Flames in new territory preparing to face Jets
Unprecedented layoff before playoffs provides unique test for Ward’s staff
During an hour-long video call with local media, nobody asked Calgary Flames interim coach Geoff Ward who would be starting in net for Game 1 of their post-pandemic play-in series.
There’ll be plenty of time for that. Tons of time.
Ward and his behind-the-bench buddies are now facing an unprecedented scenario — a prolonged pause, a midsummer restart and then the sudden shift from the monotony of training camp to the intensity of a post-season series … and with two months (or more) to think about it.
Teams typically have a handful of days to prep for a playoff assignment. Not a handful of weeks.
“We often talk as coaches about wanting to play your best hockey at the end of the year, at the most important time of the year,” Ward said. “And for us, this isn’t any different — we want to be playing our best hockey. But now we have to do it coming out of a break.”
If not, their stay in the NHL’S playoff bubble won’t last long.
We know now that the Flames, as the eighth seed in the Western Conference, will meet the Winnipeg Jets in a best-of-five play-in series, the first stage of the NHL’S 24-team post-season format.
We don’t know when, with the timeline still TBA due to the COVID-19 crisis. (Team facilities will reopen soon for small-group skates, but training camps won’t begin until at least July.)
We don’t know where, although 10 potential hub cities have been shortlisted.
We don’t know who will be Calgary’s go-to goalie, with the debate — David Rittich or Cam Talbot?
— really starting to heat up right before the pandemic hit.
Ward and his assistants will certainly study the Jets — that process started long before the return-toplay plan was made official — but he also stressed that they don’t want to “focus on Winnipeg so, so much that we’re frozen by it.”
After all, the ultimate goal isn’t to simply survive the qualification round.
“The most important thing for us is, ‘How are we going to deliver our program so that we’re ready to play?’ ” Ward said. “We’ve done an awful lot of things in the past nine or 10 weeks. We have pre-scouted numerous teams, not only in the Western Conference but the Eastern Conference. We’ve watched how teams play in both conferences. We’ve watched European teams. We’ve watched the old NHL games that have been on, the world championships … There are always things you can glean from watching, so we’ve done an awful lot of things like that.
“We have also talked to a number of coaches in a variety of different sports. I’ve talked to them about how you deal with layoffs, and what do you think the best scenario to return to play is? We’re trying to leave nothing unturned in terms of deciding ultimately where we’re going to go with our plan. We feel right now like our plan is fairly in place.
“Obviously, now we get to study Winnipeg a little bit more,” he continued. “But it’s more about us. I’ve talked about that all year — ‘The most important thing is us.’ So as much as we respect our opponent, we know what their strengths are, we know what they’re going to offer us and we know how they’re going to play in all situations and what they’re going to bring to the table, the most important thing for us is, ‘What are we going to do? Let’s get to our game, and what’s that going to involve?’
“Because what we want to do is make sure that when the puck drops in the first game, we are ready to go and we’re firing on all cylinders. For us, really, that’s where the focus has to be with our preparation. It’s about the Calgary Flames and it’s about preparing the Calgary Flames for playoff hockey. The Winnipeg Jets are our first opponent, and then we’ll take it from there.”
When the Saddledome reopens for small-group workouts, there will be a maximum of six players allowed in the arena at one time.
Coaches will not be allowed on the ice for those voluntary skates. In fact, the skippers can’t have any contact with the stars during Phase 2 of the NHL’S relaunch.
Instead, Ward & Co. will continue to tinker with their training-camp plan, walking a fine line between trying to simulate highstakes game action but also not risking injuries to guys who have been mostly limited to Peloton rides and rollerblading during this lengthy layoff. As he put it: “The key or secret is figuring out how to get your team playing the best coming out of that time frame.”
What we want to do is make sure when the puck drops in the first game ... we’re firing on all cylinders