It's not unusual for NHL coaches to have a shorter shelf life than raw milk. For whatever reason, players often seem to sour on them faster than their peers in any other team sport.
But even though Mike Sullivan has been coaching the Penguins for nearly five years, he said Wednesday that he doesn't believe their back-to-back postseason flameouts indicate that his message has begun to go rancid with the guys he leads.
"I felt as though the message was fairly clear for a lot of the season, so that would suggest to me that what the coaching staff is preaching is resonating with guys," Sullivan said.