If only it were as simple as “ignore the hype.”
You’d tell the players, they’d nod in agreement, put anything anyone has ever said about them out of their heads, and play it like a road game.
But it is the opposite of simple.
And it will be the opposite of simple Saturday for the Vancouver Canucks.
The first four baseball clubs to open the post-season at home lost. All four National Hockey League teams to open at home Wednesday lost. Three more lost Thursday.
Everyone has seen the Guaranteed Win Night that backfired, and Fan Appreciation Nights that inspired endless bitter jokes.