PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Even in a month where the Pens won just four of 11 games, there were signs of better play. There is one constant when it comes to seeing that better play more consistently.
Effort.
Maybe better said, the right effort. It’s being focused constantly that leads to the better results. More so than who is playing on what power play or on what line or who is in net.
“That’s the mental challenge of setting yourself up to having your compete level and the highest,” said Penguins center Lars Eller. “When you are emotionally involved and your compete level is there, usually you have better execution and better luck because you are winning races and winning more puck battles and all of those things lead to more chances.”
“We know all of the X’s and O’s and systems and there is no question about that. It’s just everybody setting themselves up, looking themselves in the mirror and being ready no matter who we are playing. I think the division is pretty open and we have everything in our own hands. We’ve seen some positives in the next few months.”
“It’s hard for any of us to be at our best in the absence of emotion,” said Pens head coach Mike Sullivan. “That’s what makes sports what it is. When players and teams are invested emotionally that’s usually when you have an opportunity to capture their best. Without a doubt, emotional investment is an important aspect of it. That is an expectation that we have when we come into the dressing room every day.”
Eller said there are going to be games where execution isn’t there or maybe you can’t finish your chances, that’s where the compete level, worth ethic and emotion can help get them through that.
The 34-year-old Stanley Cup champ with Washington elaborated that in the games where they’ve had good starts, a good first five minutes, that feeling stays with them most of the game. Sullivan called it the biggest challenge coming out of the break. They need to understand what Pittsburgh Penguin hockey looks like when they are at their best.
“There evidence is there when we play a certain way and are willing to play the game a certain way, we can compete with any team in the league,” Sullivan said. “We’ve beat a lot of good teams.
There is a lot of evidence to suggest when we do play the game a certain way we are a competitive hockey team. Our challenge moving forward is we need to put that game on the ice more consistently, not just game-to-game, but period-to-period and shift-to-shift.”
If they do, the head coach believes there is a big opportunity in front of them. None of the teams they play in February are currently higher than third in their respective divisions.
“We are in a position where we are fighting for a playoff spot,” said Pens captain Sidney Crosby. “We have played some decent hockey in the last month or so, hopefully can continue to get better. I like the fact that we’ve played better as a group.”
Crosby cited he believes the special teams will improve, hard to be worse hitting at 13% on the power play. He said they’ve been better at limiting odd-man rushes, making big mistakes and when they do make an error, they’ve had good goaltending.
Eller says when they are at their best, they can beat anybody. Sullivan echoed that.
“Excited for this next couple of months here, we play a lot of games in a short period of time,” said Pens forward and defending Stanley Cup champion Reilly Smith. “It’s an important spot for this group. We have to pick up a lot of wins. It starts with the next game.”