Penguins’ Mike Sullivan Expects Players To ‘Dig In’ Down Stretch

The Pittsburgh Penguins are five games under .500 and have lost all three games since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

With 23 games remaining on the regular-season schedule, the Penguins are in jeopardy of not only missing the playoffs for the third straight season, but they also could finish last in the Metropolitan Division for the first time in franchise history.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan offered an honest and blunt assessment of the disappointing season when he spoke with the media on Wednesday following practice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

“When you’re in situations like we’re in, it’s not easy. It’s not easy for any one of us,” Sullivan told reporters, per team-provided video. “These guys have a lot of pride. They care an awful lot about what’s going on. We all do. The coaching staff does as well.

“But if you’re asking me if we’re going to hang our heads because we’re in a tough spot, the answer’s no. We’re going to dig in. We’re going to fight. We’re going to try to get better. We’re going to take the game in front of us, and we’re going to try to put our best game on the ice and see where it goes.”

Sullivan continued: “That’s the only solution. That’s the only approach. There’s no other alternative. It requires a certain level of resilience and a certain attitude in order to make that happen. The good news about that is that that is completely within all of our control. That’s a conscious choice we can make. That’s the conversation we had with our group. And quite honestly, that’s what the expectation is.

“… We’ve got to develop more of a hardness to our mindset that we don’t allow the ebbs and flows of the game to affect our ability to go over the boards and play the game the right way — play on our toes, play with a certain amount of swagger, a certain amount of confidence. That’s what’s required. We’ve got to help each other through that process. … We’ve just got to dig in. That’s really the conversation we had with our group today.”

The Penguins will look to snap their four-game losing skid in the second game of a home-and-home series with the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena. The Flyers took the first game, 6-1, at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday.

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