'BE A DIFFERENCE-MAKER'

Back-to-backs were, at one point, looked at as the elephant in the room.
After all, how could a team that played less than 24 hours earlier have nearly the same zeal, the same hunger, the same gas tank as one that was waiting at home at their physical peak?

Times are changing.
And there's no such things as a 'scheduled loss' anymore.
"I like to stay in a rhythm, so I'd rather have a back-to-back than having two days off," said Flames forward Blake Coleman. "It's the way my body is. It takes a little longer to get it online and get going. Sometimes, it doesn't matter how well you treat your body, that intensity level is hard to get to on a practice day. The NHL season is a weird thing and you've got to find a way to be a difference-maker no matter how you feel."
Nowadays, with anywhere from 10-15 sets of 'em per team, you can't afford not to do what Coleman the Flames did on Tuesday in a 1-0 win over the Minnesota Wild.
The points are too valuable.
The margins, too thin.
Every minute counts and when it comes to turning the page from one game to the next, the preparation starts immediately after the buzzer.
Here's how it all happened on Monday and Tuesday of this week, when the Flames tallies two huge victories in two totally different markets.

10:10 p.m. CT:

Tyler Toffoli's goal with 6.2 seconds left in regulation gives Calgary a dramatic 5-4 victory in Dallas. Every member of the team's travelling party then springs into action, whether it's packing up gear and loading the truck, conducting postgame interviews, or wrapping up their coaching responsibilities.
It's nothing if not a mad dash. A ballet, of sorts.
And you better not be late.
The Flames' charter - an Air Canada Airbus A321 - leaves in an hour with more than 1,400 kilometres to cover for what will be the longest distance between games in a back-to-back situation all season.
The plane, itself, is dressed up with approximately 60 extra-wide business-class seats, and features gourmet meals and all the amenities to help the players get some rest. So, yes, a two-and-a-half-hour trek is not overly onerous under these decadent circumstances. But physically, after what they went through that night, they're drained - and they have another dance on deck the very next day.
So, while the players are in the back of the plane chowing down on protein and veggies, playing cards or catching a cat-nap, the coaches are up front setting the table for what needs to be accomplished in their pivotal rematch against the Wild.
"We get right on the plane and the computers come out," said Associate Coach Kirk Muller. "In a back-to-back situation, it's a combination of reviewing the game from that night and looking ahead - but you usually put most of their attention on the next night. New opponent, new philosophy. So, you try to correct some of the issues that happened the night before, and become aware of how your game will apply to the personnel you'll see the next night.
"It's all about being organized and having all the information the players need for when they come in in the morning. We want the players to arrive and see a well-prepared staff - who they're playing with, what the lineup looks like, when their meetings are. You want everything to be ready so all the players have to focus on is what they're best at."

2 a.m. CT:

The team arrives at the hotel in St. Paul, Minnesota
"It usually takes me a little while to wind down from the travel. Maybe an extra hour, hour-and-a-half once I get into the hotel," Coleman said. "You try to eat well on the plane, and they've got some stuff like anti-inflammatories that you can eat or drink, and you try to get as much of that in you as possible to help with the recovery."
The coaches?
They tend to hit the pillow much quicker.
"That's the difference between coaching and playing!" Muller laughed. "As a player, you understand that. The activity, the adrenaline … That's tough to come down from. As a coach, we usually get to the rink about 8 a.m., so our days are a little longer and maybe more mentally involved than anything physical, so I've had no trouble falling asleep now that I'm in coaching."

7 - 9 a.m. CT:

Breakfast
"The morning is more about waking up and getting the body moving," Coleman said. "I feel like the older you get, the more important that stuff becomes. You always feel pretty stiff the next morning after a game, so it's good to get up, get moving. We usually do a team activation or a skate, depending on what the travel is like.
"If you sit around all day, that's going to catch you at night. I think the older you get, the tougher it becomes and the more you feel those aches and pains."
Speaking of … Where does the pickle juice come into play?
If you're unfamiliar, Coleman - otherwise known as 'Pickles' to his legion of fans - takes a few swigs of the stuff to help with hydration and prevent muscle cramping. It's why you'll sometimes see players pounding back a mustard pack on the bench. Coleman, though, finds the brine to be most effective.
"That's during (the game)," Coleman laughed. "I've got my thermos in my stall ready to go."

11:45 a.m. - 12 p.m. CT:

Special teams meeting
On the morning of a back-to-back, it's rare for the team to go the rink. And even if they do, it's usually done solely to get the players up and active in a change of scenery, rather than putting them on the ice for a morning skate.
Remember: It's all about recovery and spending any excess energy could hurt them later in the evening.
On this day in Minnesota, the coaching staff feels the hotel is the better option to help maximize their overnight rest period.
"We definitely want to gather them in the morning, no matter how late we got in the night before," Muller said. "Then we do our pregame special teams meeting, and 5-on-5 stuff at night. It gets them out of bed, gets them together ... The message for that night is driven into their heads early. But it's also important for us to balance our meetings throughout the day. So, we had the morning meeting which went over powerplay and penalty kill, but we saved 5-on-5 for about 5:30 p.m. so we're not overloading players with too much information.
"You also want to save their energy and not keep them too long, because - again - sitting around and not moving is most detrimental to their bodies and their preparation for the night ahead."

12 - 2 p.m. MT:

Meal, followed by a pregame nap
Most players are fairly regimented when it comes to their pregame meals. Coleman, like many, is a chicken-and-pasta type.
But the most crucial part of the day is getting a good snooze before catching the 4:45 bus to the rink.

5:30 p.m. CT

Meeting in the dressing room

5:45 - 7 p.m. CT:

Warmup/puck drop
The players have all sorts of different methods of getting their bodies ready. However most, if not all, tend to get a good stationary stretch in before moving on to something more dynamic, such as running/sprinting, cycling, or medicine-ball slams (a Noah Hanifin favourite).
"I've always been a routine guy," Coleman said. "Sewer ball is new for me. I added that in the bubble because I was bored to death. But I pretty much eat and drink the same things every game. Get a little stretch, get the Theragun on the legs, get some heat on the back. Nothing too crazy.
"It's weird - sometimes I feel better for the second game, depending on how the circumstances. Sometimes it can be a nice boost because it feels like your system is up and running.
It certainly is for the Flames right now.
They're 4-2-2 on the second night of a back-to-back set, and have another two tries in the final 17 games of the season to bank even more points.