After seven years as an NHL assistant, Mike Sullivan knew what it was like to be on the opposing bench from Sidney Crosby.
Now, as the head coach of the Penguins, Sullivan is trying to use that to his advantage and get the most he can out of the team’s superstar center.
“I tried to challenge these guys, and Sid in particular, to play with that necessary emotion,” Sullivan said. “My experience of coaching against him for all those years was that when Sid is at his best, he’s emotionally engaged.
“Those are some of the early conversations that I had with Sid when I first took the team over, was to try to light that fire in his belly that makes him so great.