NOTES Panic time? Penguins staying patient during slide:

Mike Sullivan’s voice was calm as he urged patience and understanding, qualities that tend to be in short supply around the NHL when the calendar flips to March and the number of regular-season games dwindles. They’re traits the Pittsburgh Penguins coach hasn’t had to rely on much during his four-plus years on the bench, which include back-toback Stanley Cup championships. Yet with the Penguins mired in their longest losing streak since 2012 — a sixgame skid that’s rendered their appearance at the top of the Metropolitan Division two weeks ago a mere cameo — the typically fiery Sullivan has taken a more muted approach. “There’s no easy stretch,” Sullivan said. “That’s just the nature of the league.” It’s a nature the Penguins have largely been immune to for years. Yet they have looked decidedly vulnerable while getting outscored 24-8 against a schedule littered with teams basically playing out the season. A winless road swing through California last week culminated with a 5-0 loss to San Jose that led captain Sidney Crosby to place the blame squarely on his shoulders. Though Crosby — who has just one point since a 5-2 romp over Toronto on Feb. 18 pushed Pittsburgh into first place in the Metropolitan — hasn’t quite looked like himself of late, neither has the 19 other guys in the lineup on a given night. Asked if there was any one common thread for a swoon no one saw coming, Crosby shrugged. “It’s hard to point the finger at one specific thing, but I think putting the puck in the net a little more would give us some breathing room,” he said. Of course, for the puck to go into the net, the Penguins actually need to shoot it. It’s something one of the league’s most talented offensive teams has struggled to do lately. While on the surface Pittsburgh’s average of 33 shots per game during the losing streak looks healthy, the reality is that the Penguins have fallen into the habit of trying to make the pretty play instead of the right one.