The messaging from coaches around the NHL coming out of training camp and into the first month of the season is to establish an identity to play fast, to play with speed and pace, and implement structure.
It's not something that changes as the regular season progresses, but the level of expectation for it is highest now as opposed to the midpoint and beyond.
With players healthy and in shape after an offseason of conditioning, teams since camp have had the opportunity to have not only their best and sharpest practices, but the most they can string together too, with scheduled days off to keep the players fresh and engaged.
You'll hear and see in practices coaches emphasizing speed, skating and conditioning. Training camp, for example, is at an all-time high pace around the NHL because the players are in such good shape.
The process the coaches go through throughout camp having the opportunity to practice longer and more intense, get game-like conditioning for the players, lends to the first 10 games of the season looking like we have seen, with a lot of speed and pushing the pace, teams playing fast and with high energy.
Teams are typically not as sound or consistent structurally in the first 10-20 games of the season and that too lends to a high-pace and high-chance game. Coaches could be implementing new systems or tweaking old ones. It takes time to get comfortable and that leaves holes, particularly defensively, that lead to more offensive hockey.
The season always goes in segments and this first segment, the first 20 games, is always the most volatile with teams adjusting, players adjusting and adrenaline pumping. It's why you're seeing games with teams scoring five, six and seven goals on the regular.
That could change later on, when chemistry settles in, injuries mount and fatigue starts to set in.
All of this is why as coaches we have to be cognizant of not overreacting to anything in the first 10-20 games of the season.
You want to take stock because the NHL is a results-oriented business and that's what you see the most every time you perform, but particularly the first 10 games it's essential to not to overreact to something not going your way, whether it's your team in general, a couple players, maybe a component of your game such as special teams. You have to give it time and work at it to find solutions for those areas of concern.
The key is coaches need to analyze beyond the end result. If your power play is really hot, you have to make sure it's the process that is lending to that percentage through high chance generation and expected goals, not just a ridiculously high shooting percentage.
Is it result-driven by the process? If it is, then you will be saying this is sustainable because our process is correct. If your process is strong, you will have a feeling between coaches and players that this is going to go in the right direction if we continue with it.
You also may have situation that the process isn't sustainable for the end result. That's what all coaches, players and teams are going through, especially if they're at one end of the spectrum or the other. In these 10-20 games you're finding which direction is your process taking you because the next segment will determine who you really are.
It's also important that coaches don't amend or change the expectations they have for their team too much in this first 20-game segment. They can be tweaked by what you're seeing so far, but again it's about the process and analyzing that. How are your best players fitting in? Are new players fitting in or have they not adjusted yet? Someone could be at a low end of the spectrum now that you expect to be better and that can change drastically in the next 5-10 games. It's the same the other way, too.
That's why it really does take about 20 games.
You get some numbers, some things analytically to how you're playing. You're going through different situations with your team. Good wins, bad losses, home stands, road trips. You're going through everything, including the cultural side and mental component.
The rhythms of the season are real. It's high-pace, high-speed, big offense and somewhat structurally deficient now. But what do the processes tell you as a coach? That's how you'll truly know what your team is all about as the calendar flips to November.
