from Andrew Berkshire of Sportsnet,
The resurgence of Sidney Crosby has dominated the headlines surrounding the Pittsburgh Penguins this season. Croaby’s slow start – the slowest of his career – was undoubtedly a big factor in the firing of Mike Johnston as head coach on December 12.
Since the coaching change that brought in Mike Sullivan, Crosby has been on fire, and the team as a whole has risen from 20th in the NHL in score-adjusted Corsi at just 48.3 per cent, to second in the league since December 12 at 54.8 per cent, with only the powerhouse Los Angeles Kings ahead of them.
It took a while for the Penguins’ record to look as impressive as their domination on the shot clock, but even with Evgeni Malkin out with an injury, Pittsburgh has been impressive.
Part of the reason for this improvement is the upgrades they’ve made on defence. Specifically, swapping the shot-blocking Rob Scuderi out for mobile puck-mover Trevor Daley made a big difference, but surprisingly the bigger difference has been among the forwards.
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