Sullivan able to rejoin Penguins in Canada
COVID-19 protocols kept coach out of Montreal game
TORONTO — As Penguins coach Mike Sullivan searched for the right way to describe the past two weeks and, more specifically, the 24 hours leading up to Friday’s practice in Toronto, he settled on one word. “Unusual,” Sullivan said. It surely was. Following a positive COVID-19 test Nov. 4, Sullivan completed the NHL’s 10-day isolation period in time to coach Sunday in Washington and on Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena. But rules in Canada are different than the United States. He was not permitted to enter the country until he was 14 days removed from his first positive test.
So, instead of joining the Penguins in Montreal on Thursday to kick off a threegame Canadian swing, Sullivan took a car service to Buffalo. There, miles from the border and just on the periphery of the team he leads, the coach watched the game on TV in his hotel.
Finally, on Friday morning, Sullivan rode the final 100 miles, crossing the border in an almost metaphorical way to join the Penguins — this time for good.
“I give the players so much credit for just keeping the focus where it needs to be, that’s on the task at hand,” Sullivan said Friday. “Our coaching staff has a lot of experience. These guys [Todd Reirden and Mike Vellucci] are both head coaches in their own right. They’ve done a terrific job working through the challenges that the team has been faced with to this point.”
The timing of Sullivan’s official return is significant, as he rejoins the Penguins in earnest at what could be a critical inflection point in the season.
The Penguins (6-6-4, 16 points) were already shorthanded when the season began, with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin still recovering from offseason surgeries. Yet, thanks to surprising contributions from the bottom six, they were unbeaten in regulation through their first five games, going 3-0-2 and rising to the top as one of the NHL’s highest-scoring teams.
But that unsustainable scoring output came crashing down to Earth at about the same time COVID swarmed through the dressing room.
Eight players in total have missed time due to the virus. The long list includes Zach Aston-Reese, Jake Guentzel, Jeff Carter, Kris Letang, Marcus Pettersson, Chad Ruhwedel, Brian Dumoulin and — most notably — Crosby. Bryan Rust also missed seven games with a lower-body injury.
Partially as a result of that revolving door, the Penguins fell into a rough stretch. Before thumping Montreal, 6-0, on Thursday, Pittsburgh had lost eight of 10 and had the lowest points percentage of any team in the Metropolitan division.
“It’s been a little bit challenging in that sense, not knowing who your linemates are, who your defense partners are,” defenseman Mike Matheson admitted.
At long last, the Penguins are very nearly back to full strength after bouts with injury and illness. The defensive corps is entirely intact, with the six regulars the team anticipated when it opened camp written in Sharpie in the lineup. Both goalies are healthy. And the only notable absence among the forwards is Malkin, who continues to make progress.
Until Geno returns, Saturday’s puck drop will see the Penguins about as healthy as they can expect to be for the foreseeable future.
And Sullivan? As he rode those final 100 miles into Canada to join the club, he represented the one final piece to complete the puzzle — and a significant one whose impact should not go overlooked.
In his first two seasons, Sullivan played host to Stanley Cup parades. In two the most recent seasons? He’s earned Jack Adams award buzz.
The coach has earned respect in the dressing room and throughout the hockey world as the Penguins’ winningest coach in franchise’s storied history. It’s no coincidence he was named coach of the U.S. men’s hockey team that is scheduled to compete at the Beijing Olympics this February.
“He’s our head coach,” Matheson said. “He commands a lot of respect. The thing that I really noticed from the moment I got here last year is how well he speaks. That’s one of his biggest strengths as a coach, the ability to address situations and explain things as a coach and as a teacher very effectively.”
That voice of leadership will be critical as the Penguins look to begin their climb up the standings with more firepower in their lineup than at any point in the season.
That starts Saturday against a surging Maple Leafs team (12-5-1) that has won 10 of its past 11. The Penguins already have put themselves in a deep hole in a hyper-competitive division. As of Friday night, their 16 points are 10 behind the first-place Carolina Hurricanes. As Carter said following Tuesday’s game, it’s time to starting “racking up” points.
Sullivan, who joined the Penguins in the middle of the 2016 season and sparked a run to the Cup, will once again look to bring a team together that’s rarely had many of the same pieces all together in the same place at the same time.
“We’re excited about the group that we’ve had when we have a real healthy group,” Sullivan said. “We believe we have a competitive roster here.”
Over the next several days and weeks, it’s time to show it.