“Our young guys are putting up points but I don’t want to tire them out,” Derek King
The playoffs show the true colors of a head coach and how they manage a game or a series. How do they use ice time, a finite resource that must be divided among four forward lines and three defense pairs? Do they roll the lines, lean on one, or match them with the opponent and the situation? Every game is a battle, and every series is a war, so how does a coach manage that?
Derek King made it clear early on in the playoffs how he wants to coach the Hershey Bears. “I just roll them. I try not to match lines,” he noted after Game Two win over the Bridgeport Islanders, a game where they won 5-2 to win the series. In the win over the Islanders, he rolled all four lines. In the recent game against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, he didn’t. “I try to manage it, it just depends on situations,” King mentioned after the victory that evened up the series at one win apiece.
This series against the Penguins is putting King to the test. He wants to ice a balanced team and avoid overworking any lines. That said, the top line is his best, and he’s turned to it to win games, notably the 2-1 win over the Penguins in Game Two. “Our young guys are putting up points but I don’t want to tire them out,” King added after the win.
Capitals Prospects Are Carrying The Bears
The Ilya Protas line, with Andrew Cristall and Bogdan Trineyev on the wings, has been incredible. All three skaters have a team-leading five points through four playoff games and have scored six of the team’s 11 goals.
They’ve carried the offense to put it lightly. The Protas line made the 4-2 Game One loss close and was the reason the Bears won Game Two, along with a 36-save performance from Clay Stevenson.
Protas particularly stood out. “He’s a special player, he’s a pro,” King noted on his top-line center, who played in every situation and assisted the power play goal in the first period that put the Bears on the board. “He makes some great plays out there. His poise, patience, and vision with the puck, he’s going to be a special player,” Brett Leason, who scored that goal because Protas got the puck to the net, added.
It’s not just the offense from those prospects either. King had Protas and Trineyev playing the penalty kill and playing in situations that required exceptional defense. “I try to get them offensive starts but then again, they’re playing well, and Protas is good at the draw, so I don’t mind putting him in the defensive zone,” King stated after the latest game. Protas and Troneyev are built for the playoffs, and it shows through four games.
If the Bears upset the Penguins and go on a Calder Cup run, it will be because of their prospects. Protas is playing great across the board. Cristall is giving them a spark from his playmaking on the wing to his skating to beat out an icing in the final minute of Game Two to seal the win. Trineyev led the Bears last year in the playoffs with seven points and is picking up where he left off.
Usually, the playoffs are when the veterans step up and lead teams in the American Hockey League. The contrast is that the Bears have seen their younger players lead the way, something they’ve done all season.
How King Can Keep His Best Players Fresh For The Entire Series
The key for King is to balance the lines. Yes, he likes turning to Cristal, Protas, and Trineyev for goals, the power play, and the penalty kill but he’s overworking them early on in the playoffs. “I gotta watch it, especially in the playoff games that these guys are not taking 20, 23 minutes. they can take it but it will wear them out,” King mentioned after Game Two.
The other key for the Bears is to find ways to get the other skaters on the ice. The problem is that this series hasn’t been played five-on-five with all the penalties and power play situations. The special teams shorten the game, and it’s hard to play some depth skaters as a result.
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It’s why King must find opportunities to get the Grant Cruikshank and Matt Strome, two checking line forwards, on the ice. They can change the tempo and pace with their forechecking and defense. Moreover, they can give the prospects some shifts off.
Which Path Does King Take for the Bears?
Two games into this series against the Penguins, and the Bears have found the path to victory. It requires elite play from Stevenson, which he’s provided so far. It also requires King to lean on the stars, the prospects who give the Bears the best chance to win.
Game Three gives King the last change as the series heads to Hershey. The Bears can match lines if they want, and more specifically, give the Protas line a shift off. The Penguins will have their second or third lines on the ice, and King can turn to his depth skaters. Likewise, he can rely on the checking line to match up against the Penguins' top-six. It’s a good way to keep the top-line from wearing down by the time Game Four or even a Game Five rolls around.
At the end of the day, if the season is on the line, King has the luxury of the best skaters in this series in his back pocket. The Penguins have no answer for the Bears' top line, so whenever King needs a big goal, he knows who to turn to.