Time management for goalies imperative down stretch

To play or to rest your starting goalie down the stretch is no small question for most NHL teams as they plan for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Much goes into managing those minutes.

The NHL standings have a major impact. While fighting for a berth, you must win games and, therefore, put your best roster on the ice as often as possible, including your most consistent goalie.
\[RELATED: Capitals facing goalie decision\]
Beyond the standings, travel, schedule (especially back-to-back games), prior and expected workload and yes, touch wood, injuries are the major factors that go into the eventual plan.
It's the time of year when the role of the NHL goaltending coach is accentuated. He must assess the No. 1 goalie's performances, discuss with his top goalie issues such as physical health and mental state and recommend to the coach an ideal game plan for the starter and the backup for the remaining games.
The goal is to ensure quality starts from your top goalie throughout what is, hopefully, a long run in the postseason.
When chasing a spot in the playoffs, a goaltending coach must be wise enough to limit practice time and manage rest. In my experience, an adapted practice routine has always been best.
Demanding quality repetitions during goalie drills is much more important than the quantity of reps. For instance, I'd prefer the backup increase the number of reps (say, to six) in any given drill and have the starting goalie decrease (say, to three quality reps) while still demanding the same level of speed and detail.
Simplifying the message is also important. Good ideas are shortening video meetings and using key words such as "calm," "quiet" and "swagger."

Patrick Roy, who has won more playoff games than any other goalie, would write on his blocker, "Be a warrior," to remind himself daily to maintain positive body language and show opponents and teammates how fierce a competitor he was.
Managing results that don't go as planned is another key component.
What happened must be analyzed, processed and, most importantly, forgotten quickly in order to maintain a high level of confidence heading into the playoffs. Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Grant Fuhr still talks often about having a short memory that allowed him to mentally "park" a tough night so he could reset and prepare for the next start. I think great goalies have a track record of being able to forget and move on.
Having coached in each conference, I can attest that it is much easier for a goaltender to play more games in the Eastern Conference. I believe Martin Brodeur was able to play 78 regular-season games in 2006-2007 because of shorter road trips. Teams on the Pacific coast (San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Vancouver Canucks) must also adjust and deal with a different time zone, and sometimes time changes of three hours, on most of their road trips.
The ideal plan is to have a reliable backup who plays at least every 10 days. This allows a team to not only rest its starter, but also allows the backup to keep his own rhythm just in case an injury occurs to the No. 1.
Recent seasons have shown us how important this is.
Look at the tandems of Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Scott Darling and Corey Crawford with the Chicago Blackhawks. It shows that teams need to trust each goalie's ability to give their team a chance to win for at least a short stretch.
My own playoff experiences have been with the Calgary Flames from 2003-09, working under Mike Keenan and Darryl Sutter.
In 2003-2004, Miikka Kiprusoff came to us in a trade on Nov. 16, 2003, for a conditional pick in the 2005 NHL Draft. Kiprusoff had to deal with a knee injury in late November. During his rehabilitation, he had some key work time in a quiet environment, working on elements of his game like handling the puck.

It also allowed him some important rest; he played 39 games that season, and Roman Turek and Jamie McLennan carried the mail for us and allowed us to remain competitive.
Once healthy and energized, Kiprusoff brought that team all the way to a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
After the lockout year, Keenan started Kiprusoff 74 times in 2007-08, and the Flames lost in the first round of the playoffs to the San Jose Sharks. But for Keenan, there was no question that he was living or dying with his top goaltender.
Let me share this story with you: Arriving in the early morning in Denver to play the Avalanche on the back end of back-to-back games, I suggested to Keenan that putting in our backup, Curtis McElhinney, might be a wise decision because it would allow Kiprusoff to rest and get back to his winning ways. Upon arrival at the downtown hotel, Keenan met Kiprusoff as he stepped off the team bus and bluntly asked him if he knew Glenn Hall. Half asleep, Kiprusoff said no. Keenan replied, "Glenn Hall played five years without a break so you are playing our next game here against the Avalanche!"
That was the end of any discussion about putting McElhinney in goal for the rest of the season.
I also recall the previous year, 2006-07 when the Anaheim Ducks won the Cup, they gave Jean-Sebastien Giguere 53 starts. He split time with Ilya Bryzgalov. They needed both goalies during the playoffs, and Bryzgalov's four starts allowed Giguere to get back on track and adjust his details with his goaltending coach, Francois Allaire.
\[RELATED: Super 16: Predators unanimous No. 1\]
This season, some teams have heavily ridden their No. 1 goalie. The Winnipeg Jets have played Connor Hellebuyck in 63 games already, the same number Frederik Andersen has played in Toronto. The Columbus Blue Jackets have played Sergei Bobrovsky 62 times, but are in a fight for their playoff lives. Will they run out of gas?
Conversely, will the well-managed minutes of Tuukka Rask with the Boston Bruins (49 games), Brayden Holtby (51) with the Washington Capitals andPekka Rinne (56) with the Nashville Predators allow their respective teams to ultimately compete for the Cup?
I think there's ample evidence now that teams need to consider that a more realistic number of starts is a maximum range of 60-65 games in the regular season to ensure that the No. 1 goalie is healthy, physically and mentally, and energized for the duration of an excruciating two months of playoff hockey.