COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Mike Sullivan does this thing when he's thoroughly disgusted that, if it weren't for fearing that his skull will burst, might be fun to observe.
Goes a little like this:
1. He hears the reporter's question.
2. He leans forward, digging his right elbow into the podium and clamping the front with his hand as if where a throat he'd wish to throttle.
3. He looks downward, right into that podium. This is my favorite. As if he's gazing into the abyss for any good reason why he shouldn't just find an actual throat.
4. He scours every corner of his brain for any and all publicly palatable variations of what's really rolling around in there.
And from there, the next phase goes a little like this:
"I just don't think we were good enough. We weren't good enough."
This was late Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena, and he was referring, of course, to the Penguins' strikingly carefree 5-4 loss to the Blue Jackets in Game 4 of their Stanley Cup playoff series, an outcome that could have carved out not only a sweep but also, and maybe more important, a few days of welcome rest and recovery for the second round.
The coach had barely cleared his throat.
"You have to give them credit: They certainly came out with a lot of urgency. And we talked about it. Before the game. Being ready."
That happens, too. The chip-chopped sentences.
"And it started from the very first power play."
Uh-oh. Even the stars aren't about to be exempt.
"I thought we had a real good chance to gain the momentum. ... That was a missed opportunity."
Sure was. As in, no one created a solitary opportunity, unless you count Columbus' quality short-handed shot.
"We just, as a group, as a whole ... we just ... we just have to be better."
So close!
Another reporter then asked about something else. I don't remember what, but it wouldn't have mattered if it had been for Sullivan's pontifications on the Syrian civil war, he was still going to answer the way he answered.
"I just don't think we played the game the right way. We weren't committed to play the game the right way. You've got to stay on the right side of people, you've got to have some depth to your attack, you've got to reload for the 50-50 battles ... and if you don't? If you don't pay attention to those details, then you're going to give up odd-man rushes and other high-quality chances."
There were a bunch of those. The Penguins were outshot, 34-31, and at one precarious point it was 20-9.
"We weren't committed like our team usually is."
Nope.
"We had moments in the game where we had some momentum, some signs of getting where we want to. But not nearly enough."
Nope squared.
"When we play the game the right way, we can compete with anybody."
Yep.
"We're going to go home. We're going to reset our mindset. But we've got to be more committed to play the game the right way."
Yep squared.
"I just don't think, for whatever reason, we were good enough."
You get the idea, right?
They weren't anything resembling good, not in any facet. They were flat at the start, surged somewhat toward the end of the second to pull within 3-2, then came out for the third as if they were determined to test Marc-Andre Fleury's mettle some more before proceeding:
Ugh.
That's Ian Cole trailing back with the Blue Jackets' William Karlsson. That's Karlsson shooting off the glass. That's Cole following him behind the net, fulfilling his role. But that's Sidney Crosby not cutting him off when he emerges at the other side. That's Fleury not tracking the puck too well. And that's Karlsson scoring the backbreaking goal in just silly fashion.
No way that should happen. Not any single slice of it.
And that's to say nothing of the origin of the sequence at the other end:
Ugh squared.
That's Justin Schultz on a furious center drive to the Columbus crease. Sullivan and Jacques Martin encourage their defensemen to support the rush, but they sure aren't looking for them to lead the rush with a one-goal lead, just when matters had finally begun to brighten before intermission.
That's Crosby having his pass intercepted. And then, if you go back up to the previous replay, those are Sheary and Guentzel kind of going for a twirl.
I'm not picking on Sid and the Kids. That would be nuts. They've been prodigious on the attack. They have the potential to upgrade the offense several notches above where it was last summer.
But here's some data that might surprise you: In five-on-five play, Crosby and Guentzel have both been on the ice for five goals scored, seven goals against. Sheary has been on for three goals scored, six against. Taking it deeper, Crosby has been on the ice for 85 shots for and 84 against, Guentzel 85 for and 87 against, Sheary 78 for and 79 against.
If that sounds like a wash or even a slight loss, that's your inner mathematician nodding.
Let's condense it further: Of Columbus' 11 goals in this series, seven have come against the Penguins' top line.
Again, though, I'm not picking on them, and I'm most certainly not advocating that Sullivan split them. Rather, it's stressing that all of them have to be better, even those perceived to be their very best.
I asked Crosby about his line's defensive lapses and, after grinding his teeth for a bit, he replied, "We've got to be better. You're seeing the chances. We've got to take those away, all of us."
Exactly. All of them. And, like Sullivan, I'm less inclined to list every lapse or lazy thought process than to emphasize what now should be glaringly obvious: For the Penguins to win a second Stanley Cup, they've got to be more sound, more consistent defensively. With Kris Letang lost, it's all the more essential that it's a community effort. That means smarter plays in the attacking zone, better tracking back between the blue lines, improved awareness of open men in the defensive zone and, No. 1 by far, giving a hoot about all of that.
"In this game, we gave up the most chances and the highest-quality," Sullivan said. "That wasn't the case in the first three games and, certainly tonight, we weren't hard enough to play against."
That means defending.
"It's hard to score your way through the playoffs."
Yep times a gazillion.
Oh, and hey, only in hockey does anyone find value in the ridiculous concept that a team has to "weather the storm" from the opponent. Who defines the owner of said storm? Is there a mutual agreement after the morning skate?
"Hey, you guys got the storm tonight?"
"Yeah, you had it last time. Only fair."
Shots have been 56-27 in Columbus' favor over the four first periods to date. That's not cute anymore. And that's best solved by just being the very best version of the Penguins, you know, right from the opening faceoff.
Game 5 Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena would be a wonderful place to begin cementing this anew, while the Capitals keep flirting with disaster in Toronto and while the opportunity still exists to get that extra R&R.
"I know we're better, and I know we will be better," Sullivan said. "But we certainly weren't good enough tonight."
He never looked up.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
