Pittsburgh Penguins practice Oct. 12, 2025. Photo by Shelly Anderson
CRANBERRY, Pa. — According to one player, Dan Muse didn’t address the Pittsburgh Penguins following a lopsided loss Saturday night. That’s not unusual in the NHL.
So the players had to wait until Sunday to learn a little more about the new coach’s process – how he and his staff handle things in the wake of a loss. The Penguins had not lost since early in the preseason and had won their first two regular-season games before the 6-1 setback against the New York Rangers on Saturday.
The players relayed after practice Sunday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex that Muse didn’t rant or show anger. He didn’t pretend the game the previous night didn’t matter, either.
“He said as soon as practice starts, it’s a new day and we get better,” first-year Penguins forward Anthony Mantha said of Muse’s message.
The process is still very much being set for a team with new coaches and a lot of new players.
So they got their first real taste of what message they might get after a loss.
“It’s more the way you go about it,” first-year Penguins forward Justin Brazeau, who somewhat surprisingly leads the team with three goals, said. “They thought we had a good start and just kind of let it get away.”
Muse said his philosophy is to react to each game independently, and yet still stay true to the process he’s trying to instill.
“I think every game’s going to be a little different,” Muse said. “I’m not just saying on losses; I’m also saying on wins. I think you’ve got to approach it a little bit different based on what happened during the game. But I don’t think you want to stray too far (from the overall message), either.”
That’s an approach that can be common among coaches, especially those who, like Muse, have a reputation for teaching and helping to work with young players.
It’s also an approach that the Penguins apparently are embracing.
“Obviously, you never want to lose, but I think it’s kind of the way you lose,” Brazeau said. “I thought we got off to a good start (Saturday). When a couple things didn’t our way, we let it get away from us.
“It’s something we can learn from and build off of. We need to stick with what we’re doing, stick to the process.”
The Penguins will get a prime chance to do that this week as they embark on their first multiple-game road trip, this one to the three California teams.
“You learn. You watch clips. You move on,” Mantha said. “It’s 82 games. We’re playing every other day this week. You can’t think about a bad game (for) long. Think about the learning process, move on and think about the next game. (Sunday) was about trying to get better in practice. (Monday) is another practice, and then it’s go time again.
“For young guys maybe it’s not quite the same. In juniors, you might be in your head for a couple days, but in the NHL you move on quick.”
One of those players not far removed from junior hockey, defenseman Harrison Brunicke, acknowledged that dealing with losses in a healthy way is something that has to be learned, but he’s taking cues from Muse.
“I’ve kind of gotten past that a little bit,” he said. “You don’t want to lose. I hate losing. But we’re talking about it, going over video, learning the mistakes you’re making, how to clean that up.
“(Muse) talked about it (Sunday) morning — you lose a game, it’s still the same mindset as if you win a game. You want to have a good practice, learn to correct things.
“It was more of a teaching thing.”
It’s a part of what, for Muse, is not only a process but also an overarching philosophy as he makes his way through his first season as an NHL head coach.
“We want to have more of a day-to-day approach,” Muse said. “If we’re coming off a game we really like, our job the next day is to come to the rink and to get better. If we’re coming off a game that we didn’t like, our job the next day is to come to the rink and get better.
“I really believe that. In this league, there’s such ebbs and flows, highs and lows, you’ve got to try make sure that you’re getting back to what’s the job at hand this day? And that is to get better.”
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