New Penguins coach Mike Sullivan introduced himself to his players at a meeting before practice Sunday at Consol Energy Center.
And when the session shifted onto the ice, Sullivan introduced them to one of the core tenets of his coaching philosophy: The importance of effective breakouts from the defensive zone.
“Teams that come out of their end zone in an efficient manner have the best chance to create the type of offense you’re looking for,” Sullivan said.
“We’re going to try to implement some schemes to try to help us do that. We’re going to work on that a lot. It’s going to be a point of emphasis.”
It certainly was Sunday, receiving much of the focus in a 50-minute workout.
For a team that has struggled to score — the Penguins are averaging just 2.36 goals, fifth-lowest figure in the NHL — finding a way to jump-start its offense is imperative.
That means trying to put the puck on the sticks of forwards capable of being difference-makers as quickly and often as possible makes perfect sense.
“You look at the forwards we have here, I think they’ve got to be the best in the league,” defenseman David Warsofsky said. “I think it’s important to break out of our zone clean and get the puck in their hands as soon as possible. You want them to make their plays as much as they can.”
How those forwards will be aligned when the Penguins face Washington tonight at Consol Energy Center isn’t clear. Sullivan used the same combinations Sunday that his predecessor, Mike Johnston, had in a 3-2 shootout loss Friday to the Los Angeles Kings, but would not commit to deploying those lines against the Capitals.
“Everything is on the table,” he said. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do.”
Still, it won’t be a shock if Sullivan at least starts the game with those groupings.
From all indications, he also doesn’t plan any radical changes in the on-ice tactics, at least in the short term.
“He said he wasn’t going to drastically change our systems and stuff like that,” center Nick Bonino said. “But I’m sure that as the year goes on and he gets comfortable with guys and our system, he’ll probably make subtle changes.”
One thing Sullivan might try to alter quickly, though, is a mindset that seems to prevent his players from putting forth a consistently strong effort.
When general manager Jim Rutherford fired Johnston Saturday, he spoke repeatedly of concerns about the Penguins’ “will to win,” and more than a few players have alluded to that being an issue at times.
“I think we need to really re-evaluate in here what we’re doing and how much we buy in,” defenseman Ian Cole said. “And how much we care about winning. How much we care about playing the right way.”
Players invariably spoke well of Johnston when his name came up Sunday — Cole described him as “an extremely good coach” — and none suggested he deserved the blame for their 15-10-3 start.
“We take full responsibility,” center Sidney Crosby said. “Ultimately, it’s on us. We have to be better.”
No question about that, because the Penguins are, at the moment, sitting outside the Eastern Conference playoff field.
They do, however, have ample time to salvage a successful season.
“We’re in a good spot,” Cole said. “Usually when teams fire their coaches, they’re last in the conference [or] they’re on a 10-game losing streak. We’re still right there in the playoff hunt.”
Dave Molinari: Dmolinari@Post-Gazette.com and Twitter @MolinariPG.
First Published: December 14, 2015, 5:00 a.m.
