pucks during this time of the year. Instead, adjust to provide just enough shots so they can stay sharp and keep a good feel of the puck. Keep this in mind when planning any shooting drills.
As a coach, you will be able to call back to practice in your pre-game meetings and talks reminding players of what was just refined in practice and what positions and play emphasis are to be used in this contest. It is this familiarity and comfort level that results in quick on-ice reads and accurate player reactions creating a consistent structure that can be relied on as you and your team surprise them again in the next round.
