It was Game 6 of the 2020 Major League Baseball World Series. Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays tossed five scoreless innings to give the team a 1-0 lead heading into the sixth inning. Then, he started allowing a few base hits. Snell was taken out of the game after 73 pitches, and the Rays lost the game 3-1 and the series 4-2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In Game 7 of the American League Championship Series in 2003, Grady Little stuck with the pitcher who was his best all season and arguably the best in the game, Pedro Martinez. The Boston Red Sox boasted a 5-2 lead over the rival New York Yankees and were only five outs away from winning the American League Pennant. Martinez stayed in the game and got hit around as the Yankees tied the game and eventually won it in extra innings.
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The World Series in 1991 went the distance, and Game 7 was a classic pitching duel between John Smoltz and Jack Morris. The Atlanta Braves saw Smoltz removed from the game in the eighth inning, while the Minnesota Twins kept Morris in the game (he wasn’t being taken out even if they had to drag him out). The Twins won the game and the series with a 1-0 walk-off in the 10th inning.
There’s nothing like the decisions baseball managers have to make, especially in the postseason. The consequences of every choice are unlike any other, as no other sport (aside from soccer) has the finality of a move like baseball. Once a player is taken out of the game, they can’t return.
Head coaches in hockey are not the same as managers in baseball and play different roles, right? It turns out there are some similarities between the two types of coaches. They have a system and a lineup, and then it’s all about sitting back and watching the action unfold with a few minor adjustments mixed in.
However, with the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs underway, we’re starting to see a change behind the bench. Head coaches, particularly the great ones, are being judged on their decision-making. It stands out with goaltending choices, but applies to multiple facets of the game. It’s what separates the good coaches from the great ones and will determine which team wins the Stanley Cup.
Data is used in every facet of the game. Zone entries and zone exits are valued skills that increase a team’s chance of winning. The same applies to high-danger chances compared to tough-angle shots. Likewise, there’s a balance between shot volume and possession. Teams aren’t just built on analytics. They are applied to how teams are coached.
Yet, the best coaches still rely on their instincts. They feel out the game, understand how it’s playing out and unfolding, and then adapt accordingly. Is the game a back-and-forth offensive showcase or a defensive struggle? Will the chip and chase or the run and gun dictate the game?
The best attribute of Bruce Cassidy is his situational awareness. The Vegas Golden Knights know where to be on the ice in every situation because they practice it. The Carolina Hurricanes embody Rod Brind’Amour’s mentality of winning one shift at a time. The Florida Panthers sealed the Game 7 victory in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final by doing the only thing they were supposed to do – clinging to the puck along the boards and letting the clock wind down – just as Paul Maurice drew it up.
For the coaches, it’s all about knowing who has the hot hand or is poised for a big game. Then comes pressing the right buttons to make it all work. Baseball’s gone through a stat-driven revolution in the past (well, since the 1900s, but it’s ramped up in the last decade), yet the managers who won the World Series include Brian Snitker, Dusty Baker, and Bruce Bochy. Bochy was the one who famously went with starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner to close out Game 7 with five scoreless innings to win the 2014 series. Bochy isn’t a data-driven manager, and neither are Baker and Snitker, yet they were the ones who got the job done in the postseason.
Jon Cooper’s been successful for over a decade with the Tampa Bay Lightning by trusting his gut, and this explains why sometimes the least expected skaters step up and deliver for the Lightning. It’s not just the skaters, but the instincts are all the more applicable to the game’s most important position, goaltending.
The Edmonton Oilers turned to Stuart Skinner as their starter for the playoffs last season. When he started to struggle, Kris Knoblauch had to find a way to avoid benching him and keeping him fresh for a playoff run, one that would last 24 games.
Then came Game 4 in the Second Round against the Vancouver Canucks. Knoblauch turned to Calvin Pickard and leaned on him for back-to-back games. Those two games off for Skinner were what he needed, not only to reset but to return well-rested for the rest of the playoff run. After the short rest, he put together a .914 save percentage (SV%) and helped the Oilers reach the Final with strong play in the net down the stretch.
The Golden Knights won the Cup in 2023 with Adin Hill in net. Hill wasn’t their starter that season or even to begin the playoffs. He started only 25 games during the regular season, only to fill in for an injured Laurent Brossoit and never looked back. Cassidy had other options, including a two-time Cup winner in Jonathan Quick and Logan Thompson, who started a team-leading 36 games that season. Yet, Cassidy went with the hot hand and kept riding it until proven otherwise (he was never proven otherwise).
Hill was Thompson’s backup two seasons ago. In 2025, Thompson is returning from an injury, forcing the Washington Capitals to make a tough decision about their starter. Spencer Carbary must find a balance with his workhorse goaltender, whom he ideally starts for the entire playoff run, but asking him to do that after returning from an injury is a tall task (a playoff run can be anywhere from 16 to 28 games).
The same issue applies to the Carolina Hurricanes. Brind’Amour split Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kotchetkov’s playing time all season. However, splitting starts seems impossible in the playoffs, notably if the Hurricanes decide to rotate their goaltenders. Brind’Amour is tasked with managing his two goaltenders without overworking them while also keeping the series in mind. Andersen was great in Game 1, but does he start the second game?
Even the Toronto Maple Leafs can’t avoid this issue. Craig Berube has a number one goaltender who had a great season, Anthony Stolarz. The problem is that Stolarz was a backup for most of his career, and this season, he only started 33 games. Eventually, Berube must turn to Joseph Woll for a game, but the question is when? The Maple Leafs will likely see every series come down to the wire, and relying on Woll for one game could end up costing them a series (but when done correctly, it can win them the Cup).
There are a few teams that don’t have this headache. The Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Winnipeg Jets have elite goaltenders and won’t worry about giving them the night off. Otherwise, every coach must find a balance in the playoffs this season. Even so, like baseball, hockey is in a different era, and the game has changed.
Baseball used to make pitchers built like Walter Johnson or Morris, pitchers who could go the distance in a big game without struggling. Hockey used to make goaltenders like Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur, who could start 60 games in a season if needed and then be the starter for the entire playoff run. That’s not the case anymore, and the pressure shifts to the coach to manage a goaltender who has limits and will wear down if overworked.
A curiosity heading into the playoffs, particularly the big games, is how coaches balance ice time. There’s only so much time in a game and only so many players worthy of big shifts or extra minutes. Does Cale Makar play 30 minutes, or do the depth skaters find north of 15 minutes to give him some rest? Does a third-line skater who is finding the back of the net play 20 minutes and more time on the power play even if they don’t have that experience, and will a move like that backfire?
Usually, there’s a clear-cut answer to this. Teams with depth balance out the minutes, while teams with star power won’t. Connor McDavid is the best player in the world, and Leon Draisaitl is having a Hart Trophy-caliber season. Sure, the Oilers have depth, but Knoblauch will win and lose games with those two players, as he did in Game 1 of the First Round when both stars were on the ice to lead the comeback but came up short in the final minute.
Along with the ice time comes the tough decision of making the lineup. In baseball, it’s all about creating a batting order where hitters can matchup well against the opposing pitcher but also work well alongside the others in the lineup. In hockey, it’s more complex. It’s about finding chemistry and players who work well together with their skill sets. Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki are both fast skaters with plenty of skill, which is why they fuel the Montreal Canadiens’ top line. Along with the lines working well together, it’s about matching up against the opponent’s lines and knowing how to limit what the other team has. Head coach Scott Arniel has stunted the St. Louis Blues and their ability to move the puck up the ice with a physical forward presence, which slowed Game 2 down to allow the Jets to win 2-1.
These lineup decisions aren’t exclusive to the playoffs, but this is when every move is closely monitored. Teams make tweaks all they want during the regular season without much consequence. In the playoffs, a few bad lines and defense pairings end up costing games and a chance at winning the Cup.
For years, the manager in baseball was seen as the wise one in the dugout. A sage who was often dressed in a suit and fancy hat and knew the game better than anyone else. NHL coaches don’t have the same persona or aura (and despite the suits, they don’t look the same behind the bench). Yet, the playoffs are where their decisions, which are made based on instincts and data, carry more weight these days. The coach is becoming a more significant part of a playoff part of the playoff run, and their choices are the reason why.
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