Pittsburgh Penguins prosper under new coach

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dan Bylsma’s eyes lit up in disbelief when reminded after Monday’s practice it had been exactly one month since his first game as coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It might not seem like long ago to Bylsma, but to the Penguins, it must seem like an eternity.

Pittsburgh was in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and five points out of a playoff spot when Bylsma took over for the fired Michel Therrien on Feb. 15. Since then Pittsburgh has gone 10-1-3 and climbed into fifth place in the conference.

“I definitely can’t imagine us having a better record than we’ve had in that month,” Bylsma said. “But the biggest thing is the guys have identified how we need to play, how we want to play and how we can play as a team.”

The turnaround has been remarkable, said goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

“It’s pretty crazy looking at the change,” he said. “We knew we had to get better and get some wins, but I don’t think we expected to be 10-1-3.”

From the day he was hired, Bylsma — formerly the coach of the organization’s minor league team in Wilkes-Barre — has preached an aggressive, puck-control style that has increased the Penguins’ shot totals and goal output. They have scored at least three goals in nine consecutive games.

The Penguins have been regularly out-shooting opponents after ranking at the bottom of the league in shots under Therrien, who preferred a more rigid systematic and defensive approach despite having some of the top offensive talents in the NHL in Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

“It’s a different mind-set, and it’s definitely more fun to play hockey right now than it was,” forward Max Talbot said. “We’ve come a long way in the past month.”

Bylsma stressed his team still hasn’t reached its peak and continues to mesh — not only because it’s working under a new coach but also after the trade deadline brought in three new regulars.

Pittsburgh’s recent run came primarily on the road, where the Penguins went 5-0 trip during one stretch and are 6-1-2 under Bylsma. The team will play the third of a franchise-record eight consecutive home games tonight against Atlanta.

Despite the run, the Penguins are only four points ahead of ninth-place Florida. Eleven games are left in the regular season — seven at home — for Pittsburgh.

“I think you’re seeing we turned the page when we got a new coach in here,” forward Ruslan Fedotenko said. “It was kind of a new voice, and it seems like we turned around and have played much better.”