Leaning against a wall outside the visitor’s dressing room at KeyBank Arena, Jon Cooper nodded at the suggestion that he and his coaching staff have their work cut out for them.

As crazy as that may seem, with the Tampa Bay Lightning owning a double-digit point lead in mid-January in the chase for the Presidents’ Trophy, the club faces the largely unrelatable challenge of sustaining excellence over 82 games, plus four playoff rounds.

“Winning: It’s a blessing and it’s a curse,” Cooper told theScore Sunday, hours before a 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. The NHL’s longest-tenured head coach wasn’t being sarcastic or overly critical; he was being pragmatic.

“It’s a blessing because you’re in first place and your goal is to make the playoffs and you’re giving yourself an unreal chance to do it. It’s a curse because things are going well but you don’t want to take your foot off the gas. You’re balancing - being hard on them, yet letting them play.”

The 2018-19 season hasn’t even reached the All-Star break and yet it feels like any type of inconsistency won’t make a sizeable impact on Tampa's location in the end-of-season standings. The Lightning, hockey's version of the NBA's Golden State Warriors, have the requisite star power and depth to maintain their pace - if everything continues to go according to plan.

Cooper admits he’s monitoring for signs of satisfaction inside the club’s bubble, a necessary daily process most outsiders might not appreciate. “If you’re battling for a playoff spot, you’re grinding every single day,” he said. “When you’re at the top of the standings, you’re grinding in a different way.”

Before diving into the "different" grind, it's necessary to reflect on the accomplishments of Cooper’s squad thus far.

Through Tuesday, the Lightning have picked up 74 of a possible 94 points, with two of their 11 losses coming in overtime. Both their points percentage (.787) and goal differential (plus-58) are absurdly high; the Calgary Flames rank second at .681 and plus-40. Thanks to a near-perfect past two months - with no regulation defeats in December and a 22-3-1 record since Nov. 21 - Tampa is on pace for an eye-popping 129 points. The salary cap era record (124 points set by the 2005-06 Detroit Red Wings) is within striking distance, while the all-time mark (132 by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens) is also within the realm of possibility.

As for the roster, Cooper has enviable depth at his disposal, and there’s an argument to be made for the inclusion of a Tampa player on every positional top-10 list.

Team success has overshadowed some fine performances - Brayden Point's 61 points over 47 games, in particular. He's beloved within the Lightning organization, and though the admiration is starting to infiltrate the mainstream, those who know him best insist the 22-year-old remains grossly underrated. Still on an upward trajectory, he's a versatile three-zone center quietly piecing together an MVP-caliber season.

Following an on-ice session at KeyBank, teammate Mathieu Joseph heaped serious praise on Point while the latter untied his skates a couple of stalls away: “He’s so important for our team and, personally, I think he’s one of the best players in the world.”

Across the room, Nikita Kucherov, the no-nonsense Russian, concurs: "We’re in Florida, we’re in Tampa. Not a lot of attention," he said of Point. "If he played in Toronto, he’d be a superstar.”

Then there's captain Steven Stamkos, a former 60-goal scorer on pace for a cool 42 this season. He legitimately - and stunningly - might be Tampa’s fifth-best player. And that's far from a hot take - it's simply the reality of the situation and a compliment to the Lightning's strong drafting, development, and asset management.

“Each team is different, with different skill, different depth, different camaraderie,” Stamkos said, reflecting on his 11 years in a Lightning uniform, “but this is definitely the best in terms of overall talent.”

Which brings us back to Cooper’s conundrum: How can the Lightning, in one breath, appreciate a special season, and in the next, not care about what happened yesterday, last week, or two months ago?

By emphasizing group progress over personal gains.

Yes, Tampa is so deep it has scheduled "rest" games for certain players - in part because the Lightning feel the drop-off in talent from, say, the 11th forward to the 14th can be offset elsewhere.

That's why a healthy Joseph, who is tied for second in NHL rookie goal-scoring, sits every once in a while. It's also why a 32-year-old Anton Stralman isn't drawing into every single game. Even Andrei Vasilevskiy, a Vezina Trophy finalist last year, is on a strict schedule that focuses on rest and recovery rather than marquee matchups.

“It’s hard to convince guys," assistant coach Jeff Halpern said. "Everybody wants to play, wants to contribute. You never want anyone to feel their legs have been chopped off. When you ask guys to be leaders and they’re put in situations where they’re not in a game, it can be difficult."

The difference between what the Lightning are doing and how NHL teams typically handle scratching is the transparency. There's rarely a game-day decision for Tampa as lineup alterations tend to be predetermined. It's a process designed to be "better on the psyche," mentions Halpern, a former NHLer who endured the scratch system himself.

That said, nobody is going to accept the news with a beaming smile, polite approach or not.

“You can do that when you have depth. It's an advantage," Joseph said. "Even though we all want to play 82 games, you can rest some guys. It’s a mentality (the staff has) and you’ve got to respect that.”

The mentality is shaped by a lesson learned. The Lightning were dominant last season, too - not to the extent they have been in 2018-19, but still good enough to be the toast of the Eastern Conference.

It was around this point of the schedule last season that the team hit a rut, losing five of seven from Jan. 4-20. Complacency set in, zapping them of their trademark swagger.

“We were in a very similar situation and probably let things go a little bit," Cooper admitted. "I kinda rode the wave of success a little bit more (last year) and didn’t nip things in the bud when we probably should have.”

Tampa finished atop the conference, then won two series before flaming out in seven games versus the eventual Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals.

Fast forward to now, and the roster looks virtually the same - again, no major holes. Jake Dotchin, Chris Kunitz, and J.T. Brown are long gone, replaced by Joseph, defenseman Erik Cernak, and Anthony Cirelli, who’s quickly become a go-to forward on a vastly improved penalty kill. The Lightning have encountered the occasional injury, sure, but nothing too serious. Overall, compared to the dog days of last season, the good times keep rolling.

Now, for the glass-half-empty perspective. Discussions about limiting turnovers have crept into multiple team meetings, Joseph said, and on Sunday, Stralman lamented the group's lack of "hunger." It could be a blip on the radar, or perhaps a sign of things to come.

"Puck management, D-zone. There’s a lot we can improve still," Joseph added. "Rushes, boxing out, stuff like that. I think the biggest part is that we want to be good defensively and I think we’ve been getting better as the season’s gone on.”

No team is perfect. Ultimately, complacency has yet to take over, and familiarity and experience help with that. “I have a better feel for each individual player and what makes them tick," said Cooper, a champion in the USHL and AHL and a Cup finalist with the 2014-15 Bolts.

Halpern calls the regular season "a dress rehearsal, so to speak," with the coaches huddling on occasion to ask, "If Game 1 of the playoffs was tomorrow, what would our lineup be?” It'll be easier to land on an answer the second time around with essentially the same group.

The rotation has given them more video and data for lineup optimization. All that being said, they are cognizant of disrupting rhythm. “There’s rest and there’s the possibility of losing your timing," Cooper said. "Players are habitual and in routines. You screw that routine up and all of a sudden what do you have? It’s always a fine line with me.” Given that the Lightning appear to be head and shoulders above the other 30 teams, their biggest challenge could be staying out of their own way.

Of course, Tampa feels comfortable experimenting since, in essence, they are an exaggerated version of what every modern NHL squad aspires to be. They're built well, icing two-way players at forward and defense; they prioritize skill, speed, and smarts; they play a fluid, frenetic brand of hockey; and they have one of the top goaltending tandems in the league. It's a foolproof plan when you've created a buffer zone in the standings.

It helps that the man calling the shots at ice level isn't afraid to think outside the box by throwing the odd curveball, like his on-the-fly goalie change Sunday.

Cooper will scratch good players, is up-front about the potential for complacency and/or implosion, and is realistic about the best team in hockey's place in the world.

“You never strive for perfection. Just strive for excellence," Cooper said, still leaning against the wall, reciting one of his favorite quotes. "Because you can’t get perfect. Perfect’s unattainable.”

John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Many predicted the Florida Panthers would challenge for an Eastern Conference wild-card spot this season. The team woke up Monday morning nine points out of the playoffs.

Not ideal.

Several factors have contributed to Florida's position - including a cringe-worthy .887 save percentage - but there's an undeniable trend: Panthers games almost always involve a comeback, and they've usually been the victim.

The 17-16-7 Panthers have won only four of 13 games they've led after the first period. Weirdly enough, however, Florida has won a bunch when trailing after the first period, picking up six wins in 15 tries.

"It's definitely something we've talked about in our locker room," defenseman Mike Matheson told theScore recently. "We've been on the right end of that and been on the wrong end of it."

And comebacks are not exclusive to the Panthers and their combatants. Far from it.

Rallying to victory has become remarkably common across the NHL, with the opening half of 2018-19 - Oct. 3 through this past Friday - producing a record number of comeback wins (285) through the first 635 games of a season. Amazingly, 13.2 percent of all games in the first half featured a team overcoming a multi-goal deficit to win. That's 84 multi-goal turnarounds in a three-month span.

"It's good to hear that it's going on everywhere in the league," Matheson continued, smiling a bit. "We were starting to think it was just us."

Some of this season's memorable comebacks include the Anaheim Ducks erasing a four-goal deficit en route to a 6-5 win over the Washington Capitals in early December; the Ottawa Senators battling back from a three-goal margin to snag a 4-3 win from the Philadelphia Flyers in late November; and, just last week, the Minnesota Wild defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 despite falling behind 2-0 early in the first period.

"I feel like you're never really out of it, and that's the mentality across the league," Wild forward Marcus Foligno said following his club’s victory.

So, why has '18-19 become synonymous with comebacks? For starters, there's no denying the commitment to offense from NHL managers, coaches, and players. Every passing year, it becomes more evident that speed and skill win games, playoff rounds, and championships.

Logically, the more goals, the more lead changes. And there's been an uptick in scoring over the past few seasons, even though shots per game have finally stabilized:

Panthers forward Troy Brouwer, now on his fifth team in an 800-game career, became a full-time NHLer four years after the 2004-05 lockout. By then, the league had bid farewell to the dead-puck era, yet a defense-first mindset remained. More than a decade later, it's all but gone.

"The style of game 12 years ago is different than it is now," he said. "It was more of a trap game. You wouldn't give opponents a whole lot. You don't play that as much anymore. The speed and skill have taken over and the game is more open now, in my opinion, versus when I first came into the league."

By and large, dumping and chasing has been supplanted by stretch passes and other aggressive, risky ways to push the puck north. The neutral zone is an area of focus for inquisitive coaches, and analytical studies underline its link to winning hockey.

Fighting fire with fire, no matter what the scoreboard reads, seems to be a popular philosophy. Up 3-0, tied 2-2, or down 4-1? Don't take your foot off the gas.

It's not a perfect approach, and in the era of parity, it can produce lead changes, but Brouwer explains it's better than the alternative. "You have to stay in attack mode now," he said. "If you let off, you're pretty much just giving the puck back to the other team."

Don't forget that recent changes to rules and regulations - and alterations in their enforcement - were approved for the purpose of increasing scoring. Most notably, goaltender equipment was trimmed to give shooters an advantage, and the crackdown on slashing has forced blue-liners to defend more politely.

"I think anytime you have your stick horizontal on the ice, you're going to get a penalty," Maple Leafs defenseman Travis Dermott said. "You definitely have to have your feet going. And with the speed nowadays, you definitely have to be fast to keep up with forwards."

Matheson added, "If somebody with the puck gets body position on you, there's pretty much nothing you can do to get the puck off them without taking a penalty."

And if your team takes a penalty, good luck. Power plays are dangerously effective in 2019. The Tampa Bay Lightning boast a ridiculous 30 percent success rate, and the league average is hovering around 20 percent for a second straight season. Once considered risque, having four forwards on one top-heavy unit has become common practice.

"Instead of having two balanced units, everyone is just loading up one unit and playing them a minute-and-a-half, two minutes on the power play," Matheson noted. "And it works. To have your five best players on the ice, they're going to make plays and are going to be able to score goals."

The Panthers have experimented with a five-forward power-play unit, emphasizing the shift toward an NHL that prioritizes offense.

"It's a scoring league, 100 percent," Matheson said.

A comeback league, too, apparently.

__________

Pressing pause on the season at the halfway point can also be beneficial at the team level - especially when trying to forecast or manage expectations for the second half.

One way to do this is to dive into some underlying numbers - stats on who's endured the most/fewest injuries, experienced the worst/best puck luck, and faced the most difficult/easiest competition.

On the first front, thanks to Nathan Currier's fine work at ManGamesLost.com, it's clear some teams have been ravaged by injuries while others have enjoyed relatively good health (MGL = man games lost to injury in first half):

The Dallas Stars are an interesting case, particularly in light of CEO Jim Lites blasting marquee forwards Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn over the holidays.

The Stars have been challenged by injuries, especially on the back end, with Stephen Johns sidelined all season and No. 1 defenseman John Klingberg missing 18 games. Somehow, Dallas is one of four teams that missed the playoffs last year but is holding down a playoff spot at the midway point of this season.

Ranking 16th among 31 teams, the Stars can't otherwise claim they were particularly lucky or unlucky in the first half, based on the advanced stat PDO (save percentage plus shooting percentage):

Seeing the Maple Leafs at the top of the PDO list and near the bottom of the injury list doesn't mean they should expect poor puck luck or a slew of painful events over the next few months. However, those raw figures illustrate that Mike Babcock and his players haven't faced too much adversity in the early going, avoiding major injuries and clearly getting a fortuitous bounce or two. Compared to the Arizona Coyotes, whose season has been derailed by long-term ailments and a lack of scoring, Toronto is laughing.

Meanwhile, given where the San Jose Sharks rank in other categories - and their third-place spot in the Pacific Division - it's notable that they're 31st in man games lost. Along with being virtually injury-free, the first-half Sharks had the fourth-easiest schedule, according to Hockey Reference's strength of schedule metric, and tied for hitting the fifth-fewest crossbars/posts:

At the other end of the spectrum are the rebuilding Vancouver Canucks. Not only did Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat, and friends hit the most posts and crossbars, they also faced stiff competition, tying the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks for the second-highest strength of schedule:

An inch here, an inch there, and perhaps the Canucks have more than 44 points in 45 games. Can they capitalize on an easier second half, or is the franchise actually OK with misfiring? Would missing the playoffs and gaining a higher draft pick be a better scenario for the club?

The next few months in B.C. - and in the NHL's 30 other markets - should be intriguing.

John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Welcome to Puck Pursuit, a weekly NHL podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's National Hockey Writer.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play.

In this episode, John's joined by ESPN senior NHL writer Greg Wyshynski to discuss award front-runners at the midway point of the 2018-19 NHL season.

The seven major prizes up for grabs are:

• Hart Trophy
• Calder Trophy
• Norris Trophy
• Vezina Trophy
• Jack Adams Award
• Selke Trophy
• Lady Byng Trophy

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Welcome to Puck Pursuit, a weekly NHL podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's National Hockey Writer.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play.

This week, John is joined by Ryan Stimson of The Athletic to discuss a variety of topics:

• Is the NHL All-Star selection process too restrictive?
• Sizing up the Sabres' (largely successful) first half
• Dialing back expectations for Casey Mittelstadt
• 'Q' and the Sabres: A hypothetical perfect fit?
• Tape to Space: Redefining Modern Hockey Tactics

... and more!

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Welcome to Puck Pursuit, a weekly NHL podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's National Hockey Writer.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play.

This week, John's joined by ESPN prospect writer Chris Peters and former OHL scout Jonathan Kyriacou to preview the 2019 World Junior Hockey Championship.

Topics of discussion include:

• Is Canada the clear-cut favorite to win gold?
• What to expect from the incredible Hughes brothers
• Why you shouldn't count out the Czechs
• Scouting reports on Canada's top players
• How scouts view the world juniors tournament

... and more!

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

(Warning: Story contains coarse language)

Todd Radom often feels like an architect, even though the longtime graphic designer doesn't dream up buildings.

A specialist in sports logos, Radom believes creating a brand identity for a professional sports franchise is similar to designing the structure of a house. And the foundation for a strong identity is laid during the logo rollout.

"You want to build a foundation that is solid and enduring, and know that when you put your house up, you can put a coat of paint on it," Radom told theScore. "If you want to paint your house pink, go ahead and paint it pink. You want to put shutters on it, go ahead and put shutters on it. You want a flat roof? You want a peak roof? You can do some things, but without that foundation, it's going to collapse."

Enter Seattle. Recently awarded the NHL's 32nd franchise for the 2021-22 season, the ownership group needs to lay a foundation in multiple senses - literally when it comes to constructing a new arena (slated to open in early 2019), and metaphorically in building an identity (no timeline for an unveiling).

Both projects involve enormous thought and investment, but the matter of identity - landing on an appropriate team nickname, color scheme, logo, and uniform set - sparks the imagination on a higher level.

Kraken? Sea Lions? Metropolitans? Totems? Sockeyes? Seattle's in a unique situation where ownership isn't necessarily being forced into one particular style.

"If you are an expansion team with a clean slate, a blank canvas, you really have liberties to go places you might not otherwise," Radom said.

So what exactly goes into the creation of a pro sports logo?

We enlisted the help of three experts - Radom, Chris Creamer of the popular website SportsLogos.net, and Bill Frederick, creative director of sports branding agency Fanbrandz - to find out.

The stakeholders

Generally speaking, five main groups are involved in the logo development process, according to our panel of experts.

First and foremost, there's the team itself, as well as the league office. The jersey manufacturer and logo designer are key influencers, too. The final group is the fan base, which may be consulted via polls, focus groups, and other outreach methods.

In Seattle's case, the league's official jersey partner - Adidas Hockey - will have a major voice. The currently unannounced designer will also exert its influence during the creative stages of the multimillion-dollar process.

"If a team is a passenger on a plane, I need to be a seasoned pilot who is flying them across the ocean to their destination," said Radom, describing his role over the years in helping teams and leagues create identities, such as the logo for Super Bowl XXXVIII. "I need to let them out safely and they can go about their business."

There is no hard and fast time frame for finalizing a logo, Radom says, though 18 months is a typical ballpark figure now. The team will want plenty of runway to exchange mock-ups with the designer, engage with lawyers, and consult with licensees and broadcasters. At the major-league level, no stone is left unturned.

The smart play, Creamer notes, is securing all necessary legal rights immediately after agreeing on a team name, but before diving into the logo design process. Without a definitively trademarked brand, a team might run into issues like those experienced by Las Vegas' NHL team, which recently fought with the U.S. Army and College of Saint Rose over the use of "Golden Knights."

"I imagine the Seattle ownership group, Adidas, and the NHL are going to be so much more careful this time," Creamer said. "Maybe (they should) just trademark whatever they want right out of the gate. Make sure there's no problems."

When asked for a progress report, a spokesperson for Seattle's incoming NHL franchise issued a short statement saying the ownership group "continues to listen to fans and explore the team brand identity. Fan engagement has been, and will continue to be, a critical part of that work."

Sports teams don't exist without a healthy fan base. Public input through both official and unofficial channels informs the decision-makers. Fans feel a personal connection to every scoring play, front-office transaction, and mark of the team's identity. And they're the ones forking over the cash.

People care about their favorite team's logo to a degree that's unimaginable for design in other industries. There's a reason why Radom and Creamer are working on a book telling the stories behind the names and looks of every NHL franchise.

"Let's say TD Bank changed its logo tomorrow. Odds are, there aren't people with that TD Bank logo tattooed on their ass," Radom said with a laugh.

The do's and don'ts

In the world of sports logo design, simplicity is king.

"You want a logo that is simple enough that a child can draw it easily, but also not something that's so simple that it doesn't represent anything," Creamer said, referencing his 5-year-old son's penchant for doodling the to-the-point logos of the Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers.

Teams should want a logo that you can spot from a distance, Creamer adds; a mark versatile enough to appear on a TV channel's ticker and not look out of place as a social media avatar. And teams can't forget about belt buckles, pocket schedules, billboards, ball caps - every surface and product a logo could be slapped on should be considered in the research and development stage.

Creamer's ideal icon straddles the line between kid-friendly and edgy in order to maximize reach. "You always have to have an eye on what's going to sell," he said. "Kids don't buy merchandise, parents do." (For what it's worth, the current Toronto Blue Jays crest is the highest-rated logo on Creamer's site.)

Frederick has worked on everything from the rebranding of MLB's Tampa Bay Rays to the NHL's 2019 Winter Classic and prefers a certain amount of stature in big-league logos. He mentioned growling animals as an example of an angle that might flourish in the college market but doesn't suit a world-renowned circuit like the English Premier League.

"It's like designing a country's flag. You're building this platform for shared values and you're establishing trust and loyalty," said Frederick, listing Liverpool FC's logo among his personal favorites. "Usually it's based on a lot of research and you're really trying to find the soul of the city."

Radom, meanwhile, encourages teams to "think iconic" and to stay far away from the wacky, complicated stylings of the 1990s. Remember the Wild Wing mascot bursting out of the Mighty Ducks alternate jersey? No surprise that didn't last long.

"Think about that tribal connection with color and think about the fact that a lot of people are going to have their fingers in it," he said. "Impressions are very fleeting - now more than ever, right? We're all very challenged with our screens. ... I think with sports, especially given the cost involved with a rollout, you want to think about the future."

The DNA factor

Also in vogue: Throwbacks.

NHL Seattle might want to pursue a modern look, but the explosion of alternate jerseys and a general thirst for simplicity has created a gigantic secondary market for legacy organizations. Vintage merch sells, both because it looks sharp and because it makes people feel warm and fuzzy about their community.

Exhibit A: The Golden State Warriors' main crest - one of the world's most recognizable sports logos - is a blast from the past for the Bay Area.

"Nostalgia is a powerful emotion," Radom said.

Aligning a brand identity with the market's DNA is a must. It can really make a logo sing and, unlike the vintage angle, can be leveraged by expansion franchises. The Golden Knights, for instance, tastefully tapped into their city's cultural identity.

"The DNA in Vegas, as a community, is far different than any other market, right?" Radom said. "What that franchise did in terms of little, subtle glint in the gold color on their sweaters, and a little pattern which almost looks like gaming chips - that was exceptionally intentioned and very well executed. There's something to be said for blinking your eyes and feeling a sense of place and community."

The new NHL team in Seattle - a city known for the Space Needle and monorail, thriving tech and music scenes, and a little coffee chain called Starbucks - has an opportunity to draw upon its prospective fan base's deep-rooted values and interests as well. Even the relatively benign choice of a green color scheme would likely please the masses in Seahawks, Mariners, and Sounders territory.

Above all else, teams need to have one eye on the short term and the other on the long term. NHL Seattle must ask itself, "What does the world look like in 2021 and in 2031?"

"You don't want to go for a sugar rush," Radom said. "You want to build something with the future in mind. Something people will be proud of and use for years to come."

John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Welcome to Puck Pursuit, a weekly NHL podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's National Hockey Writer.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play.

This week, John's joined by Canadian Press hockey writer Josh Clipperton. The duo gets into the holiday spirit by handing out the perfect Christmas gifts to 10 NHL teams.

Topics include the state of the Canadiens, Rangers, Senators, Maple Leafs, Golden Knights ... and more!

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

"Did I just see that?"

New York Rangers studio host Al Trautwig couldn't contain his amazement. He had just witnessed bloodied MSG Network colleague John Giannone conduct a live TV hit moments after taking a puck to the face.

"Wow, that was scary…" a flabbergasted Trautwig continued, quickly throwing to a commercial break so he could scoop up his jaw from the floor.

While the incident occurred in early 2013, Giannone is still commonly identified as the dude who had his nose broken by a Marc Staal clearing attempt.

You're not that guy, people will ask him. Oh, I am that guy, he will respond, explaining that the between-the-benches role is one of inherent danger. In fact, 'might get cracked by errant objects' is practically a bullet point on the job description.

"To this day, I don't really know why I was looking at the scoreboard. It's not like I was jumping on the ice for a shift," Giannone said, having a laugh at his own expense during a recent interview.

"I remember I was driving home with my wife and I got a text from my daughter saying, 'You're trending.' I was still fairly new to the whole Twitterverse, so I didn't really know what that meant."

As someone whose office is embedded in a battleground, the between-the-benches analyst, or in Giannone's case, the reporter, is forever vulnerable. Among other dangers, a puck skimming across the width of the neutral zone may suddenly rise above the sideboards and into the small, cubical-sized area separating rival clubs.

"You might daydream. You might be looking up in the stands, or looking down the bench, or looking down at your monitor," said Sportsnet's Louie DeBrusk, ostensibly speaking for every ice-level media member ever. "Next thing you know, you've got a stick or a puck in your face."

There's a certain kind of intimacy one experiences from being the only analyst standing with the players and coaches on the other side of the glass. "It's almost like you're back on the bench again," said TSN's Jamie McLennan, who served as a backup for the bulk of his 12 NHL seasons. "You're living the game from a player's perspective."

An innovation of NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood, the between-the-benches role has been a staple of NHL broadcasts since 2006. Nearly 13 years later, nothing really compares in the sports media world.

'Not a place for bravery'

The first rule of calling a game from the trenches: Pay attention or pay for it later.

"That's the key," said Mike Johnson, who works for TSN, NBC, and NHL Network. "If you get caught working - talking to the producer, looking at your monitor, checking your notes - that's when you're in trouble. You lose track of what's going on on the ice."

However, sometimes being attentive isn't a sufficient deterrent. For instance, Johnson lost a watch in 2012 when Claude Giroux unintentionally breached the analyst's office space and whacked him across the wrist, inflicting some serious damage.

"When his stick came flying over towards me, I instinctively stuck out my forearm to block the stick from hitting me in the head. His blade hit my watch. I looked down and the watch was in two pieces on the ground," Johnson said, before joking that he's "still waiting for Mr. Giroux to reimburse me for my troubles."

Ray Ferraro, who's become synonymous with the role during his time at TSN and for his annual appearance in the EA Sports NHL video game, maintains a simple approach. "This is not a place for bravery," he said. "If you think there's a puck or stick flying in there, you better get out of the way. You bail before it's happening."

Every now and then, though, even when the money-making face is shielded and both eyes are glued on the play, the world conspires against the between-the-benches analyst.

Case in point, Ferraro’s cup of coffee took the brunt of the impact one night in 2014 as Olli Maatta of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vancouver Canucks' Benn Ferriero collided inches away. As the replay ran, Ferraro provided insight only someone in his position could: "I'm pretty tired," he said. "I need this coffee … right there … not to be on the floor."

Ferraro's face and suit went untouched. "That was close," he recalled over the phone, later plainly stating his mindset: "I'm 54. My desire to be hit with a stick or a puck is very limited."

Pierre McGuire was the first to call an NHL game from between the benches. Over the years, it's safe to say nobody has been caught in the middle of more blood-boiling arguments than McGuire. One particular incident that's etched in his memory comes from the 2012 postseason. Why? Well, seconds before Peter Laviolette of the Philadelphia Flyers and Penguins assistant Tony Granato engaged in an epic shouting match over a controversial hit, McGuire narrowly escaped being clipped by helicoptering debris.

"Laviolette broke a stick across the glass and the blade of the stick went whizzing by my head," he said. "It was a wet blade, so I actually felt the water of the blade come across my face. The blade ended up in the Penguins bench."

Conventional wisdom suggests the between-the-benches analyst should aspire to be a fly on the wall versus an active participant. Ultimately, they are, as McGuire phrases it, "infringing upon the workplace" of players, coaches, trainers, and officials.

With that in mind, most analysts proceed with caution in the battleground environment. Don't relay to the audience everything you overhear, they tell themselves. Translate vulgarities into softer language and any over-the-line remarks should remain rinkside and off the record. Above all, since you're privy to exclusive sights, sounds, and interactions, and are being trusted to keep everything PG, don't go rogue with the commentary.

Ferraro calls this exercise the "decency filter." As in, "I'm not going to say, 'Joe told Pete to go f--- himself.' I'm not going to say that, but I can say that Player A told Player B to go take a hike."

"I will sugarcoat it," DeBrusk agreed. "If two guys are going back and forth and they're f-bombing this, f-bombing that, talking about each other's mothers, I'm not going to go into detail about what they're talking about. I'm going to say, 'These guys are really going at one another. These guys are getting nasty.'"

'Get off your phone!'

Although players are focused on pursuing the puck and analysts are balancing their responsibilities in calling the game and avoiding errant objects, the between-the-benches role can allow for organic interaction between the athletes and the media.

"You read the situation," said Johnson, who suited up for 661 NHL games for five different teams. "Generally, if they want to engage with me, they'll either look at me and check out the monitor, or squirt water on me. Or, if you have a pre-existing relationship, then you can feel more comfortable initiating the contact."

On the final day of the 2014-15 regular season, the Dallas Stars leaned on Johnson for out-of-town updates because captain Jamie Benn was neck and neck with New York Islanders captain John Tavares for the scoring title. It became a running bit all game.

"Tyler Seguin would come over and ask, 'So, what does he have to get in the third period?'" Johnson said. "And I'm like, 'He needs two points to tie him but he's got more goals, so he'd win.' And he's like, 'OK,' and would skate off." (Benn went on to claim the Art Ross Trophy by a single point.)

Other interactions are plain odd and unexpected, as Bryce Salvador can attest. Last month, MSG's Devils analyst, and a former New Jersey defenseman, watched Detroit Red Wings forward Andreas Athanasiou hop into his space between the benches in an effort to avoid a too-many-men penalty.

"It was one of those slow-motion type of events where all you're thinking is that he's going to land on your feet and slice my toes off," Salvador said with a nervous laugh.

Athanasiou settled safely and avoided any kind of infraction, much to the chagrin of Salvador's former teammates. "The Devils guys were like, 'Why didn't you hold him?' It was almost my instinct to hit him, push him," said Salvador, who retired in 2015 and still has close friends on the team. "You're caught between being an analyst and a player."

The player-analyst ribbing might begin in warmups with a snowing and could potentially continue for the entire game. During the last era of Ottawa Senators hockey, for example, McLennan was never safe from the captain's chirps.

"Erik Karlsson used to tease me because in commercials I go on my phone," he said. "But it's not like I'm sitting there calling my wife or something. What I'm doing is I'm checking scores in the league or staying up to date on things. Looking at shots on goal, attempts, and dig in on the game through my NHL app.

"You're on your phone and not paying attention and Erik Karlsson will give you a jab. 'Get off your phone! You're always on your phone!'"

'You can feel it'

At its core, the between-the-benches gig is about feel.

Feel for when to jump into the call; feel for the interactions between players and coaches, and amongst players; feel for what to say and what not to say; feel for what to do when the lights go out.

MSG's AJ Mleczko, who joined the Islanders broadcast team this season as a between-the-benches reporter, has already dealt with all of the above and has developed a unique feel for the game through her position.

"When you're in that spot and there's no glass between you and the ice, or sometimes between you and the teams, you can really get a sense of the momentum shifts," she said. "You get the emotional and psychological perspective, the body language. You can see all of that on TV but you can sort of feel it when you're down there."

Analysts also need to have a feel for what to do when their broadcasting equipment falters. McLennan has plenty of first-hand experience in that scenario since he's been forced to conduct a blind read on several occasions, including one after a spectacular move by Auston Matthews.

"Matthews made this unreal play with his foot, where he put his skate on the puck and spun it around. He kicked it to Connor Carrick, Carrick walked in and got a really good shot. But I had no monitor," he said proudly. "I just told my producer, "Tell me when that play rolls.' And I picked it up live and just went, 'Watch Auston Matthews' right foot!' I was completely blind. You couldn't tell the difference. The timing worked."

Other times, the tech issues aren't so innocent. Just ask Ferraro, who made headlines in 2012 after both an imitation of Dion Phaneuf's voice and a bashing of Paul Martin's play appeared on an online stream of a midseason Maple Leafs-Penguins game.

Chatting with a TSN producer and play-play-play man Chris Cuthbert amid some downtime, Ferraro had forgotten to press his talkback, a button that sends his audio to the crew and no one else. "It's not my finest day, that's for sure," Ferraro said of the infamous wire cross.

"You forget," he added. "Sometimes you're in a break and I want to say something to the play-by-play guy, or vice versa. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it doesn't happen. It's just every once in a while where somebody will send us a note saying they heard us on (NHL streaming service) GameCenter. And you're like, 'Oh, I hope I didn't say anything.' You just don't know. If you have to trace back through your conversations with a coworker, half the time you can't remember what you've said."

Darren Pang of FOX Sports Midwest offered a defense of Ferraro years later, saying he could envision a scenario in which he makes a similar mistake.

"Sometimes you forget that it's a $25 plastic button you're relying on," he said. "The same can be said for anything, like a referee making a bad call or a team allowing a bad goal against. That's the way we all think when we're watching a hockey game. We're all smart asses and we can be cynical at times and get right to the point. Luckily, I have not had that happen to me."

Given there are fewer between-the-benches analysts than teams in the NHL, and the fact that they often share an office at ice level, there's a deep understanding of, and respect for, each other's job. From the best view in the house, every analyst can marvel at a spinning puck, pinpoint the exact way a player holds his stick, and feel the force of a bone-crushing hit delivered a foot away.

The space between the benches is a romantic spot. If you're lucky - or unlucky in some cases - you may even trend on Twitter after taking one for the team.

"I just went back out between the benches and reported the third period," Giannone said, picking up where he left off with the puck-meets-face story from 2013. "The occupational hazard is part of the allure down there, to be honest. I mean, it made for super good television."

John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Welcome to Puck Pursuit, a weekly NHL podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's National Hockey Writer.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play.

This week, John is joined by the Hockey PDOcast's Dimitri Filipovic for the second episode of a two-part series focused on the main storylines from each conference. The episode above covers the Eastern Conference, while Filipovic's podcast (below) takes care of the Western Conference.

East topics include:

• The Sabres, of all teams, are the best story in hockey
• Lightning in a tier of their own atop the NHL
• What is Hakstol's leash in Philly under a new GM?
• Should we expect a run by the Penguins?
• Why you should never bet against Ovechkin

-----

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Welcome to Puck Pursuit, a weekly NHL podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's National Hockey Writer.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play.

On this episode, John is joined by ESPN's Emily Kaplan and theScore's Josh Wegman to break down the latest headlines and trends.

Topics include:

• Takeaways from Seattle expansion announcement
• Still to come: Hiring a GM/coach, choosing a name
• Spiraling Blackhawks falling behind in modern NHL
• Should Jeremy Colliton be blamed for Chicago's struggles?
• Under-the-radar fliers in fantasy hockey

... and more!

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.