I was asking around the Penguins' dressing room the other day about how much a coach can affect a team's performance. You can read about that story later today, but consider Sunday night's game a perfect example of it.
You won't find Mike Sullivan's name anywhere among the three stars at the bottom right corner of the official scoresheet for Game No. 1,062 of the NHL season. And you won't find his name on my unofficial three stars below, but you better believe that the coach's fingerprints were all over the Penguins' 4-2 win over the Bruins.
Where to start?
How about two hours before the puck even dropped when Sullivan announced that he'd be going right back to Matt Murray in goal? While I didn't question the decision — obviously the Penguins desperately need points — I wondered if Sullivan was risking injury and/or the goalie's new-found confidence.
Murray was coming off perhaps his finest performance of the season a night earlier in a loss at Columbus. How could he possibly top that against the Bruins, the team with the NHL's second-ranked power play and a team that entered the game as the hottest in the NHL, having earned points in 19 straight games?
Well, all Murray did was stop 39 of 41 shots Sunday to pick up the win in his second start of back-to-back games. While maybe not as spectacular as Saturday, Murray was plenty good. Ask Charlie McAvoy, who got nothing but Murray's right pad in the third period:
Needless to say, my concerns about Murray playing two games in 24 hours for the second straight weekend were a little misguided. Not only did Murray gobble up the puck all night, he seemed to enjoy the heavy workload. Sunday's game was his eighth straight start and over that span he is now 5-1-2 with a .966 save percentage:
How about Sullivan's decision to mix up his top line?
After replacing Jared McCann with Dominik Simon against the Blue Jackets on Saturday, Sullivan reversed course by reuniting McCann with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel.
Though the trio didn't account for any scoring at 5v5, it's hard to argue with that line's 57.14 Corsi For percentage or seven scoring chances for and two against. Most impressively, they held the Bruins' top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Danton Heinen -- still one of the NHL's best without David Pastrnak -- completely in check.
"I'm just trying to be in the right positions for Sid and Jake," said McCann, who provided The Play (see below) of the night on the penalty kill. "Tonight, I still feel like I have to focus on video and see where I have to be to create more offense."
But by flipping Simon and McCann, the third line was equally effective. It was Simon who forced a Lee Stempniak turnover to Patric Hornqvist that led to the Penguins' first goal just 1:33 into the game and set the tone for a dominant opening 20 minutes. Hornqvist gathered the puck, swooped around the right circle and fired a pass that went in off Nick Bjugstad:
"It was just whack-a-mole at the net," explained Bjugstad, who now has five goals in 19 games as a Penguin. "I don't know if I got it late or what. Hornqvist and Simon did the work up top. They created a turnover and I was sitting at the net trying to whack at it."
While some in a jittery fan base have been clamoring for Hornqvist to play in a top-six role, it would seem the veteran has found some chemistry with Bjugstad, as the center was telling me:
A night after Hornqvist's strong performance at Nationwide Arena, the third line had an astounding 78.57 Corsi For percentage with five high-danger chances for and zero against.
Bjugstad and McCann, the centerpieces of Jim Rutherford's haul in the weeks before the trade deadline, seem to have meshed perfectly with their new team. Most importantly, Sullivan seems to have found lines where roles are being clearly established.
"It starts with that attitude of wanting to make a difference and wanting to help this team win games, and I think both these guys are excited to be Penguins and they're excited about the roles that we put them in," Sullivan said.
And it's probably safe to assume that neither Phil Kessel nor Evgeni Malkin were too excited about their roles on the power play Sunday night. Kessel, of course, was the goat Saturday night in Columbus when he tripped over the blue line, leading to Cam Atkinson's short-handed breakaway goal.
Malkin and Kessel started Sunday's game on the first unit, but after seeing that group go 0-for-4 and looking completely lost in the process, Sullivan made the somewhat unusual move of mixing things up in-game. With his team clinging to a 2-1 lead, Guentzel was moved up and Sullivan went with two defensemen: Justin Schultz and Marcus Pettersson.
At 4:32 of the second period, Sullivan's move paid off.
After Zdeno Chara pinched, the Penguins had an odd-man break the other way with Crosby feeding Guentzel on a centering pass that Guentzel chipped over the right shoulder of Jaroslav Halak with what proved to be the game-winner:
It was Guentzel's team-leading 34th of season -- yes, 40 is a distinct possibility -- and just his fifth on the power play.
"We decided to break into two units because we felt that our top unit wasn't really getting any traction. And it hasn't just been this game, it's been a handful," Sullivan explained. "At some point, I think the coaches feel compelled to have to try and step in and affect some change. And so we made the decision in the middle of the game to go into two units and that's what they did."
While Barry Trotz, Claude Julien and Craig Berube are likely to garner most of the votes for the Jack Adams Award for leading their respective underdog teams into playoff contention, don't underestimate the work of Sullivan with the Penguins this season.
This has been the most trying season during Sullivan's four-year reign in Pittsburgh and yet the Penguins, despite their flaws, are still in the thick of things.
Sunday's win gives them 83 points, good for third place in the Metropolitan Division. That's two points ahead of the Hurricanes and four more than the Blue Jackets, the two teams holding down the wildcard spots in the Eastern Conference.
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THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THREE STARS
My curtain calls go to …
1. Jared McCann
Penguins left winger
Even his empty-net goal -- the third of his career, all with the Penguins -- was impressive: A 99-foot backhander.
2. Nick Bjugstad
Penguins right winger
The rangy center now has two goals in his last three games and he won 75 percent of his faceoffs Sunday.
3. Matt Murray
Penguins goaltender
Murray's 23rd win of the season was his fourth when facing 40-plus shots this season.
THE GOOD
As DK explains here, the Penguins' decision making with the puck was as good as it has been all season.
THE BAD
In addition to the power play, equally concerning is the injury to Zach Aston-Reese.
Yes, injuries are a part of the game and the Penguins certainly haven't been immune to them (you can read the laundry list below), but this latest injury to Aston-Reese is a little concerning.
The second-year forward went back to the dressing room with about six minutes to play in the second period and did not return. Sullivan had no further update on Aston-Reese's condition, other than to say that it's a lower body injury.
It's unclear how Aston-Reese was injured but, with 9:11 left in the period, he carried the puck into the offensive zone where he took a fairly routine hit in the corner from McAvoy. Aston-Reese appeared unfazed by the hit and continued on for one more shift before leaving the game:
Losing Aston-Reese for any length of time would be a huge blow down the stretch. The 24-year-old scored the Penguins' lone goal Saturday in Columbus and has been effective as the left winger -- and defensive conscience -- on the second line with Malkin and Kessel. Without Aston-Reese, Teddy Blueger moved up from the fourth line. While Blueger has certainly had some impressive moments since his recall, he's not ideally suited for a top-six role.
If -- again, if -- Aston-Reese misses time, it will be the fourth injury he's sustained in his 59-game NHL career. He missed a month last season with an upper-body injury and then was knocked out of the playoffs with a concussion and broken jaw on a hit from Tom Wilson. Then he missed a month earlier this season after suffering a hand injury in a fight with Florida's Colton Sceviour.
How important is Aston-Reese to the Penguins? When he was out from Jan. 11 to Feb. 11, the Penguins went just 5-7-1. Since he's been back, they've gone 8-3-2.
THE PLAY
As you may have heard, the Penguins have given up 14 short-handed goals, most in the NHL this season. Only two other teams have given up at least 12: The Panthers and now, thanks to McCann, the Bruins.
McCann's shorty at 13:54 of the first period gave the Penguins a two-goal cushion and was the result of a double-team effort by McCann and Blueger on David Krejci at the blueline. McCann knocked the puck off the Bruins forward's stick back to Blueger, who then head-manned a pass for a clear breakaway.
"Casey DeSmith always stays with me after practice and works with me on breakaways and stuff like that," McCann explained. "I feel like the harder you fake it, the more he has to respect it, right? I just tried to fake it as hard as I could and he bit on it."
Oh, he bit all right. McCann completely fooled Halak, beating him with a deft backhander:
It was McCann's third short-handed tally this season and second with the Penguins, who have now scored 10 this season. Only the Flames (16) and Coyotes (14) have scored more. That's a stunning turnaround as the Penguins had been the last team to score short-handed this season. Aston-Reese's SHG goal on Dec. 14, also against the Bruins at PPG Paints Arena, came in Game No. 31.
THE CALL
The marquee matchup featured Crosby vs. Bergeron. Two future Hall of Famers. Two Selke Trophy candidates. And, arguably, the two best 200-foot players in the league.
Score the head-to-head win to Crosby, who had the one assist on Guentzel's goal. Though Bergeron won 6-of-11 draws vs. Crosby, the Bruins' great was a minus-2, just the 12th time he's been a minus this season, and had a Corsi For percentage of just 27.78 at 5v5.
However, the two stars did come together for one controversial moment at the 6:43 mark of the second period. That's when, in the Bruins zone to the right of Halak, both players vied for an airborne puck that went over the glass. But whose stick sent it over? See for yourself:
The on-ice call was for delay of game on Bergeron, though it appeared that the puck may have gone off Crosby's stick. Bergeron, who has a reputation for being one of the league's consummate pros, vehemently argued it. The officials even got together to discuss it but, in the end, the call was upheld. That gave Bergeron 28 PIMs in just 53 games this season, his most since 2015-16.
THE OTHER SIDE
All things must pass.
The Bruins' run of earning points in 19 straight games came to an end. Fittingly it came in Pittsburgh, where the Bruins haven't won in five games. Boston's streak was the second-longest in the team's storied, 95-year history. The B's record is still 23 games (15-0-8) set between Dec. 22, 1940 and Feb. 23, 1941. That team, which featured the famed "Kraut Line" of Milt Schmidt, Woody Dumart and Bobby Bauer, went on to capture the Stanley Cup. Whether this Boston team can do that remains to be seen but, clearly, they are a legit contender.
"I think we can be proud of that, but not satisfied," said John Moore, whose goal with 1:01 left in the third period briefly made it a one-goal game before McCann's empty-netter 40 seconds later. "There's no reason we can't get right back to work on Tuesday. That's the special part about this group is guys really push each other and we expect a lot out of each other. We'll be ready to go on Tuesday (vs. the Blue Jackets in Columbus)."
The good news for the Bruins is that Bruce Cassidy believes Matt Grzelcyk may have "dodged a bullet." The defenseman left the game early in the second period with what appeared to be a wrist injury after taking a hit along the boards from Hornqvist. Cassidy said X-rays on Grzelcyk's arm were negative.
THE DATA
• Before he went down, Aston-Reese led the Penguins with a 75.00 Corsi For percentage.
• After ending his 16-game goal-less drought Thursday, Kessel seems to have taken two steps backward. Sunday saw Kessel's seven-game points streak against his original team come to an end.
• Krejci's second-period, power-play goal was the first by the Bruins in Pittsburgh since Loui Eriksson on Dec. 18, 2015. They are now 2-for-30 in their last 10 games here (stick tap to Bob Grove).
• The Penguins have now won five straight home games vs. Boston. Their only longer streak was 10 in a row from Jan. 5, 1993 to Nov. 30, 1996.
• Jack Johnson led all players with five hits. He now has 205 on the season, 25 more than his previous career high.
THE INJURIES
• Zach Aston-Reese, forward, left the game in the second period with a lower body injury and is still being evaluated.
• Kris Letang, defenseman, missed his seventh game with an upper body injury.
• Olli Maatta, defenseman, has a separated left shoulder sustained Feb. 11. He’s on IR. He skated Saturday in Cranberry.
• Bryan Rust, forward, missed his sixth game with a lower-body injury.
• Chad Ruhwedel, defenseman, missed his sixth game with an upper-body injury.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
McCann—Crosby—Guentzel
Aston-Reese—Malkin—Kessel
Simon—Bjugstad—Hornqvist
Blueger—Cullen—Wilson
Johnson—Schultz
Dumoulin—Trotman
Pettersson—Gudbranson
• And for Cassidy's Bruins:
Marchand—Bergeron—Heinen
Nordstrom—Krejci—Stempniak
Cehlarik—Coyle—Backes
Kuraly—Acciari—Wagner
Chara—McAvoy
Krug—Carlo
Moore—Grzelcyk
THE SCHEDULE
After playing two games in two nights, the Penguins will have a well-deserved off day today. They will be back at it Tuesday night when they host the defending Stanley Cup champion Capitals at 7:08 p.m.
THE COVERAGE
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MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins vs. Bruins, PPG Paints Arena, March 10, 2019 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS