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Dan Muse demands clean game, names starter, as Pittsburgh Penguins chase Metro points in New York
Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
PensInsideScoop has Penguins coach Dan Muse preaching urgency vs New York Rangers, with Stuart Skinner starting and points tight.
Pittsburgh is 30-15-12 and sitting in the Metro mix, so this is not a "nice to have" afternoon in New York. New York is 22-29-7 and desperate for traction at home.
It also has a little sting, because Mike Sullivan is on the other bench now. The Penguins wrap the season series today at Madison Square Garden with Pittsburgh leading 2-1.
Stuart Skinner getting the crease matters, because the Penguins have leaned on him hard. He's 19-12-5 on the year, and the whole plan is to keep the game simple early.
Samuel Girard being available is the bigger chess piece. Girard is 27, drafted in 2016, second round by the Nashville Predators, and he can change breakouts with one clean first pass.
Here's the exact morning note that set the lineup vibe.
Now layer in what Muse is selling to the room coming out of the Olympic break.
"Every team is dangerous. The league is so tight, and so, every point is important. I know this group that they have over there, I've coached a lot of them, they're guys that have a lot of skill. It's a proud group. We got to make sure that we're ready to go with our game."
- Dan Muse
- Dan Muse
Dan Muse and the Pittsburgh Penguins chase clean hockey
You can feel Penguins fans holding their breath right now, because the standings look great, but one sloppy week can still flip the whole story.
Muse also pointed to the last game as the template, not the scoreboard.
"We just want to make sure, especially coming off of the break, that we just continue to build. If you go back to our last game, I thought we got better as the game went on. I thought our third period was the best. So now, a couple days later, we got to build off of that."
- Dan Muse
- Dan Muse
If Girard plays, watch the left side of the blue line and how fast Pittsburgh exits under pressure. That is where Sullivan teams usually hunt.
And without Sidney Crosby right now, the Penguins cannot win on vibes. They need details, fast support, and a goalie who closes the door early.
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| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 28|110 ANSWERS Dan Muse demands clean game, names starter, as Pittsburgh Penguins chase Metro points in New York Should Dan Muse keep Stuart Skinner as the Penguins starter down the stretch? | ||
| Yes | 61 | 55.5 % |
| No | 49 | 44.5 % |
| List of polls | ||