EDMONTON, Alberta — The Pittsburgh Penguins charging into second place in the Metropolitan Division approaching late January might not be worthy of a banner in the rafters at PPG Paints Arena. Neither is it enough grounds for any emotional celebration or even affirmation.
But it surely is noteworthy for a team that was supposed to hit rock bottom so hard it might bounce. It is noteworthy for a newbie head coach directing a team of superstars pushing 40 years old, a collection of misfits who were barely hanging on to NHL spots last season, and to whom their former teams politely declined further employment.
Wednesday, the Penguins outlasted a defensive shell against the Calgary Flames. Thursday, they delivered a stunning show of offensive talent against the Edmonton Oilers.
They are now 10-2-2 since Santa Claus brought a few days off with a moment to reflect and regroup in December.
Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas deserves enormous credit for the team he and staff put together, but there’s another very important conductor of success who is being somewhat overlooked:
Coach Dan Muse.
The guy who was admittedly a bad D3 hockey player, taught himself to be a high-school teacher, and a high-school hockey coach, who eventually so impressed Nashville Predators coach Peter Laviolette with a job interview presentation that he was essentially hired on the spot, is now guiding perhaps the most surprising turnaround in the NHL.
Three years running, the Penguins had talent, but also had plane tickets home at the end of the regular season.
Without the right coach behind the bench, none of Dubas’ bargain acquisitions work. Without the right coach, when reality appeared ready to drag the Penguins down to the depths of frustration, the team would have collapsed.
Just like they did last year.
And the year before.
And so, Pittsburgh Hockey Now has spoken with numerous players about the team’s turnaround both over the last month and last year, and their individual performances, which have in some cases greatly exceeded previous career norms.
It became clear that there was a common thread amongst the plethora of eye-popping positives where once we posited only negatives: The coach.
“Our ‘stick to the plan’, and our ability to kind of just continue to play our game despite what our team’s doing, and just kind of focus more on ourselves (is what is different this year),” said Bryan Rust. “I think it has made me able to handle things like (teams playing defensive) more because every team plays different ways, they are going to defend different ways, and all these things. So I think the ability to focus more on ourselves, I think, helps make us successful.”
As Rust mentioned the plan, Blake Lizotte used a buzzword that the team lacked over the last couple of seasons: Identity.
“I think (energy) is part of our team identity that’s kind of been instilled. You know, you never quit,” said Lizotte. “I think just at the end of the day, you’re not going to have it every night, but if you bring as much energy as you can, you’re going to put a decent product on the ice. So I think most of our guys bought into that.”
As one player in the locker room admitted that frustrations from coaches may have spilled over onto the bench last season, creating a negative situation.
The words from players about the situation, even in December when the team was winless in eight and had blown leads in several different ways, were that experience became a learning one, not a crushing one.
Defenseman Ryan Shea also used a few of former coach Mike Sullivan’s buzzwords to describe what the team lacked and what the team has now.
“Just our mindset has switched, and it’s kind of just the swagger and confidence that we’re playing with right now–and I think that’s when we’re at our best, is when we’re on top of it, playing our game,” Shea said.
The Turnaround
Mindset. Identity. Plan. Those are all things for which the head coach is responsible.
The starting point for the Penguins’ turnaround has been a refreshed atmosphere, especially on the bench. PHN can confirm that some felt a heavy negativity from the coaches in times of stress last season. A real frustration. The new changes have allowed players to refocus and retrench during games.
A primary example would be Rust’s goal in the first minute of the third period on Wednesday against Calgary. The Penguins were not very good in the second period. In postgame conversations, most players referenced the malaise during the second period, and with three seconds remaining in the period, Caglary scored to close the Penguins’ lead to 2-1.
Rather than repeat the mistakes of the past, the Penguins repeated the recent successes. Their best players made a course-correcting play, and the game was then safe.
The Penguins did the same against Edmonton, even as Connor McDavid and Edmonton star players altered their game–like cherrypicking–to get back in the game.
“The guys, they came ready to play. I really liked the offensive execution, and a lot of things we were doing on the defensive side,” said coach Dan Muse said after the Penguins’ second win in two days. “Just the way the guys were working, just the overall team game.”
“It’s playing the same way, whether up goals, down goals, a tie game, because we have a certain blueprint for success,” Rust said. “The more we can continue to try to follow that–there’s ebbs and flows and bounces in games, and guys may not have their best nights, kind of here and there, it’s the nature of the season–but to be able to continue to stick to our foundation and our blueprint despite whatever else, is what I think is key.”
There’s a lot of subtext in Rust’s explanation. Over the last few seasons, how often did former coach Mike Sullivan and the players in the locker room admonish themselves after a game in which they gave up a goal immediately after scoring? Or lament their lack of pushback?
Shea has nearly three times more points in 50 games this season (18) than he did in his 70 previous NHL games (6). He also leads the team with a plus-18 rating.
Parker Wotherspoon is in his fourth NHL season. He has many points in 49 games this season (16), as he did in 108 games over the three previous seasons combined.
While Lizotte is not yet approaching career numbers, linemate Connor Dewar has already tied his best. And the Penguins’ fourth line with Lizotte, Dewar, and Noel Acciari has been counted on to play–on average–about nine or 10 minutes per game at even strength, and each gets more minutes on the penalty kill, in total averaging over 13 minutes per game.
Muse likes to roll four lines almost exclusively, though he demurred when PHN asked about his effort to keep four lines going.
“I think it’s a situation that’s worked, you know … There are some games where I feel like it isn’t maybe as spread out, I think it’s dictated by the flow of the game. You know, a lot of times in that third period, that’s when you can see things you know, maybe really sway one way or the other,” said Muse. “You look at the lines, you hope you’re getting contributions from everybody, and I think on a lot of those nights, that’s what you’ve seen.
“I think there are some benefits to it, too. You know, when you’re able to have that, and you’re able to keep guys fresh, and keep guys involved in the game, and get contributions from all four lines, and with this team, that’s a good thing.”
Belief in players. All of his players. Another Muse difference.
That increased ice time has meant increased productivity for many. Muse has also updated his fourth-line usage, increasing their offensive zone starts, too.
But the extra ice has also kept top-line center Sidney Crosby healthy and fresh this season. Crosby’s three-game multi-point streak ended Wednesday when he had a mere assist.
Sheesh!
Plenty of coaches look smart when good players play well. But the 2025-26 Penguins were not thought to have that many good players.
Buying into a foundation, an indentity and being given an opportunity in an encouraging situation is making a difference.
It surely seems a lot of players are reaching their potential because of the atmosphere and the support of the Penguins’ head coach.
It’s a credit to Dan Muse.
Categorized: Penguins Analysis
