Players have more sense of urgency than coaches in playoff push

The Coaches Room is a regular feature throughout the 2025-26 season by former NHL coaches and assistants who turn their critical gaze to the game and explain it through the lens of a teacher. In this edition, Drew Bannister, former coach of the St. Louis Blues and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League, and defenseman with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and New York Rangers, provides insight into what a coach might be thinking when it comes to motivating and managing the team in the final month of a Stanley Cup Playoff push, and what qualities could define a playoff-ready team.

I think it depends where you are in the standings, but the sense of urgency for each game really ramps up and the desperation for winning hockey games, or at least getting points, becomes paramount in the final month leading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

I think it's more of a sense of urgency from the players. I don't think the coaching staff really treats it any differently than any other game during the regular season even though the games themselves certainly mean a lot more at that point. I think the preparation stays the same but it's just the urgency and the time for the players, and what it means to them when it comes from game to game and being able to reset yourself and refocus yourself from game to game, because every point is important. 

We see that a lot this time of the year where teams are out of the playoffs one night and then you win a game and all of a sudden, you're in a position where you're in the playoffs and one or two of those teams are now looking up at teams that are in and start to chase a little bit. It's important for the players and the coaching staff to kind of stay in the moment and not get too caught up in scoreboard-watching and instead just focus on your team and the task at hand and what you need to do that night to have success.

I think by this time in the season most teams have built their identity and structure in, but I think there's critical moments in the game where teams need to kind of rise to finding ways to win hockey games in critical moments, whether it's how they start games, how they finish their periods, the opportunities they have on the power play to cash in or to get a big kill. I think those moments in the games are really harped on as those critical moments in to really bear down and be difference-makers. You want players out there who want to be in those positions to have success and be a part of that team. It really comes down to the details in the games, critical moments and understanding when they come and making sure that you're ready for them.

When it comes to resting players, it all depends on where you are in the standings. I think there's some teams that can afford to do that toward the end, but there are teams that can't afford to do it because every point matters and a lot of times it comes down to the last weekend or the last game of the season, whether they're able to make it or not. But certainly, if you have the luxury to do it, some coaches might limit the time that some of the top players might play or even give them a night off, if that's a possibility. But you certainly don't want to stretch that out too far because you want to make sure that you're playoff ready and that your team's playing at a high level when you begin the postseason.

The bottom line is, I think every team is different and it's the qualities within and that were learned that make them good. I think the biggest thing for me when you reach the playoffs is consistency and being able to play at a high level of what your identity is as a team. I think it comes down to that, really. There's always going to be the odd bounce that goes your way or doesn't go your way. 

I think as long as you're consistent from shift to shift, period to period and game to game, whether you lose or you win those games, it's much easier to get back on track. When you're very confident in the way you play and know that the group you have in front of you is going to be consistent in the way they play and the identity they play to, your job as coach is that much easier.