What it is ain’t exactly clear, but there is just a little something building with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
It starts with a save here, and a timely goal over there. A power play marker and a penalty kill later, and the Penguins are solidly in a playoff spot when nearly everyone predicted (or hoped) the team would be battling for the rights to the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
After some truly terrible hockey a week ago made it look like the bottom was about to drop out on this improbable push for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the team quickly rebounded from a 7-2 knockout punch thrown by the Toronto Maple Leafs by knocking out the Philadelphia Flyers, stealing one in Tampa Bay in front of goalie Tristan Jarry who was superb. Then they matched the Dallas Stars stride for structured stride narrowly missing a win before loosing (again) in a shootout.
After a bruising weekend, the Penguins took five of six possible points on the three-game road trip.
The team has displayed both a remarkable ability to let great games slip away and an ever more remarkable ability to win games that should have been a blowout.
Through all of the crest and the abyss of the transitional first quarter-plus of the Penguins’ season, the team has pushed forward.
It’s impossible not to think, there are the seeds of something unique with the team. There is a resilience, a joy, a hunger, and a lightness in the room. The coach doesn’t dominate the room, but the players aren’t running the show, either.
It seems the team is already embarking upon an unchartered course, and it’s not as fragile as we thought last weekend.
What We’ve Learned
*The youthful element was even more sorely lacking than we realized. And it’s invaluable to a team that had become worn down by their own disappointments.
The attitude inside the room is sometimes angry, it’s occassionally depressed, but often it has been jovial. Emotion is flowing, but instead of it being mitigated by veterans who know the sun will rise the following morning regardless of their result, the team is feeling the results in a more visceral way.
There is no more shrugging off a string of terrible performances with, “We just have to…”
Now, they actually do what they “just have to…” because it absolutely matters.
*The room is entirely different.
Everyone talked about the infusion of the youthful exuberance and enthusiasm, but two Penguins general managers failed to add youth, including current GM Kyle Dubas who went for the home run (Erik Karlsson) in his first year.
No, it was not coach former Mike Sullivan suppressing it for some sinister veteran worship, nor was it simple preference. Quite simply, the best young prospects at Sullivan’s disposal were Sam Poulin, Nathan Legare, and Valtteri Puustinen.
Watching Sidney Crosby laugh and smile in the locker room is quite enjoyable to cover. We’ve written about the Penguins having fun and did so again Saturday when Crosby, Kris Letang, Bryan Rust and Ben Kindel were among a small gaggle of players that remained on the suburban Dallas rink’s ice for about an hour (or more) after practice.
Perhps you caught Crosby’s little retort to us Saturday when we asked about the enthusiasm Kindel brings, “It was a long time ago for me, but I remember, it’s the best.”
The rookies are also elevating each other. Since Rutger McGroarty’s arrival three games ago, Ville Koivunen has quickly returned to his best. After about a dozen games in which Koivunen was not very good and starting to incite some worry that last season’s late spurt at the NHL level was more abberation than reality.
Koivunen lights up when we’ve asked him about playing with McGroarty; the two largely played together on a line with Tristan Broz with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last season.
McGroarty is a big personality and don’t forget, Koivunen has only been on this continent for just over a year. McGroarty represents something familiar and predictable for Koivunen, and perhaps vice versa, especially on the ice.
*However, it’s not just the rookies who are making a big difference. I can’t begin to tell you how much different the room is this season.
After Crosby finally chatted with the media Saturday, he hung out to chat about the Olympics and the recent games. Just…talking hockey.
Other players who were standoffish or even brusque in recent times, are telling stories and cracking jokes.
Coach Dan Muse made a point to add assistant coaches known for their personalities, too. Todd Nelson and Mike Stothers are gregarious sorts, and Nick Bonino was always a popular figure, especially in the Penguins room.
As Kevin Hayes noted in Tampa, “winning is more fun than losing,” but it goes beyond just good times. It goes to the group, from the bench, down to the eighth defenseman, there seems to be an emerging belief in themselves–one which will soon reach unshakeable.
*Tristan Jarry is for real.
His technique is significanty more consistent, especially while moving. His work in the third periods, which has been entirely flappable in recent seasons, is stellar.
As No Pucks Given co-host Vince Communale noted on our most recent episode, the second half of seasons is when Jarry has struggled. So, projecting his season might be a matter of faith, but note the recent comments from Jarry about learning to deal with his health.
I won’t connect the dots specifically, but you’ll recall a couple of seasons ago when Jarry mentioned to the media he was a bit banged up and was had some trouble in recent starts–but he was publicly slapped down by Sullivan, who sternly said, “No, he’s not injured.”
Jarry never again mentioned it and sidesstepped follow up questions. The rumors of chronic or degenerative issues spread like wild fire, though they were eventually tamped down with some explanation following the 2023-24 season.
Two weeks ago, Jarry mentioned that it took him more than a year, “to feel human, again.”
If you’re looking for a reason to think Jarry’s 9-2-1 record with a .913 save percentage is for real, perhaps take into account several differences, including sharing time with Arturs Silovs, the Penguins’ heavy investitures into sports science and training, and the generally new attitude which has allowed several players to find their better versions.
*It might not always be pretty, and it would seem there are several teams that are better than the Penguins, including the New York Rangers, but none of those teams are winning games at the same rate.
We tried to ask Jarry about the general feeling of something building, but in the fog of the postgame media scrum Sunday, he misunderstood the question, taking it literally, as building from game to game.
OK, that, too. The Penguins are building there, too. Their structured performance against Dallas after being scrambled by Tampa Bay, was indicative of their resilience.
There’s just a little something happening here.
Tags: Pittsburgh Penguins rutger mcgroarty Tristan Jarry Ville Koivunen
Categorized: PHN Blog