Since the Boston Bruins pulled the trigger in firing their Jack Adams Award-winning bench boss Jim Montgomery, it’s fair to say that other coaches of underperforming teams are feeling the heat.
Perhaps no one is feeling it more than Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, whose team fell to 7-10-4 — good for second-worst in the Metropolitan Division — with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Lightning on Tuesday.
After his team suffered their NHL-leading seventh blown lead of the season, Sullivan didn’t mince words about the Penguins’ compete level post-game.
“We have to compete harder,” Sullivan said when asked about the blown leads. “We need more guys to compete harder and pay more attention to detail and we need to take more pride in playing defence.”
Two of the Penguins’ seven blown leads have come in the third period, which is exactly what happened on Tuesday night. Up 2-0 heading into the final frame, Pittsburgh allowed goals from Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli to force overtime. Point also scored the game-winning goal.
The Penguins’ sluggish start to the season is concerning, given general manager Kyle Dubas has more-or-less re-upped with the same, albeit aging, core that took Pittsburgh to back-to-back Stanley Cups victories. Captain Sidney Crosby, 37, signed a two-year extension with an $8.7 million AAV, which kicks in next season, to take one more swing at a championship.
Sullivan has coached the Penguins through both of their recent Stanley Cups and has a .537 win percentage through 671 games coached with Pittsburgh. The team has missed the playoffs for the past two years.
