Change Or Die

For the men behind the bench, the road to the Stanley Cup is a MapQuest puzzle of gut-wrenching decisions and calculated adjustments. There's a fine line between road warriors and roadkill, and it's drawn by the coaches who read and react to an opponent's every move. Few, if any, have understood the game within like Scotty Bowman, hoister of a record nine Cups, with the Canadiens, Penguins and Red Wings. Bowman admits he relished getting inside the heads of his foes. "I did a lot of stuff just so the other team couldn't read me," he says. "I didn't want to be predictable." Who better to help us look at the buttons the final four coaches will have to push as each pulls his team toward a title?

BRING THE RIGHT GUYS
For Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, activating two AHL recalls during the first round-C Dustin Penner (6'4", 245 pounds) and LW Travis Moen (6'2", 216)-was a big decision. Literally. "Against a very physical team like Calgary, we added about 500 pounds to our lineup with just two guys," he says. The Ducks' Game 7 victory, and Penner's performance in their subsequent sweep of the Avs, validated Carlyle's move. Penner, with six points, and linemates Joffrey Lupul and Todd Marchant have outscored the team's top unit, centered by Teemu Selanne, 19 points to nine against Colorado. "A lot of big men don't have the nose for the net Penner has," says Carlyle. "He has offensive skills and he's strong on the puck."

Against big Oilers D's Chris Pronger (6'6", 220) and Jason Smith (6'3", 215), Penner's strength and size are again as important as his production. Not all teams, though, have the luxury of healthy options. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff has tinkered with his lineup out of desperation. He had to replace D Dmitri Kalinin (broken ankle) and C Tim Connolly (concussion). Two guys have filled Connolly's skates so far, but against the speedy Canes and into the Finals, Thomas Vanek will be the choice; his scoring touch (25 regularseason goals) gives Ruff four quick lines to roll out.

MAKE THE TOUGH CALLS
It's the postseason move of last resort: changing the goaltender. "It can be a big gamble," says Bowman, who planned on pulling star stopper Ken Dryden (for Bunny Larocque) after a bad Game 1 loss to the Rangers in the 1979 Finals. (The unlucky Bunny got hurt in Game 2 warmups-and Dryden led the Habs to their fourth consecutive Cup.) Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette rolled the dice after his team dropped the first two games of its opening series against the Canadiens. Desperate for a win in Montreal, Laviolette had a choice: struggling starter Martin Gerber or 22-year-old rookie backup Cam Ward. Laviolette, with an eye on the big picture, opted for the kid. "We figured if Cam lost Game 3, we could go back to Marty for Game 4," he says. "It would have been tough to go to Cam if we were down 0-3." Ward made the boss look smart, winning eight of his nine starts on the way to the conference finals.

In the West, the Ducks' Carlyle plucked his own ace off the bench. Facing elimination against the Flames, Carlyle replaced dinged-up starter J-S Giguere with Ilya Bryzgalov. The little-known Russian responded with six straight wins. Ward and Bryzgalov shouldn't get too comfy in the crease, though. Both coaches say they won't hesitate to switch back. You know, if all else fails. We know: That's cold.

SWITCH ON THE FLY
The Ducks, who wreaked havoc on the penalty kill all season (83.5% success rate), simply reeked at home in Game 3 against the Flames, letting in three power-play goals. That set assistant Dave Farrish to tweaking. He had his unit shift from a box configuration to a diamond (see below) as the puck moved on O. That effectively sealed off the right side of the ice, the one anchored by RW Jarome Iginla and point man D Dion Phaneuf. "In the playoffs," says Bowman, "you've got to be ready to improvise." The Ducks improvised their way to allowing just one more power-play goal in the series' last four games, then swept the Avalanche with the same man-down strategy, neutralizing C Joe Sakic and D Rob Blake. Anaheim's penalty kill was a perfect 24-for-24.

"When you keep playing the same team, it's like a chess match," says Farrish. "Every time you make a change, you know they're going to make another adjustment. You try to anticipate what they're going to do to combat what you've done, then give options to your players." Not in practice, not between periods and not after watching video-on the bench before the next unit steps onto the ice. So the Ducks penalty killers, led by the lane-filling, shot-blocking brothers Niedermayer, will have Oilers LW Ryan Smyth and D Pronger in their sights now-until something else comes up.

GET THE RIGHT MATCHUP
Oilers coach Craig MacTavish looks to send his top defensive duo-Pronger and Smith-against an opponent's best offensive line. They play so many minutes (almost 30 mpg), it's difficult to avoid them. The veteran nasties did a nice job limiting the league's leading scorer, Joe Thornton, to five points in six games in the second round. In a perfect world, the Ducks' top line (RW Teemu Selanne, C Andy McDonald and LW Chris Kunitz) would skate as far away from Pronger and Smith as possible. "Most of the time, a team, especially when they have the last change at home, is going to get the matchup they're after," Bowman says. "But you have to be careful not to disturb your own team's flow." Adds MacTavish: "It's easier for us to change two defensemen than for the other team to change three forwards."

In the second round, Laviolette successfully disrupted the matchup-crazy Devils by double-shifting star C Eric Staal. "Sometimes, you do things just to elicit a response," Laviolette admits. Both Laviolette and Ruff like the matchup game. That's why you'll see Canes two-way C Rod Brind'Amour up against the Sabres' skilled pivot Daniel Briere. And why the Sabres are happy to have ultra-competitive F Chris Drury across from Staal.

And when the coaches don't get the matchups they want? Bowman says to trust your roster: "A role player can rise up and be more of a factor than he'd be in the regular season. You just have to recognize when it's happening."

Print Article . Email Article. Subscribe to The Magazine