3 Thoughts: Sullivan Changes Course, What I’m Seeing on Road Trip

CALGARY, Alberta — The hard, cold Canadian winter began Monday. After the Pittsburgh Penguins brought 70 degrees and sunshine to Winnipeg, as well as numerous gifts in the form of generous scoring chances, the snow and cold met the Penguins for practice in Calgary.

The Penguins are a scattered bunch. Several players are exceeding expectations, but the top players are not only struggling to produce but defensively disengaged.

That’s a nice way of saying the top Penguins players, including Sidney Crosby and the top defensemen, have been bad in the D-zone.

The Crosby and Evgeni Malkin milestones are in the rearview mirror. The fun and celebrations are over. Yet, the Penguins lead the league in goals allowed (31) and are a minus-7 in goal differential. It’s far too easy to blame a bad game or two from goalie Tristan Jarry and dismiss the problems as early-season jelling.

However, coach Mike Sullivan is not waiting for problems to sort themselves. Sullivan has not only begun making wholesale changes to his established lineup but hasn’t spared feelings by stopping practice to admonish his players on Monday at the Saddledome.

Read More: Sullivan Angrily Stops Practice; Clarifies Jarry’s Status

Sullivan learned his lesson last season when he allowed the team to drift for months.

This reporter has tried to draw internal comparisons to the patience of last season vs. the urgency of this season, but thus far, neither Sullivan nor Crosby has bit. In fact, Crosby expressed some happiness when Sullivan scolded the team during poor practice.

“Obviously, there are high expectations, so I don’t have any problem with that at all. I love when things aren’t going well, the coach blows the whistle and makes sure he corrects it,” said Crosby. “You don’t want to practice bad habits, and it’s important to do things the right way.”

However, Sullivan offered a wordy dodge on his lack of patience, or rather urgently making significant changes.

“I think urgency is a word that we always like to have … We’re going to try to put people in the lineup that give us the best chance to win–(as with) with all the respective positions. That’s ultimately what we’re trying to do,” Sullivan said. “As a coach, sometimes there’s big picture stuff, and there’s the short-term things that we think about when we’re making those types of decisions. But at the end of the day, that’s really what we’re trying to answer each and every day.”

With Sullivan, his actions matter far more than his public answers. His actions speak to his true feelings and thoughts, and within that context, the true state of the Penguins emerges.

Sullivan is already fighting for his team. Seven games into the season, he’s making big changes, holding players accountable in a public setting, and, quite frankly, doing many of the things he needed to do last season but did far too late.

Fans may have decided that he’s overdue for the scrap yard, but he’s doing his best to reach the team.

But it’s not an easy task. When was the last time that Crosby was a defensive problem? He was a significant problem Sunday in Winnipeg. His line was well underwater in scoring chances for the second straight game, and that was the man who scored the game-winning goal (Adam Lowry).

In the latest Coach’s Debrief video on the Hockey Now YouTube channel, Francis Anzalone detailed the defensive woes that have surprisingly visited Crosby and the top line. If you click on the above link, we fastforwarded to the film room segment.

Sullivan tried Valtteri Puustinen in the lineup, but one game after an adrenaline burst made him one of the better players, Sunday he was bit invisible. Puustinen wasn’t bad, but he didn’t give Sullivan reason to remove Cody Glass, who was a part of the very successful Lars Eller line, or Jesse Puljujarvi, who struggled with his new assignment playing beside Evgeni Malkin but has otherwise been an impactful player lower in the lineup.

Sullivan decided not to belabor the Puljujarvi in the top six experiment and was a fourth-liner at practice on Monday.

There’s not a lot Sullivan can do with the defensemen. Erik Karlsson is chasing the puck, and Marcus Pettersson is not sure-footed at the moment. What Sullivan can do is hammer away at the forwards to do their job, which they have uncharacteristically not done.

With respect to Sullivan, this is the first time in a few years that he’s coaching with immediate urgency. He might bristle at such analysis, but he waited far too long last season to make changes, and our memory does not recall a practice that he ripped into his team, though they surely deserved it.

Sullivan is wise to start cracking down. A repeat of last season would consign the team to absolute irrelevance. Hope would be lip service, and the challenge would be avoiding acceptance of the dreary reality that would ultimately undo the team from the foundational pillars.

2. Tristan Jarry

One week ago, the thought of sending goalie Tristan Jarry to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins was a bit silly, but the situation has clearly fractured. Jarry isn’t getting full practice reps but rather working with goalie coach Andy Chiodo in addition to third-goalie reps with the team.

Sullivan is trying to protect Jarry. His grimace when asked about the situation is obvious, as is his irritation. On Monday, he refused to say Jarry was scratched on Sunday. Instead, Sullivan pushed back on that word and said it was part of “a comprehensive plan.”

Right now, there’s no space for Jarry anywhere in the organization. Filip Larsson has started two of the four WBS games and had one show-stopping shutout. Sergei Murashov also won his only start, stopping 27 of 28 (Alex Nedeljkovic started one game as part of his rehab assignment).

Murashov and Larsson need playing time at the AHL level.

Jarry will need some games somewhere, but Sullivan is fighting to keep the team in the playoff race; he doesn’t have the luxury of gambling on a goalie or easing him back at the expense of points until he’s fully rebounded.

It does seem that Sullivan is simply done with the situation and is letting his goalie coach handle it. Until then, the goalie tandem will be Nedeljkovic and Joel Blomqvist.

3. Best Players Have to be Your Best?

Crosby has one goal and six points in seven games but is a minus-4. Kris Letang has three points (1-2-3) in seven games and is a minus-5.

Even Marcus Pettersson has 10 penalty minutes, which is usually a very bad sign of getting caught in the wrong position, and is a minus-4. Pettersson’s defense partner, Karlsson, has been all over the ice and is a minus-3.

Yes, Lars Eller leads the team with four goals and has arguably been their best player.

The situation presents worry because there was such optimism and good vibes in training camp. The situation can also be spun to the positive because Crosby and the star players can’t be this bad for long.

Right?

Crosby doesn’t have an even-strength goal and has 11 turnovers already. For context, he had only 41 in all of last season. Crosby’s expected goals-for (xGF) is only 47%, well below his usual range of 55%.

Crosby has also been on the ice for 28 high-danger chances-for, but 40 against (41%), according to NaturalStatTrick.com. It’s just seven games into the season, but expect to see Drew O’Connor on Crosby’s line. O’Connor is playing strong hockey and represents the best chance to hotwire Crosby’s season.

Otherwise, things might take a nasty turn.

If any team is chasing a Stanley Cup and needs a rock-ribbed presence in the middle, Eller’s trade value should be near its peak. He brings a lot to the team, wingers love playing with him, and he holds locker room sway in an already prestigious room. The Penguins need more, not less, of Eller, but if they don’t achieve a turnaround, Eller is worth a second-round pick all day.