Pittsburgh Penguins: Out-coached
This is not something I saw coming. Mike Sullivan has been so good at getting the most from his players in Pittsburgh and if it weren't for a late season slide, I think he would have been in the discussion for Jack Adams as coach of the year. That would've been the reward for helping navigate his team to success through so many key injuries this year.
But Claude Julien coached circles around Sullivan in this series, and it's a big reason why Montreal pulled off a stunning upset of a far superior Pittsburgh team. There were so many questionable decisions made from the Penguins' bench. One of the most notable came before the series even started, as the Pens went with
Matt Murray in net despite
Tristan Jarry being the far better goalie this season. But the most egregious (and most painful) came via the continued deployment of
Jack Johnson and
Justin Schultz, who were both absolutely awful in this series.
There's plenty of blame to place on the players too, but it's on the coaching staff to help make the necessary adjustments to help shift the tide over the course of a series. The Penguins never did that and it's maybe the worst Sullivan has ever looked.
