More of this Feature • Stanley Cup Keys, Part 1: That Wasn't Supposed to Happen!

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4) The Straw That Stirs the Drink.

Even the most balanced teams look to a number-one forward line to lead the way at Stanley Cup time. They also employ defensive forwards whose primary job is to shut down the top line on the other side.

Can offensive giants like Brendan Shanahan, Joe Sakic, Markus Naslund, Mats Sundin and Jeremy Roenick fight through the harrassment night after night? If you are watching a game and you don't notice the big scorer or hear his name mentioned often by the play-by-play announcer, it probably means the checking line is doing its job.

In recent playoff years, Mike Peca of the New York Islanders has smothered stars like Mats Sundin and Alexei Yashin (now his team mate in New York). In fact, he is largely responsible for Yashin's poor career playoff numbers.

5) Who Is That Workhorse?

A top defencemen gets more ice time than any other skater. Adrian Aucoin of the Islanders and Nicklas Lidstrom of the Red Wings are among those who play close to 30 minutes per game. Their job is to kill penalties, run the power play, outwork everyone inside their own blueline, make pinpoint passes and spoil the other team's most promising moments. Then rest for 40 seconds and go do it again.

It can be bruising, unspectacular work, with a successful shift often measured by the absence of scoring chances or spectacular plays. When a team seems unable to mount any offence or get a decent shot on goal, check out who is manning the blueline on the other side.

6) The Plan Isn't Working!

If everything went wrong for your team in game one, do they come back and with an identical effort 48 hours later? Or have they used the break between games to reconsider the game plan?

A coach looking to change the momentum of a series will often try new line combinations and new tactics. He might demand more speed, more hitting, more shooting, more passing, more patience, more urgency, more offence from the defencemen, more defence from the forwards, and so on. He will also rotate different players into the lineup to achieve the desired effect.

Will it work? That depends on the available talent, the players' willingness to adapt and the coaches ability to read strengths and weaknesses. It worked for Pat Quinn at the 2002 Olympics, when he turned a shapeless and bewildered Canadian team into a gold medal contender between games one and three.

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