Sullivan vs. Johnston: Comparing the Penguins’ First-Half Numbers

With a couple of days between games and nothing in particular to write about, I thought I’d compare the Penguins’ stats under new coach Mike Sullivan to those compiled under former skipper Mike Johnston.

While the impromptu analysis didn’t expose anything earth-shattering, it did reveal a few surprises.

First, the expected. Based on the numbers, the stars clearly have benefited from the switch. Especially Sidney Crosby (12 points in a dozen games) and Kris Letang (11 points in seven games). Patric Hornqvist, too, has enjoyed a significant jump, while Evgeni Malkin maintained his near point-per-game clip.

The spike in output from the black-and-gold elite can—to a degree—be attributed to a rejuvenated power play. A chronic sore spot under Johnston, the power play is clicking at an impressive 26.1% (11 for 42) since the coaching change, including a piping-hot 34.3% over the past 10 contests.

Still, the perception that the Pens have been more offensive under Sullivan is just that. Goals per game are down slightly (2.3 vs. 2.35) since the switch. Toss out Sully’s first four games (all losses)? The team trends up to a more potent 2.88 goals per game.

Now for the surprise. Although he’s regarded as a player’s coach, Sullivan’s promotion hasn’t been a tonic for all. Several of the Pens’ foot soldiers—most notably veterans Eric Fehr and Chris Kunitz—have experienced a dip in production. Russian rookie Sergei Plotnikov appears lost. He’s a minus-5 with declining possession numbers in his past 10 games. Likewise, the defensive duo of Brian Dumoulin and Ben Lovejoy has been less effective since the change (a combined minus-7).

Indeed, there’s lots of room for improvement at even strength. A collective plus-3 under Johnston, the Pens are an unsightly minus-36 in 13 games with Sullivan at the helm. Possibly a by-product of the more wide-open style employed by the Massachusetts native.

Between the pipes? Marc-Andre Fleury and Co. have held firm. Excluding shootouts, goals against per game are up, but only slightly (2.3 vs. 2.24).

SCORING
Player	Coach	GP	G	A	PTS	PPG*	+/-
Malkin	Johnston	28	13	14	27	0.96	0
	Sullivan	13	6	6	12	0.92	-5
Crosby	Johnston	28	6	13	19	0.68	-6
	Sullivan	12	6	6	12	1.00	2
Letang	Johnston	25	1	13	14	0.56	-14
	Sullivan	7	3	8	11	1.57	2
Kessel	Johnston	28	9	8	17	0.61	-1
	Sullivan	13	3	4	7	0.54	-1
Hornqvist	Johnston	28	5	5	10	0.36	-3
	Sullivan	13	4	3	7	0.54	-2
Perron	Johnston	28	4	7	11	0.39	-6
	Sullivan	13	0	5	5	0.38	-6
Kunitz	Johnston	28	4	7	11	0.39	8
	Sullivan	13	1	1	2	0.15	3
Cullen	Johnston	28	3	5	8	0.29	7
	Sullivan	13	1	3	4	0.31	-2
Bennett	Johnston	23	5	5	10	0.42	-3
	Sullivan	1	0	0	0	—	-1
Maatta	Johnston	22	4	4	8	0.36	9
	Sullivan	13	0	2	2	0.15	5
Bonino	Johnston	27	3	4	7	0.26	1
	Sullivan	12	0	4	4	0.33	3
Dumoulin	Johnston	28	0	7	7	0.25	4
	Sullivan	13	0	3	3	0.23	-4
Fehr	Johnston	18	3	2	5	0.28	3
	Sullivan	13	2	0	2	0.15	-2
Lovejoy	Johnston	28	2	3	5	0.18	8
	Sullivan	13	0	1	1	0.08	-3
Dupuis	Johnston	18	2	2	4	0.22	-1
Cole	Johnston	28	0	4	4	0.14	-12
	Sullivan	12	0	0	0	—	-6
Scuderi	Johnston	25	0	4	4	0.16	4
Daley	Sullivan	12	1	2	3	0.25	-2
Sprong	Johnston	16	2	0	2	0.13	0
	Sullivan	2	0	0	0	—	-1
Sheary	Sullivan	10	1	1	2	0.20	-5
Plotnikov	Johnston	22	0	2	2	0.09	2
	Sullivan	10	0	0	0	—	-5
Porter	Johnston	8	0	1	1	0.13	0
	Sullivan	12	0	1	1	0.08	-3
Rust	Johnston	5	0	0	0	—	2
	Sullivan	1	1	0	1	1.00	1
Warsofsky	Johnston	5	0	0	0	—	-2
	Sullivan	6	1	0	1	0.17	-5
Clendening	Johnston	7	0	1	1	0.14	3
	Sullivan	2	0	0	0	—	0
Fleury	Johnston	24	0	1	1	0.04	0
	Sullivan	5	0	0	0	—	0
Wilson	Sullivan	4	0	1	1	0.25	0
Farnham	Johnston	3	0	0	0	—	0
Kuhnhackl	Sullivan	1	0	0	0	—	1
Total	Johnston	28	66	111	177	6.32	3
	Sullivan	13	30	51	81	6.23	-36
* PPG indicates points per game
GOALTENDING
Player	Coach	GP	MINS	GA	SH	GAA	W-L-OT
Murray	Sullivan	5	244	7	0	1.72	2-1-1
Fleury	Johnston	24	1437	53	2	2.21	13-9-2
	Sullivan	5	302	12	0	2.39	2-2-1
Zatkoff	Johnston	5	247	10	0	2.43	2-1-1
	Sullivan	4	238	11	0	2.78	1-3-0
Total	Johnston	28	1684	63	2	2.24	15-10-3
	Sullivan	13	784	30	0	2.30	5-6-2