After losing 6-2 in Game 2, Habs head coach Michel Therrien, back, could probably use the off-days to let emotions settle.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
Free time, comedian Jon Stewart once said, is death to the anxious. So the late-night host makes sure to have as little of it as possible.
Similarly, when you're an NHL coach and a few hours of leisure pop up – say, two days between playoff contests – the instinct is to fill them, quickly.
In the modern game, everyone uses that time to dissect video: Games and individual performances are instantly broken down, vulnerabilities are identified and tactics developed to exploit them.
Yet, both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens, who renew acquaintances on Wednesday in their second-round playoff matchup, were given the day off on Monday.
While players relax, coaches toil. "We've got a bunch of hard-working guys, so it's hard to keep them away [from the rink]," Tampa Bay Lightning bench boss Jon Cooper said of his assistant coaches.
Cooper is described by his players as approachable and genial, but he can be borderline fanatical about game details such as positioning. He forced himself to stay far from his office at Amalie Arena on Monday, but admitted coaches don't really get time off during the playoffs.
"You want to say we do, but … right when you think you've got everything covered, something pops up," Cooper said. "To get away from the rink a little bit, which I did, was good for me. But it's always on your mind, you're always bringing it home with you. For me, I had to guard against it a little bit, because I just don't want [it] to be hockey all the time."
The even-keeled approach is related to the painful experience of a year ago, when the Lightning were down 0-2 to Montreal on the way to being swept. Back then, he said, "I was probably feeling sorry for myself or something, some emotion I shouldn't have been feeling. So you learn."
As a rookie coach, he continued, "you want to come and make a big splash. And it was not a good splash."
Montreal counterpart Michel Therrien said of the break that, "Honestly, there aren't a lot of adjustments to be made" and the chief benefit of the extra day between games was letting "the emotions settle."
He was nominally speaking about his players, but given his postgame mien after Game 2's blowout, Therrien could just as easily have been talking about himself. He is a stickler for preparation in the regular season, but Habs players say there is little in the way of group video analysis or teaching in the playoffs. One said the club hasn't had a single strategy session outside the short pregame presentation at 5 p.m. on game days.
The focus is on mindset and attitude. "It's simple: You leave it all on the ice, or you don't," defenceman P.K. Subban said, adding: "It's about playing for a Stanley Cup. You want to win? Show up."
There is a limited that an NHL coach can do – despite the systemization of hockey, the guy behind the bench doesn't have as direct influence as a football or basketball coach prowling a sideline.
"It isn't an easy job. It's not just about standing there behind the bench and looking mean, chewing gum," Tampa defenceman Braydon Coburn said.
The teams were back on the ice to work out the kinks in full practices on Tuesday; their approaches were a study in contrasts. Tampa's practice was spent simulating game situations – players were evidently instructed to back-check. Montreal's was mostly about odd-man situations, zone exits, shooting, more shooting and generally feeling positive.
Both were light-hearted affairs, and though bonhomie comes more easily to the team with the series lead, Therrien insisted his players' outlook is genuine.
Therrien may not be implementing a lot of tactical tweaks, but he's an inveterate line-juggler, and coaching is about adapting. Clearly, his assistants worked over the past two days to identify fixes for the penalty kill (victimized four times in game two). They will also have analyzed the power play, which has scored just once in eight games (although a few wrinkles appeared in Game 2, notably in the way Subban was used).
There may also be some lineup decisions in the offing. Centre David Desharnais had recovered sufficiently from illness to join his teammates in Florida on Tuesday, but his status for games three and four, which will be played on back-to-back nights, is uncertain.
There is such a thing as overcoaching, and ultimately the outcome of the series will come down to the players, not the men who coach them. The Habs, down two, express confidence. "We come in here and we steal a game, then we'll see what they're really about," Subban said.
Should that happen, the coaches will have less than 24 hours to analyze the game footage and make adjustments before the puck drops on Game 4.
They can sleep when the season's over.