PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – A few of stories from the Pens season including what Michael Bunting said of being on a line with Sidney Crosby, plus why the overtime struggles.
OT
The Pens lost a dozen games in overtime over the season, only four NHL teams lost more.
“We didn’t do as good a job as we are capable of with the possession game,” said Pens head coach Mike Sullivan. “That’s an essential element of overtime. There’s a lot that goes into that. We got to be more selective when we choose to attack. It starts with our shot selection. When you watch overtimes, if a shot on goal takes place, it can set off a domino effect of events after that just because there’s not a lot of players on the ice.”
Sullivan said they needed to ‘outchange’ teams and use line changes to take advantage of a fatigued opponent on the ice. It’s something they did talk about, even if they didn’t practice it often.
Related
Myriad for Letang
For much of the last couple of weeks of the season, Pens defenseman Kris Letang would miss morning skates, practices entirely or partially and while he would only say he ‘was going through some stuff’, his head coach said a little more.
“Tanger was dealing with a myriad of injuries for a long time,” Sullivan said Thursday. “He is a warrior. There is no other way to put it, some of the things he was dealing with down the stretch and continuing to play through to try and get us to where we wanted to go.”
Bunting buddy
Acquired in the trade for Jake Guentzel, forward Michael Bunting found his spot on the second line with six goals and 13 assists over his 21 games with the Pens. He also got to play with one of the generation’s best centers in Evgeni Malkin.
“He was great to play with,” Bunting said. “He communicates out there. He talks a lot. We just clicked. I think both of our styles compliment one another. He likes having the puck, creating plays. My style kinda of gives him space, retrieves the puck and battles in front of the net. We complement one another.”
“He’s still a beast out there. When he’s turning it on, it’s tough to stop him. Once he has the puck and is flying down the ice, it’s tough for them to stop him. He’s still got it.
Related
Mower man
Forward Jeff Carter announced his retirement after the season finale against the Islanders and found a retirement gift from the team, a new riding lawn mower that was parked outside of his locker in the room, Thursday morning.
While there were high expectations of his impact after he was brought in by the previous GM, Carter played in 241 games with the Pens with 52 goals and 48 assists playing 14:48 per game. He was a guy that forward Bryan Rust respected.
“He was relied upon to do a lot of things and he handled it with nothing but class,” Rust said. “He’s a first-class guy, did whatever the team needed him to do. He's a guy who genuinely cares about everybody around him and makes sure everybody comes first before him"