Two Different Approaches

by Travis Hughes on Apr 16, 2009 3:47 AM EDT

I saw something in the pre-game one press conferences yesterday that I thought was pretty interesting. John Stevens said in his presser that he goes in to each playoff series with the full expectation that it's going to go seven games, because if you treat it like you're going to win in four, you can find yourself looking ahead before the job is done. If you believe it's going to be a seven game series off the bat, then you bring the heat until you get to four wins.

A reporter, I believe John Boruk from CSN, asked Dan Bylsma what he thought of that method. Bylsma said that "it's a race to four, not a best of seven" and that's how his team is going to approach a series.

What do you guys think? Should a playoff series be approached as a "sprint to four" or a seven-game marathon?

Poll

I hate these question boxes when I already asked the damn question in the post....

Sprint to four

28 votes

Seven game marathon

12 votes

40 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

I definitely like the sprint to four choice, although the seven game battle mind set could be useful when you drop a first game in the manner Philly did last night. I wonder if Stevens’ choice of words would have been different if they had won?

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by Mr. Plank on Apr 16, 2009 4:42 AM EDT reply actions

Both comments were made before the game, but I definitely think there’s a different mentality (and probably, a different result in this poll) given that the Flyers lost game one.

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by Travis Hughes on Apr 16, 2009 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions

This comment by John just shows how out of touch Stevens is with the NHL. It’s fine to feel this way during the regular season but in the postseason it most definitely is a sprint. Look at the Phillies in 2007 as opposed to 2008. They took the “we still have 4 more games approach” in 2007 and got swept in the first round. In 2008, they learned you have to win as many games as quickly as possible and stay hot to win it all.

I think Stevens is completely deluded and he had better stop saying they play well when they don’t…making excuses for a team that hasn’t really shown up to play in weeks…because his job is on the line. If you think Snider will be happy with a first round exit after all the money he’s spent and all the talent on this team, think again.

by doubleh on Apr 16, 2009 11:53 AM EDT reply actions

I like the 7 game marathon one since we seem to always drop the first game.

by The Legend on Apr 16, 2009 3:18 PM EDT reply actions

sprint for four. what are you saving energy for, its the playoffs, its like a oh well if we’re down by 2 goals lets play the fourth line and get them next time. i dont think stevens is an idiot, that is im having a hard time accepting it, but if you cant fire up your players i dont know what you should be doing. the mentality has to be survival, not marathon, i’m pretty sure no team sits back and picks and chooses which games they’d like to exert effort on.

by kolparty on Apr 16, 2009 3:38 PM EDT reply actions

direct quote from john stevens

“I think the intensity of the playoffs and this game went up a little bit, and I don’t think we went with it,” Stevens said.
source http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/43085307.html

by kolparty on Apr 16, 2009 3:56 PM EDT up reply actions

And THAT is inexcusable

Isn’t this what you play all year for? The playoffs? Do they have somewhere else they’d rather be? Tee times, perhaps?

I don’t want to hear that from the head coach; I want to hear we lacked intensity and it’s not gonna happen again.

I like John, and he seems like a very nice guy, but nice guys often finish last as the saying goes. He may not be the right guy for a young team like this that’s still developing an identity. He lets them do their own thing a bit too much, I think, and I think some of that autonomy needs to be taken away until they’ve rightfully earned it.

by doubleh on Apr 16, 2009 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Well, at least he was correct in assessing the situation. haha.

by eac on Apr 17, 2009 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Sprint to four. The season was long and the playoffs are amp’d up. Why would you want to prolong a win any longer than you have to? If you can get to the Finals with the least games played then you’d spared yourself a few more hits, fights, injuries, etc. I think sprinting to four also allows for a little down time between series to let the guys heal up. Can’t say I agree with Stevens, and frankly I’d openly admit it if I did.

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by FrankD on Apr 16, 2009 3:56 PM EDT reply actions

Are they mutually exclusive?

If I had to pick one approach I’d pick “spring to 4” (that’s what I voted) but I think the two can be reconciled. If you prepare for the series expecting it to go 7 then you aren’t surprised or deflated if you lose a game or two. You can go in expecting a long series but still race to get the 4 Ws as quickly as you can. Fight every game for the W and then move forward for the next one. If you go in thinking “I’m going to sprint to 4 and win this series in 4” then a setback is more of a problem.

by Rob Parker on Apr 18, 2009 5:25 PM EDT reply actions