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Beware of the Trap Game

March 18, 2014, 2:25 PM ET [80 Comments]
Eklund
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Last week, I had a conversation with a former NHL player with whom I've become friends over recent years. After making some initial small talk, the conversation turned to hockey. Specifically, we talked about the playoff races in the two Conferences and how the West is already virtually locked in except the wild cards while there is still plenty up for grabs in the East apart from the two division titles.

"Philly has been looking good lately," he said. "I think they are in pretty good shape right now."

"Yeah," I said. "But have you taken a look at their schedule? They have a home-and-home with Penguins, then they play Chicago. After that, they've got Dallas, St. Louis and Los Angeles. They've got two more games left with Boston, yet another one late in the season in Pittsburgh and they still have to travel to St. Louis also."

"Lots of top teams," he said. "But when I was playing, I actually preferred it that way down the stretch. I wanted us to play the top teams. For one thing, you have to bring your best game to get ready for the playoffs against teams like that. Also, sometimes those top teams really don't have too much to play for this time of year until the playoffs start. They might not be as focused as your team is. When I was playing, it was the teams that were out of the race that I hated to play this time of year. Those guys were playing for jobs. Those aren't the games that will come up and bite you if you aren't careful."

When I was watching the Flyers play the Penguins in the home-and-home this weekend, I kept think about our Friday conversation. Indeed, the Penguins were flat and disinterested even though they were playing their arch-rival and had the challenge of overcoming a wave of injuries. Philly, fighting to make the playoffs and finish at least in the top 3 in the Metro, had all the motivation and urgency. It showed on the ice and in the final scores.

My question to all of you is this: Down the stretch drive, would you rather your favorite team face multiple top opponents to set the bar for whether you deserve to be in the playoffs? Or would you rather face teams your club is "supposed" to beat, knowing the risks of the trap-game effect?
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