Inside Scoop: Round 1, Game 5 vs. NYI

Thoughts, musings and observations from Monday's morning skate ahead of Game 5 against the New York Islanders at PPG Paints Arena.

ATTENDANCE AND WORKFLOW

Goaltender Casey DeSmith was the only player absent from the session, and head coach Mike Sullivan did not have an update on his status. The Penguins stuck with the same lines and D-pairs they used for Games 3 and 4…
Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
Zucker-Malkin-Kapanen
McCann-Carter-Gaudreau
Aston-Reese-Blueger-Tanev
Dumoulin-Letang
Matheson-Ceci
Pettersson-Marino

VIBE CHECK

When Sullivan first took over as head coach of the Penguins, one of his biggest tasks was shifting the players' attention away from all of the distractions surrounding the team - or "the noise," as he often refers to it. That is a message he continues to preach to his players, which is especially important at this time of year, as there's going to be plenty of ebbs and flows during a seven-game playoff matchup.
That's been the case so far in Pittsburgh's Round 1 matchup with the Islanders. The Penguins certainly aren't happy with how they played in Game 4, which New York won 4-1 to even the series at two wins apiece. But they've played a lot of good hockey in this series, which is far from over, despite what social media and Internet message boards have to say.
I absolutely loved this quote from Sullivan about how the group just needs to make sure they have a resilient mindset and a laser focus heading into Game 5 tonight:
"We're going to win a game and there's going to be all kinds of praise. We're going to lose a game and there's going to be all kinds of doubters. And for us, we're just going to focus on the task at hand. We're going to try to ignore the noise. We're going to learn from every experience we go through. That's how we look at it. That's the discussion we had with our players. ... We're playing against a tough opponent. We knew that going in. We knew it was going to be a hard series, and here we are in the middle of it. So that, for me, is the most important thing - just the mindset and making sure that we're excited about the opportunity that's in front of us."

After having a day away from the rink on Sunday to reset, the players are looking forward to getting back at it and playing in front of their 50% capacity crowd here at PPG Paints Arena, which will surely be rocking as they welcome the team home following two road games.
"We're excited," Jared McCann said. "Obviously it wasn't our best game last game against them, but we're going to go out there today and prove that we've got a lot better."
When it comes to actual tactical adjustments the Penguins feel like they need to make for Game 5, McCann said they want to be harder on the forecheck. They need to put more pressure on the Islanders defense and fight to get more pucks and bodies at the net-front.
"The forecheck is an important part of our identity," Sullivan said. "When we're playing on our toes, and we're anticipating and we're making good decisions with the puck between the blue lines, I think that's when our team is at its best. So it boils down to a mindset, but it's also about decision-making and execution."

CONTROL THE PROCESS

There are some notable names missing from the goal column so far this series, like top-line winger Jake Guentzel along with McCann. Their absences are more notable considering how productive they were during the regular season.
As Sullivan said, obviously they want these guys to find the back of the net, "there's no doubt about that." But all they can do is control the process, play the game the right way and make sure they are doing their job shift after shift. Then hopefully, the chances will start to fall.

"I've just been average right now, I think," McCann said. "I know I got a lot better. Obviously you can't control that kind of stuff sometimes, that's just the way hockey goes. Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn't. You got to give their goalie credit, they played well, but I'm just going to keep pushing here. I'm not going to dwell on it, you got to stay positive through things like this, and that's what I'm going to do."
Guentzel in particular has had a number of great looks, putting up seven shots in Game 2 and six shots in Game 4. He tends to play his best hockey at this time of year, with 25 career playoff goals in 49 career playoff appearances, so Sullivan is confident that he'll be just fine.
"The puck hasn't gone in the net for him up to this point, but he's had a fair amount of opportunities to finish," Sullivan said. "So our feeling is that if he just stays with it, he'll find the back of the net. He's too good a player."