Penguins coach spurred team’s turnaround in Game 7
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins looked like they needed a day off. Maybe more than one.
And yet there the defending Stanley Cup champions were on Tuesday morning, dressed and skating barely 12 hours removed from a listless Game 6 loss to Washington that put Pittsburgh’s bid for a repeat in serious peril.
The Penguins weren’t there to get loose. They weren’t there as punishment. Mike Sullivan had a point to make. Several actually. And the coach owner Mario Lemieux hired nearly 18 months ago to be the voice that
cut through the noise figured it was time to remind his players of a few things.
Namely, to stop being passive bystanders while the Capitals attacked and attacked some more. So for more than half an hour Sullivan zipped around the ice at the rink named after his boss, whistle at the ready. Intermittently he’d head to the whiteboard hanging against the glass then call his players over to join him so he could loudly — and repeatedly — make a point, his thick Boston accent ping-ponging off the walls and over the din.
“There’s times where you need rest, there’s time where you’ve got to work on some things and try and get better,” forward Bryan Rust said. “And that was our goal (Tuesday) and we accomplished it.”
The proof came in Game 7 on Wednesday night, a clinical 2-0 victory over the Capitals that sent Pittsburgh to the Eastern Conference finals against Ottawa. While Sullivan deflected any praise in the aftermath — preferring instead to pepper his answers with words like “leadership” and “character” and noting the spectacular play of goaltender MarcAndre Fleury — the Penguins understand their ability to summon their best when they absolutely need it is due in no small part to the guy with the immaculate suits, blunt demeanor and knack for saying the right thing at the right time.
“X’s and O’s, he’s one of the very best coaches I’ve played for,” said 40-year-old forward Matt Cullen, who has bounced between seven teams during his 19-year career. “(As for) motivation, he does a heck of a job. He’s got a real feel for the pulse of our group.”
OVECHKIN: Russian hockey officials announced Thursday that Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin played through injury before Washington was eliminated from the playoffs.
Ovechkin finished the playoffs dealing with a lower-body injury that required pain-numbing injections, the Russian Hockey Federation said in noting that Ovechkin would not be able to play for Russia at the world championships in Europe because of it.
Ovechkin never let on that he was playing hurt. He had five goals and three assists in 13 playoff games.