With the NHL playoffs on hold until May 27th the big focus has been on teams getting healthy. At this time of the year it is an important factor, but the teams have been away from competition for anywhere from seven to ten days. Coaches and the analytics guru’s will be formulating game plans and analyzing opposition tendencies with the goal of winning the Stanley Cup.
During the course of a game, perception and decision making never ends. The quality of decision making can decide how a game finishes. Decision making and in game perceptions also influences momentum and whoever has momentum has the best chance of winning.
The Blues and the Bruins have the expectation to win the Stanley Cup. If expectations take over, the outcome is in trouble. Hard work does not equal success. Hard work prepares you for the journey. Great teams demonstrate excellence, they execute greatness every shift they play. After a loss have you ever heard a player say “I’ve got to be better”? They have judged themselves and they have made it personal. It is alright to be critical of yourself but not to the point where it is self-destructive.Comments like that have destructive under currents. It is the critical eye that makes teams better. Coaches and players need to drive the result not expect the result.
Our brain is very adaptive. It is a muscle that needs to be exercised and gets more powerful with use. With practice you can change the way you feel, think, and act when adversity hits. That is the challenge that faces these two teams. It will be the Coaching staffs that have prepared their team the best over the 82 game seasons plus playoffs on how to handle adversity and use resilience to capture momentum. It is a Coachable tactic, but not to the average fan that focuses on power plays, and penalty killing. It is invisible, yet so critical to success.
I really do not care who wins the Cup for a variety of reasons, but I will be watching the invisible game within the actual game to see who can preserve when they face misfortune.
The team that does that the best will hoists the 34.5 pounds of silver and nickel towards the sky.
Until next time!
@Betweentheears2
Between The Ears 