As usual, Scotty Bowman is ahead of the pack. He’s been ahead of the pack for weeks.

On Thursday, Bowman’s Wings clinched the Presidents’ Trophy (and, more importantly, home ice throughout the playoffs) with a 3-3 tie against the Predators in Hockeytown.

Like any coach, Bowman likes having the home ice edge. As the Avalanche proved twice last spring, it’s nice to play a Game 7 in your own building. If necessary, the Wings will have that advantage this year.

The Red Wings’ sensational regular season also has allowed Bowman the very rare luxury of time. In the 30-team, 82-game NHL, a coach -- no matter how clever -- never has enough time. It’s certainly a luxury none of Bowman’s coaching peers have enjoyed during this ultra-competitive 2001-02 campaign, where a single win or tie will likely mean the difference between a trip to the postseason and a trip to the driving range.

On cruise control since the Olympic break, Bowman has been carefully fine-tuning his superstar-laden team for its playoff opener in mid-April.

While other coaches have been forced to drive their top players to the brink night after night, Bowman has been able to tinker with line combinations, without worry about the standings. He’s been able to carefully eye the play of young D-men like Jiri Fischer, Maxim Kuznetsov and Jesse Wallin, without fear of a costly turnover leading to an important loss. And, he’s been able to cut back on minutes for many of his veteran stars, without losing a minute of sleep.

Like a savvy mechanic, Bowman wants to know exactly what he has under the hood when his souped-up Wings hit the Motown ice for their first playoff game.

And, as a daily reminder of the coming playoffs, the legendary coach still carries a torn and tattered Red Wings’ pocket schedule with him. On St. Patrick’s Day, after a 6-4 win over the Rangers in New York, Bowman carefully unfolded his ripped schedule and spoke about having just one road game after April 8th and how beneficial it would be for his team to do its final playoff preparations from its home base.

Clearly, the old master had been planning ahead ... way ahead.

Meanwhile, in Dallas and Edmonton and Vancouver and every other city where there’s a hockey team trying to coax an invite to the Stanley Cup playoff party, those coaches can only hope they haven’t held their foot down on the accelerator too long.

If their teams are suddenly hot, like Craig MacTavish’s Oilers (who stretched their unbeaten streak to seven with a 2-2 tie with the Kings on Thursday), they must wonder how long it will last? And, will it be enough?

If their teams are stumbling to find their way, like Rick Wilson’s Stars (who scored two late goals to gain a 2-2 tie in Calgary on Thursday), they must hope that things will fall into place before it’s too late.

Or, if their teams are looking up, like Marc Crawford’s Canucks (who grabbed an extra point in the standings with an overtime 4-3 win over the visiting Blue Jackets on Thursday), they must not only win, but also pray for the help of others.

Yes, while everyone else races desperately through the final straight of the league’s Paris-to-Dakar marathon season for playoff position or one of the final postseason slots, Bowman sits quietly in his garage, tinkering with his engine.

In April, when he finally turns the key, releases the break and puts his foot on the gas, Bowman expects one long (maybe last) ride. And, if you look closely, you can see he already has a head start.

E.J. Hradek writes puck for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.