Mike Sullivan Wants Penguins to Be 'Stingy' Home Team
The Pittsburgh Penguins have started a five game home stand and Mike Sullivan hopes to take advantage of the situation.
PITTSBURGH - After playing 14 of their first 21 games on the road, the Pittsburgh Penguins returned home for their first of five straight matches at PPG Paints Arena.
The Penguins will be playing a lot of home ice hockey in the coming weeks and they hope to take advantage of their advantage.
The stretch got off to a sloppy start with a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but head coach Mike Sullivan wants to be a tough team to play against going forward.
“I think it’s important for us to establish ourselves as a stingy team at home,” Sullivan said. “We want to be a team that utilizes home ice advantage to the best of our ability.”
After starting the season 3-0 in Pittsburgh, the Penguins haven’t had the same luck in front of their fans.
The Penguins have gone just 1-3-1 since they defeated the Los Angeles Kings in the fourth game of the season.
While the sample size hasn’t been huge, only playing eight games at home, the Penguins still want to be a successful home team.
“I know our guys enjoy playing in front of the home crowd,” Sullivan said. “We’ve got a stretch here with a bunch of them coming up… certainly it’s an opportunity for us that we’re going to try and maximize.”
Teams feed off of their home crowds and the Penguins are usually one of the better home teams in the NHL.
While they have a solid 7-2-1 in their last 10 games overall, the Penguins will look to heighten their play on home ice and continue climbing the ladder of the Metropolitan Division standings.
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