Option 2

I would take a very analytical approach to convincing my coach to put me on the ice for the critical minutes of the game. I'd make the argument that if I'm usually a good player and just having a bad game so far, it's likely for me to regress towards the mean of my performances throughout the season in these final minutes. If someone's been scoring a point per game all season long and they haven't yet scored a point this game, does the coach bench them forever and assume they'll never score a point again? No, so someone who's had a bad game so far isn't necessarily going to continue having a bad game. If I have a gut feeling that I've still got plenty of effort to give on the ice then I'll let it be known by my energy levels on the bench. If the bad game was caused by lack of energy that day then I wouldn't want to go out there in the critical minutes, but if the puck just wasn't bouncing the right way earlier in the game then surely the coach will believe me.