PITTSBURGH -- I'm still trying to get over the fact that new Penguins coach Dan Muse looks more like Pirates broadcaster Joe Block than Joe Block does.
I'm still not sure Muse isn't Joe Block. I half-expect him to launch into baseball soliloquies every time he is interviewed.
But that isn't the story today. The story is this: Muse took his Penguins to Broadway and stole opening night from our old friend Mike Sullivan. And he did it by playing the kind of suffocating, conscientious, team-first hockey that Sullivan almost never coaxed out of his group in his final years here.
The Penguins didn't have a shutout until Feb. 1 last season. They already have one this season, blanking the Rangers, 3-0, on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden -- and they didn't need goaltender Arturs Silovs to steal it. They simply smothered the Rangers, who looked exactly like they did for much of last season.
One game, sure, but you only get one chance to make a first impression, and that was the finest Broadway Muse-ical I've seen in years.
I could keep going with the Broadway puns here and label this one "The Muse-ic Man," but I will refrain. (I prefer "Les Miserables," anyway, and Sully sure looked miserable Tuesday night, didn’t he? The Rangers’ training camp slogan was "No BS" but they ironically played like horse-bleep Tuesday and left the ice to scattered boos.)
I’ll simply say this about the Penguins: It was far better than their opening nights of the past few years. Both were disasters -- a 4-2 loss to the horrific Chicago Blackhawks to begin the 2023-24 season and a 6-0 disaster against the Rangers last season -- and both foreshadowed the troubles ahead.
Namely, that the Penguins struggled in goal and played no defense in Sullivan's final years here. That's a bad combination. They were tied for third-worst in the NHL in goals-against average last season.
Things could look entirely different Saturday night in the rematch at PPG Paints Arena, but again, this is all we have for now. One game. Two coaches new to their teams. One team looked highly organized and fresh, the other stale and disinterested.
Ex-Rangers assistant coach Muse used his fourth line liberally, as well, something Sullivan rarely did, and found a way to keep a lead, something Sullivan's final teams failed at frequently. Also, you might have noticed that the Penguins did not allow a goal on the first shot.
The Penguins dominated the third period, allowing just five shots. I can't remember a Rangers odd-man break, except maybe a quasi 3-on-2. Sully's recent teams handed out odd-man breaks like Halloween candy.
It's fair to point out that it took Sullivan some time to get his message across here all those years ago, and once he did, we all know what happened.
Plus, I doubt anybody is changing their Penguins predictions after 60 minutes of hockey. Somebody named Parker Wotherspoon led the club in ice time. I'm not changing my prediction -- no playoffs -- but if they play solid, disciplined defensive hockey, who's to say they couldn't become the Spencer Carberry Capitals?
Maybe there's more to the Muse-Carberry comparisons than the fact that both are as bald as Block. Maybe this will be way more interesting than any of us thought.
Who knows? Let's just say that as opening nights go, this was one to savor.
And I'm sure Sully was not a-Mused.
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