PHN Extra: What the Penguins Have Gotten Right

In the spirit of the holidays and because of the higher amount of negative coverage than this fanbase and team is accustomed, it’s time to offer praise for a few things which the Penguins have gotten right this season. Despite the occasionally deafening social media reactions, the Penguins have indeed hit on more decisions than they’ve missed and are closer to being a legit contender than they the middle of the pack.

But given the stubbornly negative sentiment which is persisting, even that last sentence is somewhat controversial.

When head coach Mike Sullivan said last week the team’s victory was “closer to their identity” he was entirely correct. It wasn’t coach speak or positive spin, it was a tacit recognition the team is finally getting it–call it buy-in or a realization how they have to win games. Their formula is different than it has been because they’ve changed and the game is changing.