A lot of you are gonna think I’m crazy for what I’m about to write.
I can hear the naysayers now. “Ol’ Buker’s finally flipped his lid. He’s lost his mind.” And I get it.
It’s just that this Penguins team is starting to remind me very much of the 2015-16 team that came out of nowhere to win a Stanley Cup.
How, you ask?
Let me count the ways.
Fresh off a season where they barely scraped into the playoffs on the final day of the regular season, only to be embarrassed in five games by the Rangers, the ’15-16 squad started slowly. A lifeless showing that cost coach Mike Johnston his job.
Enter Mike Sullivan, who hadn’t run an NHL bench full-time in a decade. The Pens lost their first four games while adjusting to Sully’s play-on-your-toes style. Our record after 38 games was 19-15-4. Which happens to be identical to the current team’s record prior to Monday night’s triumph over the Flyers.
As late as February the ’15-16 team was alternating wins and losses while precariously perched on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. Then it caught fire in March. The rest, as they say, is history.
Then there’s Sullivan. Largely by necessity he gave ice time to a passel of kids from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, including forwards Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary and Tom Kuhnhackl and a rail-thin goalie named Matt Murray. All would fill vital roles during the run to the Cup.
Again, by necessity, Sully is giving playing time to comparative kids like Drew O’Connor, John Ludvig and Valtteri Puustinen. It’s injected a much-needed youthful spark into a lineup dominated by veterans.
Sully, too, seems reborn. Perhaps it’s the bitter taste of missing the postseason coupled with the realization that he didn’t do all he could’ve last season. But he seems much more willing to adjust, both his system and personnel choices. It’s almost as if he’s rediscovered his purpose and passion for coaching.
As for the team itself, this one has a hardness and a tensile strength that’s been lacking for a while. A toughness that was on full display against the physical Flyers. They shoved. We shoved back.
Shades of Patric Hornqvist battling opposing defensemen in the trenches and Chris Kunitz forcefully finishing every check.
Thanks in part to Sully’s adjustments and the team’s willingness to buy-in, we’re employing a more responsible, playoff-ready style. I feel this group could actually win a round or two…maybe more.
There’s leadership in droves, just like the Cup winners. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, of course. That bunch had “Team Dad,” Matt Cullen, as well. This one…Jeff Carter, Lars Eller and Erik Karlsson. I’ve been especially impressed with the fact that the latter two, newcomers both, called out their teammates on separate occasions.
Accountability in the locker room goes a long way.
Speaking of leadership, I’ve never seen Crosby’s competitive fires burn with such intensity. It’s clear he wants to win another Cup so badly. When you see your captain going all out night after night, it’s awfully hard not to follow his lead.
Other similarities? Phil Kessel added another superstar talent to the core back in ’15, one hungry to win.
This year’s version of the Thrill?
Karlsson.
Both GMs did yeoman’s work in overhauling their respective clubs. Jim Rutherford had a perfect season, or as near-perfect as an executive can get.
Barely a month on the job, Kyle Dubas turned over half the roster last summer, in the process shedding many of the passengers who were weighing the team down. While he hasn’t scored quite as many bulls-eyes as GMJR, the majority of his additions have had a positive effect while serving to boost the team’s character.
Did I mention goaltending? The Murray/Marc-Andre Fleury tandem gave us two bona fide starters. Ditto our current tandem of Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic.
By my humble estimation, we’re a couple of players short of being a legit Cup contender. A solid, physical left-side defenseman and a consistent middle-six scorer.
That ’15-16 team was a couple of players away, too. Rutherford responded by acquiring (stealing) Trevor Daley and Carl Hagelin in-season.
Perhaps Dubas can swing deals of equal impact. Given his track record, I wouldn’t bet against him.
Or this team.
What’s Up DOC?
By all appearances, the aforementioned O’Connor.
Following a strong performance for Team USA at IIHF World Championships in May, I thought the rangy winger was primed for a breakout. I even wrote an article comparing him to Buffalo star Tage Thompson, a player of similar dimensions who likewise took time to develop.
However, when Drew stumbled out of the starting blocks with just two assists in his first 12 games, I confess to being disappointed.
Turns out DOC’s expected emergence was only delayed. Since scoring his first goal of the season against Thompson’s Sabres on November 11, O’Connor’s tallied five goals and 12 points in 27 games. Respectable numbers for a bottom-sixer.
Over his past eight games? He’s notched three goals and six points while seeing more ice time in an elevated role alongside Crosby and most recently Malkin.
His confidence growing by leaps and bounds, the 25-year-old Wayne, New Jersey native appears to be poised to take his game to the next level.
Maybe my comparison to Thompson wasn’t as far-fetched as I thought.
