Here's the essential difference between the Calgary Flames and the Anaheim Ducks, heading into the NHL's second playoff round: Anaheim has so much depth on its blueline that James Wisniewski, a more-than-serviceable defenceman acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets at the trade deadline, was a healthy scratch throughout the first round – even though he scored 34 regular-season points and averaged more than 21 minutes in ice time a night.
Wisniewski was the odd man out because Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau wanted to play a more physical defence corps against the big-bodied Winnipeg Jets. Against the Flames, a smaller team up front that's quick on the fore-check, the Ducks may deploy a more mobile blue line, which means Wisniewski could get back in.
The point is that Boudreau has options. His counterpart, Flames coach Bob Hartley, doesn't. If Wisniewski were playing for the other side, he'd likely be munching big minutes for the Flames, who are essentially going with five defencemen, three of whom – T.J. Brodie, Kris Russell and Dennis Wideman – are playing between 28 and 30 minutes a night.
Hartley joked Monday morning that all three were still immersed in ice baths three days after the series-clinching victory over the Vancouver Canucks. ("They never left.") But on Tuesday, as practice resumed for Thursday's series opener to be played at the Honda Center, Hartley was still carefully managing their ice time.
"It goes beyond the last three or four days," he said. "If you look, it's probably the last two months. We ask those guys to play lots of minutes. They're very important in our game. Plus, we don't just want them to defend. They are basically our motor offensively, so we want them to jump. We want them to be in the play and we're aware that it takes lots of energy. Those guys, they have the power to recover very well. They're great athletes and they want those minutes. They love that responsibility. They're giving us unbelievable hockey."
Brodie's role has changed since his regular partner, Mark Giordano, was injured. He's had to switch sides – from the right to the left – and is now playing with Deryk Engelland.
Hartley called Brodie's stamina "a gift," noting: "I've coached many great hockey players who could go-go-go and I've coached many great hockey players that I couldn't double shift. You'd look at them on the bench and they were white like a ghost.
"Some players get tired physically and some get tired mentally, and as a coach you have to know this. That's why we work them so hard in training camp – to get a great feel for who can log those minutes."
But Hartley doesn't mind riding his workhorses hard, either.
"Once, in the American League, against the Albany River Rats, we scored the go-ahead goal with 11 minutes to go, and I played two D-men for the rest of the game. It's a matter of doing what you think is best."
Unlike the Jets, who had their share of monsters on the blue line – from 235-pound Dustin Byfuglien to 6-foot-7 Tyler Myers – Calgary's top three are mobile, but not overly big. Wideman checks in at six feet and 199 pounds, Russell at 5 foot 10 and 166, and Brodie at 6 foot 2 and 183. With Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Matt Beleskey, Ryan Kesler and Patrick Maroon all bearing down on them, the Flames defence will have to be quick and reactive.
"When you go in as a smaller guy, you try to go stick-to-puck," Wideman said. "You're not trying to go in and wrestle a guy that has 40 pounds on you – or try to manhandle or pin him. You're going to try to get the puck and take the puck and try to break their stride by getting in front of them.
"They're big bodies, so we have to find ways to cut off the long cycle and get it up and in behind them, and make them play defence."
The Flames entered the last round with 10 players making their NHL playoff debuts. Their excitement levels were palpable. According to Hartley, keeping it light is all part of their recipe for success.
"This is fun," Hartley said. "This is the dream of every kid. I've won many Stanley Cups playing street hockey in Hawkesbury. You're seven, eight years old and you get a bunch of kids your age and you're playing for the Stanley Cup. You're just playing with a tennis ball and wooden sticks that after a few weeks on the asphalt, there was basically no blade left.
"Here you are, representing a great city, fans going crazy, and you're competing for the Stanley Cup. If you're scared, you're in the wrong business. Let's go. Don't tippy toe. Jump right in."
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