Penguins Update: How Did We Turn Things Around?

During an especially riotous moment of Mel Brooks’ classic 1974 western spoof, Blazing Saddles, bewildered henchman Taggart uttered the unforgettable phrase, “What in the wide, wide world of sports is a goin’ on?”

I’ve found myself asking a similar question over the past week or so about our Penguins. How the heck did this (our current hot streak) happen? More to the point, how did we manage to turn our season around so completely?

Talk about a night-and-day difference. Actually, Jekyll and Hyde is more like it. During a grisly 10-game stretch that began with a sloppy 6-3 loss to the Islanders on October 30, the Pens went on a ghastly 1-7-2 slide.

Basking in the neon glow of our present championship form, it’s hard to remember just how horribly the team played during its freefall. Honestly, I pegged them for dead and buried and pushing up daisies.

You’d have been hard-pressed to find a single positive. The power play was ice cold, guys were turning pucks over faster than gumballs spewing from a dispenser at a kid’s birthday party, penalty killing was weak and sweat equity was non-existent. Team defense was deplorable…goaltending shaky.

Bottom-six scoring? Fuhgeddaboudit.

Even the coaching was questionable, with Mike Sullivan shuffling his forward lines faster than a card shark dealing from the bottom of a marked deck. Amid rumors of locker-room turmoil and unhappy stars, some folks were even calling for “Sully’s” head on a platter.

So what happened? How did we morph from a fragile bunch in utter disarray into a well-oiled machine on a spectacular 17-5-2 run (9-1 in our past 10 games)? A few thoughts:

Captain Commendable (and Cohorts)

It’s no great shock that our turnaround coincided with Sidney Crosby’s return from an upper-body injury. The Pens were 0-2-1 during his absence, including a disheartening loss to Ottawa and an equally stunning collapse against Buffalo.

Skating with knife-blade intensity, Crosby’s pretty much willed the troops back into contention, starting with an impressive 5-1 victory over Dallas in his first game back. Since his return, he’s piled up 12 goals and 22 assists in 24 games, to go with a sparkling plus-15.

Sid’s had help. Kris Letang’s enjoyed a resurgence that has him playing arguably the best hockey of his career. With 22 points (including four goals) over the same 24-game stretch he’s clicking at nearly a point-per-game clip. Spectacular for a d-man in this day and age.

JR Takes Charge

As the team tumbled into the Metropolitan Division cellar, GM Jim Rutherford didn’t rest on his laurels…or his keister. Recognizing the need for change, he boldly stepped to the fore and pulled the trigger on a pair of mid-range deals that reaped significant dividends.

The first…acquiring left wing Tanner Pearson from Los Angeles for the immensely popular Carl Hagelin provided a much-needed shakeup. The second…dealing spare-part sniper Daniel Sprong to Anaheim for promising rearguard Marcus Pettersson excised a distraction and bolstered the defense in one fell swoop.

Sometimes You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

Not to equate our two-time Cup-winning coach to the family pet. However, there were rumblings that Sullivan had morphed into a harder-edged version of former Pens coach Dan Bylsma, a one-trick pony who couldn’t…or wouldn’t…alter his attack-oriented style.

Following the inglorious loss to the Sabres, Sully indeed adjusted. Instead of sending the off-side wingers flying up the ice at the earliest hint of a breakout, he instructed them to curl underneath in the defensive zone to provide an extra layer of support and protection.

The move worked like a charm. In an instant, the Pens looked more settled and organized.

Props to the Massachusetts native for steering the black-and-gold through the storm. We learn through our trials. Sully’s no doubt a better coach for it.

Shaking Off the Rust

During the extended cold snap, the Pens received precious little production from the supporting cast. Since the turnaround Zach Aston-Reese, Derick Brassard, Riley Sheahan and Pearson have potted five goals apiece. Not exactly the stuff of Richard Trophy winners, but a definite step in the right direction.

The poster child for the spike in lunch-pail production is Bryan Rust. Mired in a miserable slump (one goal in his first 29 games), the speedy hustler turned it around in spades…to the tune of 10 goals in his past 13 games.

Dee-Fense

Nobody’s ever going to confuse the black and gold with Marty Brodeur’s trap-happy Devils. Indeed, only six teams have yielded more than the Pens’ pregnant average of 33 shots on goal per game. But the locals are playing better ‘d.’

During the past 10 games our guys have allowed only 15 goals. Leading the resurgence is Matt Murray.

Since returning from a mysterious (some would say phantom) lower-body injury, not to mention virtual oblivion, the Thunder Bay native’s been nothing short of amazing, as his microscopic 1.24 goals against average and .963 save percentage will attest. Ebenezer Scrooge was never stingier.

It doesn’t hurt that his teammates are paying more attention to their defensive chores. Which leads to my last point.

We’re Gellin’

To borrow from Dr. Scholl’s, we’re indeed gellin’. The bottom-six forwards appear much more cohesive. So does the defense, especially since Pettersson took up residence.

The guys seem to playing for each other and supporting each other, too. A case in point, Pettersson stepping up to defend Sheahan during Tuesday’s 5-1 pasting of Florida, even though the stork-like defender can’t fight a lick.

That kind of stick-togetherness wins games. Stanley Cups, too.