Assessing the Penguins at the Halfway Point
With the majority of their team returning, the players felt that they would be able to build off the positives from last year - like finishing first in a difficult Metro Division while establishing a special team chemistry through being in a bubble together - while also learning from the disappointing finish that saw them eliminated in the First Round.
But while there was a lot of internal excitement surrounding the team, the Penguins knew they would be up against it at the start of the year with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both ruled out for the beginning of the season. And from there, the adversity only grew as they continued to lose key players - and even head coach Mike Sullivan - to the 10-day COVID protocol at different points in the first couple months. And of course, injuries also happened, and continue to happen.
They did their best to battle through it, embracing the next-man-up mentality, but a stretch where they went 2-6-2 over a 10-game span had them in a tough spot following a 2-1 loss to Buffalo on Nov. 16. The next morning, before flying to Montreal to take on the Canadiens, Sullivan told his team they needed to bring swagger and urgency. He said when those two things are present in their game, the Penguins can compete against anyone.
The players took his advice, and ended up with a resounding 6-0 win. Ever since then, they virtually haven't stopped collecting points. Starting with that victory at Bell Centre, the Penguins are now 16-2-0 in their last 18 games, and have extended their current overall winning streak to five games. Their five-game win streak is the second-longest active streak in the league, behind the Colorado Avalanche (6).
The Penguins now have a 26-10-5 record and 57 points through 41 games, and their .695 points percentage at the halfway point of the season is tied for the third-best points percentage in team history. They've gone from near the bottom of the Eastern Conference to fourth; second in the Metro Division (one point out of first); and fifth place in the entire league.
After compiling* reasons for optimism heading into Game 1, here's another list coming out of Game 41.
- EXPECTATION TO WIN
This group just keeps finding ways to get results, even when they don't have their best or their full complement of players available (that has yet to be the case this season), which has been remarkable to watch.
I think Sullivan put it best when he talked the other day about how there's an expectation that this team is going to win when you put on a Penguins jersey, and that stems from the core leadership group of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. They've combined for three Stanley Cups along with countless achievements over thousands of games, and still have so much left in the tank.
"In my experience of being around the game, this is the best core that I've ever been around," Sullivan said. "They have helped to sustain and build the culture that exists here in Pittsburgh. They've built a legacy that is so admirable. And what I admire about these guys is that they're hungry for more. The expectation is, night in and night out, regardless of who's in the lineup, that, that we have what it takes to win."
After Kansas City defeated Buffalo in what was arguably the greatest football game ever played on Sunday night, I read an article about how the Chiefs superstar trio of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill basically willed them to victory, making huge plays in the most critical moments. That's what we've seen from our own superstar trio on so many occasions here in Pittsburgh, and now that they're all currently healthy, I can't wait to see where they lead this Penguins team. As Letang told me at the start of the year…
"I've said that I think for the last 15 years, when you have a guy like Sid or a guy like Geno on your team, it's pretty hard not to think that you're a Cup contender," Letang said. "As soon as you see those names on your roster, you have to believe that you're going to go far, and you're going to try to win this."
- MIKE "JACK ADAMS" SULLIVAN
The part Sullivan has played in establishing that standard here in Pittsburgh cannot be understated. He's said one of his main responsibilities is the delicate balancing act of trying to hold everyone to a certain level of accountability, while also inspiring people to be at their best.
Sullivan has handled that with aplomb, as it just feels like every guy, from top to bottom, knows what their role is. That comes from the coaching staff outlining their expectations, communicating to the players what they can do to help the team have success, and putting them in positions to do so.
That's evident in second-year players like Matheson and forward Evan Rodrigues, who both took huge steps forward and are each having terrific individual campaigns; and newcomers like Danton Heinen and Brock McGinn, who have slotted right in and delivered.
It's also evident for a guy like Jake Guentzel, who's said that his job is to produce. And he's been absolutely excelling in that regard, putting up points on an unbelievably consistent level during what has been an All-Star season.
"We're trying to do our best as a coaching staff to help them along the way and help them bring solutions to the table, both tactically and otherwise, to help this group maximize the opportunity," Sullivan said. "But it's a players' game, and it's their team. So we try to give them ownership. The most powerful accountability, in my experience of being around teams and around championship teams, is the horizontal accountability. It's accountability that takes place amongst the group."
- JARRY HAVING A STATEMENT YEAR
While the way last year ended was tough for everyone, it may have weighed the heaviest on Tristan Jarry. But his teammates repeatedly expressed their confidence in him, and knew he'd come back to Pittsburgh after a summer of hard work ready to have a statement year. And he's certainly playing like he's got something to prove.
The netminder's numbers speak for themselves. Only Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy has more wins (23) than Jarry's 22, while his 2.09 goals-against average and .928 save percentage both rank in the top-three. But what doesn't show up in those stats is just how completely locked in he looks pretty much every single night. Jarry gives his team a chance to win every time he's between the pipes, exuding calmness and confidence on each save that he makes, regardless of the difficulty.
It can be easy to forget that at 26, Jarry is still a pretty young goalie, and everyone's development process is different. One of my favorite all-time quotes in that regard was from former goalie coach Mike Buckley when talking about Jarry and Matt Murray, who famously won two Stanley Cups as a rookie. "Whereas Matt just barged through the door, Tristan kind of wandered in," Buckley said.
Sullivan has said time and time again that Jarry has always been a player with so much upside and potential, and when he's on his game, he's as good as the top goaltenders in the league - it's always been about just managing his mindset and staying in the moment. It looks like Jarry -with the help of Sullivan, first-year goalie coach Andy Chiodo and the rest of the staff - has figured out how to do that, and is reaping the rewards.
- CONSISTENCY ON THE BLUE LINE
It helps that Jarry has a solid D-corps in front of him, with the Penguins dressing the same group of six for the past two months dating back to Nov. 14 at Washington. Establishing consistency with their three pairs - Brian Dumoulin and Kris Letang; Marcus Pettersson and John Marino; and Mike Matheson and Chad Ruhwedel - has been huge in terms of learning each other's tendencies and developing chemistry.
"It's helped all three defense pairs be at their best and play to their strengths," Sullivan said. "We've liked the pairs the way they've been. That's the reason there hasn't been a lot of change there. They're complimentary players, we feel."
- STILL PLENTY OF ROOM FOR GROWTH*
That all being said…to a man, the Penguins know they still have a lot of room to grow. While they've obviously been really successful recently, they know they've been getting away from their identity more times than they would like.
"I think that's our challenge moving forward, is to put a consistent game on the ice that we think is going to give us a chance to win regardless of who our opponent is," Sullivan said. "For me, it comes down to a team game, knowing what your role is, doing your job and trusting that your teammates are going to do theirs on both sides of the puck. Then it's having an understanding of risk-reward when we're out there. I think when we're calculated, and we make better decisions with the puck so we put our teammates and our team in good spots, I think that's when our team is at its best."
