POINT SHOTS

Semyon Varlamov of the Islanders, pictured above, leads the NHL with a .964 save percentage on rush chances, per Sportlogiq. Rounding out the top five are Adin Hill, Alex Lyon, Charlie Lindgren and Alex Nedeljkovic. Where is Tristan Jarry? As of Friday morning he ranked 28th in the league with an .840 save percentage.

Speaking of attacking off the rush, it may surprise you that the Penguins actually generate twice as many chances with their cycle game than off the rush, but it’s true. Their 5.7 rush chances per game rank just 25th in the league, per Sportlogiq. Jake Guentzel leads the team with 34 total rush chances.

Mike Sullivan has been pushing many of the right buttons over the past month as the Penguins entering the weekend had gone 9-3-2 in their last 14 games.

His personnel decisions have been paying off, whether it has been going with the hot hand in net, bumping Ryan Graves down to the third pair for the time being or dressing Jansen Harkins on the fourth line over Radim Zohorna.

Sullivan also has the Penguins playing more disciplined over this stretch, with most if not all the players seemingly having clarity and buy-in with their roles.

Drew O’Connor over the past few weeks has finally realized the promise that he showed during training camp and the preseason. He has started to consistently go to the net, using his combination of speed and size to challenge defenses. And he has reached a new level as a forechecker this season.

The Penguins need O’Connor to keep it up, especially if Reilly Smith misses time with the upper-body injury he suffered in Thursday’s loss to the Canucks.