Rest vs. Practice
The Devils will have back-to-back afternoon games against Anaheim Saturday and Vancouver Sunday. The team has already been dealing with a condensed schedule due to the Olympic break in February.
Because of the team being forced to play so many games so frequently, the coaching staff has had to balance the need for rest with the need for practice.
“It’s an everyday battle because you want to practice. There are a lot of things you want to get better at. You want to give the players their touches,” Keefe said. “I think every coach in the league if fighting it now with those decisions. Because there aren’t as many gaps in between where you can get both a little recovery and practice time. You’re constantly fighting that decision.”
With two days between games, the Devils could use one for a recovery and rest day while the other can be a practice day. But the one the schedule has been, there have been one or zero days between games and lots of back-to-backs.
“It makes a difference. It’s a constant battle when you don’t have two days in between, do you rest, do you practice,” Keefe said. “At the end of the day, we have to keep our players on the ice and in the games, we have to stay healthy. They track a lot of different things and give you a pretty good sense when a guy is redlining. You also know when guys are dealing with certain things that if you don’t give them some recovery time, it’s going to become a big issue. It’ll keep them off the ice. That’s a constant battle.”
Due to the circumstances, Keefe makes his decision on holding or canceling practice following a game. Though he’d prefer to make a decision prior so that he isn’t making an emotional decision, there are too many variables during the game that could dictate his decision.
He added: “There are discussions with the players, discussions with the medical team and your overall observations.”
