Welcome to Penguins beat reporter Jason Mackey’s weekly look at the state of the local hockey club, brought to you in 20 Thoughts.
Eight days ago in Denver, in the bowels of Pepsi Center, we waited a few extra minutes for Penguins coach Mike Sullivan’s postgame media scrum, figuring he’d probably blow up following a fourth loss in five games and a three-game trip that netted just two measly points.
It never materialized.
Hasn’t much with Sullivan, honestly.
Sullivan hasn’t absolved the Penguins — urgency, conviction and determination were all lacking against the Avalanche, he said — but he simply doesn’t lose his cool or throw his players under the bus in a public setting.