Without three of their top four defensemen and top-line
winger Bryan Rust, and with a ferocious playoff battle afoot, the Pittsburgh
Penguins have dominated their last four opponents. Beginning with the Stadium
Series game in Philadelphia and concluding last night in Montreal, the Penguins
have mostly outplayed their opponents with simple, honest hockey. It appears
head coach Mike Sullivan’s message is finally getting through.
And the Penguins are rising to meet the unexpected
challenges the hockey gods are hurling at them, while Sullivan is challenging
them further.
The Penguins have earned six of
the last eight points, mostly without top defensemen Kris Letang and
Brian Dumoulin. The team won five of six points on their three-game road trip
and should have gained all six points if not for a late, fluky goal in Buffalo.
Saturday night Sullivan started Matt Murray again; Murray
started both of the back-to-back games. The message was sent.
Note the subtle explanation by Sullivan. Lost in the praise
for Murray’s performance is Sullivan’s coaching psychology. He challenged
Murray, just as he has challenged the team.
And the Eastern Conference has been challenging, too. Before
the season, or even into November, would anyone have predicted the New York
Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes would hold two of the top three spots in the
Metro Division? And the same goes for the Montreal Canadiens. It has been a
changing of the guard in the Metro Division and the Eastern Conference.
The Penguins embarrassed themselves against the San Jose
Sharks about 10 days ago in a 5-2 loss which wasn’t even that close. The
Penguins not only flatlined but were mocked by Evander Kane who wandered near
their bench during a timeout.
Penguins GM Jim Rutherford acted by acquiring “pushback” in
the form of 6-foot-5 defenseman Erik Gudbranson, who was immediately needed as
the Penguins lost yet another defender to significant injury, Chad
Ruhwedel.
Rutherford and fans are nervous about making the playoffs,
and they should be. Carolina has won five in a row; Columbus loaded up at the
trade deadline with Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel. And Montreal has Carey Price
in net, so they are a threat in every game.
PERHAPS IT’S THE
PERFECT FORMULA.
These Penguins seem to relish a challenge.
Without feeling a challenge, the Penguins slept through last
season only to find their bad habits followed them into the playoffs. Consider
this stretch a purge of bad habits and a call to action.
And so after months of Sullivan imploring his team to play
the simple, honest hockey for which their roster has been constructed, and the
NHL game now demands, the Penguins are doing it, led by their captain Sidney
Crosby.
“He understands the position we’re in. He’s doing all he can
to help this team win,” Sullivan said after Crosby posted four points (1g, 3a)
against Montreal. “He just plays the game the right way. He plays on both sides
of the puck.”
And in Scotty Bowman fashion, Sullivan is juggling his lines
on a nightly basis. Sometimes Sullivan makes swaps to challenge players, or as
he did last night, the changes are based on matchups. Saturday night, he put
speedy, tenacious winger Jared McCann on Crosby’s left side to add speed on the
line. Montreal has beaten the Penguins twice this season and speed was a
factor.
Speed wasn’t an issue Saturday as Sullivan continued to push
buttons, large and small.
The Penguins were shoved into simple hockey last weekend in
Philadelphia. The stadium game conditions wouldn’t allow much razzle or dazzle
and they lost both Dumoulin and Letang on the same play in the first period.
The Penguins had to play with just four defensemen and they resoundingly
responded to that challenge until Murray faltered late in the game. They still
earned a point in an overtime loss.
The Penguins followed that nearly suffocating performance by
squashing Columbus–in Columbus. They also felt they dominated most of the game
against Buffalo, Friday night but another overtime loss left a sour taste in
their mouth.
And Crosby took just 21 seconds to erase that taste by
scoring on the first shift of the game, Saturday.
The Penguins are 2-0-2 in their last four games and they’ll
eventually get Letang and Dumoulin back. The Penguins are visibly turning the
puck over less, just as they are visibly heeding their coach’s directive to
“hang onto pucks, low.” The Penguins are pressuring opponents in all three
zones.
McCann stepped forward to intercept pucks to create two
goals–one for Jake Guentzel and one for Crosby–Saturday night. Even with a
patchwork defensive unit, the Penguins are scoring goals and pushing the play.
The Penguins were shoved into simple hockey by circumstance
but they’re receiving the best reward: Success.
If this continues, that nervousness could become excitement.
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