The Response of Identity

Hockey Consultant's hometown franchise impressed her in a couple of "micro" ways this past week that have led Hockey Consultant to be even more impressed with a "macro" truth about the 2011-12 Pittsburgh Penguins to date.

First, the Penguins—already missing injured superstar centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin—learned they'd be forced to play without another one of their All-Star players, minute-munching defenseman Kris Letang. Having played in Winnipeg the night before, Pittsburgh's fourth All-Star, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, gave way to his back-up for a game the next night against the Minnesota Wild.

Against the Wild, the Penguins played the same puck possession game they've always played, and played hard. When a call-up went down to injury, two veteran defensemen stepped up and played nearly half the game. Even when forced to play without their star players, Pittsburgh didn't change how they played. Pittsburgh ended up won two games that they had every excuse—and people would have accepted them as reasonable—to lose.

While the response to a couple of losses and still more adversity was impressive, Hockey Consultant was particularly impressed by an in-game response during a Saturday evening game. A bad refereeing call put the wrong player for New Jersey in the penalty box. While Pittsburgh's head coach was apoplectic over the officiating error, the Pittsburgh power play was disorganized and made errors and proceeded to give up a shorthanded goal to the player who was supposed to be in the penalty box.

Then, a few seconds later, the same power play unit that had just screwed up was back on the ice. And they promptly scored a power play goal and restored Pittsburgh's 1-goal advantage. The Penguins responded with a power play goal, then responded by putting the game away with 2 more goals.

In the response in the two games following the Letang suspension and in the power play unit's in-game response to screwing up against New Jersey, Hockey Consultant notes a common thread in how Pittsburgh responded. They responded with identity: This is who we are. This is how we play.

Back in the days of Mario, Jagr, and Francis, the Pittsburgh stars defined their team: The Penguins are a high-scoring juggernaut.

The Penguins of Crosby and Malkin, the Penguins who were taught defensive play by Michel Therrien and who have a system of constant attack with responsible play perpetuated by Dan Bylsma, have a different identity. They have All-Stars, but their identity isn't as a team of All-Stars who outscore you through sheer skill.

Without getting into nuts-and-bolts, the Penguins make it a point to out-will their opponents. They play aggressive, in-your-face, puck possession hockey, executed by everybody in the lineup. It's who they are, and it's how they play, no matter who's in or not in the lineup.

And it means when they slip up—when talented players make egregious mistakes and allow a shorthanded goal—the Penguins' response is that of a team that knows its identity: "That's not how we want to play. We need to play the way we play."

And then they play that way—and decisively put away the game.

But how did they respond to such "adversity"?

In the early stages of the 2011-12 season, Hockey Consultant can't help but note she's watching a team that knows who it is and how it plays and that this team's sure knowledge of its identity—"This is who we are and this is how we play"—enables that team to respond to adversity with something of a shoulder shrug.

Because who they are, and how they play, is not defined by who's in or not in the line-up. Having Orpik and Letang both back in the line-up is great. Adding Malkin and Crosby back, eventually, will (as ridiculous as it is to write) make the team, of course, better. It's not like it's ever a good thing when elite talent disappears from the line-up.

But the team identity—"Who we are and how we play"—stays the same. A power play unit that makes a mistake and gets a goal back right away. Easier to do with Crosby and Malkin in the line-up, right?

And yet still done because, well, that's who the Penguins are, that how's they expect to play, and that's how they hold themselves accountable for playing.

If you're curious as to how or why the Penguins continue to win games, might Hockey Consultant suggest that you can easily note the identity of the Pittsburgh Penguins as that of a team that expects to win no matter what by playing aggressive puck-possession hockey—and may Hockey Consultant suggest that identity is part of what enables the Penguins to respond to adversity by winning hockey games?