Penguins showing noticeable team improvement in 3-on-3 overtime play

Only those inside the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, namely coach Mike Sullivan and his staff, are privy to the particulars surrounding last season’s post-mortem that was performed in the aftermath of the club failing to make the playoffs for the second straight year.

Sullivan and Co. no doubt took a long look at the Penguins’ woeful power play, which finished 30th in the league.

Lackluster goaltending and frequent defensive miscues also had to be part of the postseason evaluations.

But one department the Penguins, who missed the playoffs by three points, could identify as the difference in a razor-thin margin of postseason exclusion was overtime performance.

The Penguins played 13 games decided by overtime in 2023-24, winning only four, for a points percentage of 30.8%.

In other words, nine valuable points were left on the table.

But this season, the Penguins have reversed their fortunes in overtime.

With 25 games remaining, they’ve come out on top six times in overtime.

“I think once we get to overtime, I feel like the group is fairly confident in our ability to win the game in the five minutes that we have,” defenseman Erik Karlsson said. “I know we haven’t won as much as we probably would have liked to, but even when we aren’t winning those games, I feel like every time we get to that situation, it feels like whoever is jumping over the boards, we’re pretty confident that we can put it away.”

Notably reduced in overtime this season are the egregious odd-man rushes allowed that were a frequent occurrence in the Penguins’ three-on-three game.

For Sullivan and players, there are several areas in which the team has improved considerably, allowing the Penguins to go 6-4 in overtime.

“We’re definitely playing the possession game much better this year,” forward Rickard Rakell said. “Playing without the puck is probably the biggest difference. We had some issues, like how we were going to work out changes and stuff last year, and I feel like that cost us a lot of games, trying to get guys off the ice and we’d give up odd-man rushes and good scoring chances.

“Now, when we don’t have the puck, we stay on the ice and defend until we get it. We’ve just got to put it all out there.”

Like Rakell, Sullivan identified possession and a heightened defensive effort as key areas of betterment.

Additionally, Sullivan has seen his skaters be more selective with their shots during three-on-three play.

That combined with a team-wide intent to playing more effective defense has led to more overtime wins and points, which the Penguins (23-25-9) desperately need.

“It’s about risk-reward,” Sullivan said. “I think our decision-making has been better. I think we recognize if there’s a question of control, we’ve got to stay above people. We can’t sell everything for offense. We’ve got to have some conscience defensively when we’re out there. It’s a little bit counterintuitive because when you think of overtime, with just three guys on the ice, it’s easy to think of dynamically gifted offensive players — and we have some of those.

“But a willingness to play defense is an important element of it. That’s what gives you a chance to act on your talent level. I think our players have done a great job in that regard.”

The Penguins headed into the 4 Nations Face-Off break tied for the third-most overtime wins in the NHL.

Unfortunately for them, when matters aren’t settled in overtime, no team has had a worse overall showing, as the Penguins’ five shootout losses lead the league.

Even with roughly two months of the regular season yet to be played, the Penguins might, for the third straight year, find themselves clawing for every possible point down the stretch to reach the postseason.

If the club keeps up the good work in overtime, more of those precious points can continue to be collected.

“I think a lot of (the improved overtime play) is just commitment to certain elements and then the discipline to do it over and over again,” Sullivan said. “We’ve tried to convince the group that a big part of having success in overtime is defending hard.

“Possession is important, so shot selection is an extension of that and we’ve talked about that. We’ve talked a lot about line changes and the importance of that and making sure we keep fresh guys on the ice and we don’t get caught out there in a fatigued state. Overall, it’s a commitment to playing a certain way, and I think our players have really done a great job.”