CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Kyle Dubas has sensed a shift with the way fans react to a team's struggles in recent years -- not just in Pittsburgh, but everywhere.
"As soon as the team didn't play to its potential, now it seems that right away that the focus shifts to coaching," Dubas said.
Dubas said that he didn't quite see that reaction from fans during his first couple of years working in hockey, and isn't sure if the shift is a result of social media or something else.
The Penguins came into this season looking to be Stanley Cup contenders. With an 11-12-3 record, they currently sit below .500 and are six points out of an Eastern Conference playoff spot -- far below expectations. Coupled with a power play that has now failed to score on 37 consecutive opportunities despite having Erik Karlsson, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust and others all in the mix, there has been a vocal segment of the fan base calling for changes behind the bench.
Mike Sullivan isn't on the hot seat. His seat isn't even getting the slightest bit warm. Dubas made that clear in a media availability Monday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
Dubas said that he had his impressions of Sullivan and a level of respect from him from afar before being hired as the Penguins' president of hockey operations over the summer. Since then, his admiration and respect have only grown.
"Being with him every day, and not only seeing his attention to detail on the systems, but his attention to detail with the players and coaching them individually," Dubas said. "Personally, I think we're very fortunate to have Mike."
Dubas praised the coaching staff as a whole for not being "transfixed by systems" or what worked in the past, and their ability to adapt.
He said that he "absolutely" believes that Sullivan is the person for the job "now and far into the future," and that it's up to him to support the Penguins' coaching staff the best he can.
"Like any team that's in this spot, we have to continue to find our way out of it," Dubas said. "I'm certain that Sully is the best person to help us in that regard."
Despite the early-season struggles, the Penguins remain very much in the hunt for a playoff position. Part of that is due to a pretty weak -- but tight -- Metropolitan Division. The Rangers have a pretty good hold on the No. 1 spot with 39 points, a seven-point lead over the second-place Flyers. But only nine points separate the second-place Flyers (32 points) from the last-place Blue Jackets (23 points). The Capitals and Islanders are tied at 31 points each, and then the Devils and Hurricanes are right behind with 29 points. The Penguins, with 25 points in the standings, are far from out of it.
Dubas credited the Penguins' exceptionally strong goaltending -- the team's combined save percentage from the efforts of Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg is .917, the third-best in the NHL behind only the Bruins (.922) and Golden Knights (.920). Dubas also credited the team's good five-on-five play, and the numbers back that up, too. The Penguins' rate of 32.65 shots on goal per 60 minutes of five-on-five time is the fourth-best in the league, and that's resulted in 58 total goals at five-on-five, the seventh-most. That's largely come from the Penguins' top line -- Crosby's 10 five-on-five goals is two shy of the league lead, and Guentzel is right behind with nine, followed by Rust with eight. While Dubas didn't mention the penalty-killing, the Penguins have also gotten good results from that group, a group that ranks 10th with an 83.5% success rate.
It all comes back to the power play. Monday marks a month to the day since the Penguins' last power-play goal, one that came in a 4-0 win over the Sabres. The streak of 37-straight failed opportunities is historically bad in the context of the franchise. Per statistician Bob Grove, the Penguins have only had five streaks in the entire history of the franchise that have reached at least 30 failed opportunities. The 37-opportunity streak is the second-worst in franchise history, behind only the 42-opportunity streak in the team's inaugural season.
The Penguins have gotten just seven goals on 74 opportunities on the power play this season, for a success rate of 9.5% that ranks third-worst in the league. They have scored on the man advantage in four different games, which matches the number of games in which they've allowed a shorthanded goal. Taking into account the four shorthanded goals allowed, the Penguins' net power play percentage of 4.1% ranks dead last in the league.
The power play is actively costing the Penguins games and valuable points in a tight division race. With even an average power play, the Penguins could be sitting in a playoff position today.
Dubas said that the power play is understandably a "major focus" with fans, media, and obviously internally.
"In my experience when the power play struggles, it's the heaviest feeling that you can have," Dubas said. "You come into the rink, and you get one revolution. And as soon as it doesn't work the exact way that you want it to, especially when you're at home, you feel the angst that goes with it. I think that the players that we have, and the coaching staff that we have are far too good not to solve our way out of it."
A takeaway from that statement from Dubas is his confidence in the coaching staff once again. Not just Sullivan, the staff. That includes associate coach Todd Reirden, who manages the power play and the defense. Dubas thinks they have the group to get out of this power play funk, and Reirden is part of that.
Dubas said that the power play is another area where he's seen in the past several practices the willingness to adapt and not be beholden to what worked in the past. In addition to the various personnel changes, he sees that the players aren't looking to make the perfect play in order to find their way out of this.
"That, for me, has been the most encouraging part," Dubas said. "It doesn't mean that tomorrow night, we're suddenly going to come out and light the world on fire. I think especially when you're at that stage, it's a process of earning your way out of it and building a new confidence in the way that things run, and continually trying new things."
From there, Dubas said, it's about building consistency.
"We have to start to build a consistency in terms of what we want in the power play," Dubas said. "And obviously, it's on top of mind for everybody. It takes up a lot of bandwidth right now, and that's because it hasn't been near at the level that we want to be, especially in the last month. If we can get that part of our game rolling and sustain the other parts of it, I think we'll have a good run of success and pull our way out of it. But everyone's focus is on that."
Dubas stressed the importance of giving the players and coaches time to figure things out. He didn't rule out future personnel changes, though, and used the All-Star break at the beginning of February as a sort of benchmark for when he may look to make some changes.
"On the other side of that, we'll have a better idea of what we are as a group and where we need to go," Dubas said. "Are we close and need some help, and it's all sorted itself out the next time we convene? Or do we need to have a deeper discussion about where we're at as a club? Time is going to tell us that, and that's how we'll dictate that."
