NLL Insider

The NLL playoff picture became a little clearer after this week’s action. The West is now settled for contestants with just the division title game between Colorado and San Jose and the battle for third or fourth between Portland and Calgary left to settle. In the East, New York, Philadelphia and Rochester will battle for the last two spots. Minnesota and Buffalo are in.

So what’s next? Focus time. When the playoffs begin, you get one shot. There are no second chances. You better be prepared and on your game or the season will be over before you want it to be. And it’s not just the players that need to be focused.  Coaches, trainers, equipment personnel, and logistics people all need to be on their games for a team to succeed in the postseason.

The focus thing even extends to owners who must understand at this critical time of the season to not introduce distractions into the routines of the organization. There will be enough distractions as it is with things like the general increase in media attention and last-minute travel, practice, ticket, family and game arrangements.

Playoff time is when goaltending and special teams become critical. It really wouldn’t be all that much of a surprise if any one of the eight post-season competitors wins the championship this year. A three-game hot streak by a goalie could carry you all the way and there are plenty of candidates to do just that.

Take a look at what Matt Roik and Curtis Palidwor did for their respective clubs in the month of March and you quickly get the idea.  Power play, short man, face-off, 6 on 5, ball-ragging and ball-chasing special teams are all critical components of a successful trophy run. As I used to harp on my players, you must be fundamentally sound, technically correct and exercise wise, situational judgment at all times. One slip could mean the end. And you have to do all this while trying to stay relaxed and confident so you’re not squeezing the sticks or worried about making a mistake. You’ve also got to be able to withstand and overcome adversity when it strikes. It ain’t easy.

I watched the Wings/Titans and Rock/Roughnecks games on the weekend. Both were  playoff-like settings, revealing the dramatic increase in  importance of the “little things” that frequently have a big impact on the game result. In the Philly/New York game, a couple of situations pop to mind to illustrate. The Wings trailed throughout but in the fourth quarter looked like they were on the verge of catching the Titans. However, with the score 8-7 early in the quarter and Philly with some momentum, Taylor Wray took an avoidable penalty. On the ensuing power play, Mike McLellan scooped up a mishandled rebound by Brandon Miller and popped it in to regain a two-goal margin.

Iannucci closed the gap to one again at 9-8 and the Wings were next on a power play when they allowed a shorthanded goal by Pat Maddelena. Shorthanded goals against really are pretty much inexcusable in my book. Nonetheless, with 2:30 to go, the Wings were still only down 2 goals and had another PP. But Rob Van Beek committed the cardinal sin of taking a penalty on the ball chasers team while attempting to double team one of the Titans’ short-hand raggers. Game over. Little things with big impacts. And speaking of overcoming adversity, the Titans played the entire second half without the services of Casey Powell. No word yet as to why Casey was a second half no-show but kudos to the Titans for persevering.

There were several “little things” that turned the tide in the Roughnecks/Rock match-up. They happened throughout the game but a couple in the fourth quarter sealed the playoff fate of the Rock. Jim Veltman scored a key goal 25 seconds into the quarter to give the Rock a three-goal lead at 11-8. Significantly, it was the last goal they would score. Shortly after, the Roughnecks had a harmless looking 2-on-2 transition going with Chris Seller and Mike Carnegie but the Rock defender on the off-ball man (Carnegie) didn’t play the passing lane angle correctly, allowing a cross floor pass behind him. Carnegie snared the pass from Seller and cashed to make it 11-9.  Mistake #1.

Mistake #2 was the result of a very sloppy change by the Rock. In the fourth quarter at the Saddledome, the Roughnecks offense is entering the floor from the deep gate.  Around the 9:45 mark, the Rock lost possession of the ball and all five O guys headed to the bench. Nolan Heavenor raced to the other end with the ball and Josh Sanderson exploded out the deep O gate with only one Rock defender able to get back in time. Heavenor executed the 2 on 1 perfectly with a crease to crease pass to Josh who, in turn, cashed to make it 11-10.

Mistake #3 was again the result of a sloppy change by the Rock and the opportunistic play of the Roughnecks. This time, the Rock simply didn’t get their defenders on the floor quickly enough to sort checks properly and Chris Driscoll got caught trying to catch up to a speeding Scott Ranger , who took a cross-floor pass from Jeff Shattler and scored to make it 11-11. From there it was just a matter of who was going to get the best chance in overtime and fittingly, it was Calgary captain Tracey Kelusky scoring the OT winner at 2:56.

Little things! They’re going to play a huge role from here on in. It’s draining to focus as acutely as needed for long periods of time. Everyone has to be involved. Everyone has to help. It will take the collective efforts of players, coaches, trainers, managers, administrative staff and owners to win it all. And even if you manage to do it all right, you still may need a little dose of good fortune and luck to achieve the ultimate.  It’s what team games are all about.

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