PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It’s the most surprising team as the NHL heads to the Olympic break. What has led to the Pens owning the seventh best record in the league and second place in the Metropolitan Division?
Let’s step back for a minute when myself and a couple other reporters were camped outside a house in Sewickley in September. Sidney Crosby was continuing the franchise’s tradition of delivering tickets before the start of the season and the discussion with the captain centered around rumors of him potentially wanting out after his agent said in the offseason Crosby being traded is ‘always a possibility’. His agent added Crosby wanted to see how the Pens were going to be this year.
This was the first time for Crosby to respond and he quickly squashed that talk ‘this is where I want to be, I love it here’.
It’s interesting looking at it now in February what Crosby said about expectations of the team on September 15.
“I would say the expectations from the outside are pretty low,” Crosby said. “That doesn’t change my approach or our approach as far as trying to go out there every night and win games. Ultimately you have to go out there and play the game, whether there are projections, or your team on paper, you just got to go out there and play.”
And have they.
The season opened with a win against their two-time Stanley Cup coach at Madison Square Garden. In October the Pens had points in 10 of the 12 games, eight of them wins. They were the hottest team in the league.
They would only win four games in November and had an eight-game losing streak in December. Yet even when it appeared the Pens were headed to the projected basement, they bounced back.
A six-game winning streak that started in late December followed by another six-pack of consecutive wins to end January. Even after one of the worst games of the year Monday against Ottawa followed by a tough loss on Long Island, the Pens bounced back getting a pair of goals by a forward in his first NHL game on his first two NHL shots.
A quick look at why a postseason return is in the Pens sights.
Kyle Dubas
First and foremost, the Pens GM got the right coach, more to come. Then he weaved through free agency and a few barely notable trades to add players who have made huge impacts on this team.
· D Parker Wotherspoon-averaging career-high 20:29 of ice time
· F Connor Dewar-career-high 13 goals
· F Justin Brazeau-career-high 15 goals
· F Anthony Mantha-2nd on Pens with 20 goals
· F Ben Kindel (draft)-14 goals as an 18-year-old rookie
· G Arturs Silovs (trade)-more wins this year (11) than previous 3 seasons
· G Stuart Skinner (Tristan Jarry trade)-8 wins in 13 starts, 2.72 GAA w Pens
· D Brett Kulak (Tristan Jarry trade)-averaging 20:20 ice time as Penguin
· F Egor Chinakhov (trade)-8 goals in 18 games & immediate fit with Malkin
· D Ilya Solovyov (trade)-3 points in 5 games matches NHL best
Dan Muse
This is what Kyle Dubas said when Muse was hired June 4.
“Dan has shown a proven ability to connect with players at all stages of their careers and help them to reach their potential.”
It exactly describes what the 42-year-old with no NHL head coaching experience has done. Remember he was given a roster that was not expected to do much, yet he convinced a room full of veterans to follow his lead. This team plays as responsible as it has in years.
Muse has put together third-and-fourth line combinations that not only work, but impact games on both ends of the ice. And when they succeed, they continue to get playing time. He’s not afraid to give the fourth line double-digit minutes a game.
In the previous three seasons, this Pens team with established power play potential was 19th in the league in power play percentage. This season the Pens are fourth in the NHL with a man advantage and third on the penalty kill. The special teams have been outstanding.
He’s motivated/helped Erik Karlsson play his best hockey as a Penguin. He’s already tied a Pens career-high in power play goals and his 12 assists are three shy of his best in Pittsburgh. Through 51 games he’s a +6 after being a -24 last season. Last year Karlsson had 140 giveaways, this year, it’s 65.
One of the best players in team history, this first-year head coach convinced an oft-times stubborn Evgeni Malkin to move to wing. The 39-year-old is doing something he hasn’t done in three years, averaging over a point per game.
Silovs has the best save percentage among the Pens goalies and that is only 35th among NHL goalies with at least 19 games. Yet between he and Skinner, they have been solid enough. They are holding it down for Sergei Murashov, who most in the organization believes is not only a future starter, but future star.
Sidney Crosby
None of this works without the captain being on board. He was open-minded to the removal of Mike Sullivan and the addition of a first-time head coach. That could have been really difficult for a 38-year-old with the appetite to win coming off three non-playoff seasons and knowing the last time the Pens hired a coach without NHL experience it went horribly wrong.
Sid is top 20 in the NHL in goals and again averaging over a point per game and is a rock, not only for two decades with this franchise, but especially with this team.
Leadership has put the Pens in a place few expected. Leadership from the general manager to the first-year coach to the future Hall of Fame captain.