{"id":425823,"date":"2026-01-23T22:14:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T22:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/425823\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T22:14:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T22:14:07","slug":"big-change-the-dan-muse-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/425823\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Change: The Dan Muse Difference"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDMONTON, Alberta \u2014 The Pittsburgh Penguins <\/a>charging into second place in the Metropolitan Division approaching late January might not be worthy of a banner in the rafters at PPG Paints Arena. Neither is it enough grounds for any emotional celebration or even affirmation.<\/p>\n

But it surely is noteworthy for a team that was supposed to hit rock bottom so hard it might bounce. It is noteworthy for a newbie head coach directing a team of superstars pushing 40 years old, a collection of misfits who were barely hanging on to NHL spots last season, and to whom their former teams politely declined further employment.<\/p>\n

Wednesday, the Penguins outlasted a defensive shell against the Calgary Flames. Thursday, they delivered a stunning show of offensive talent against the Edmonton Oilers. <\/p>\n

They are now 10-2-2 since Santa Claus brought a few days off with a moment to reflect and regroup in December.<\/p>\n

Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas<\/a> deserves enormous credit for the team he and staff put together, but there\u2019s another very important conductor of success who is being somewhat overlooked:<\/p>\n

Coach Dan Muse<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The guy who was admittedly a bad D3 hockey player, taught himself to be a high-school teacher, and a high-school hockey coach, who eventually so impressed Nashville Predators coach Peter Laviolette with a job interview presentation that he was essentially hired on the spot, is now guiding perhaps the most surprising turnaround in the NHL.<\/p>\n

Three years running, the Penguins had talent, but also had plane tickets home at the end of the regular season. <\/p>\n

Without the right coach behind the bench, none of Dubas\u2019 bargain acquisitions work. Without the right coach, when reality appeared ready to drag the Penguins down to the depths of frustration, the team would have collapsed.<\/p>\n

Just like they did last year.<\/p>\n

And the year before.<\/p>\n

And so, Pittsburgh Hockey Now has spoken with numerous players about the team\u2019s turnaround both over the last month and last year, and their individual performances, which have in some cases greatly exceeded previous career norms. <\/p>\n

It became clear that there was a common thread amongst the plethora of eye-popping positives where once we posited only negatives: The coach. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur \u2018stick to the plan\u2019, and our ability to kind of just continue to play our game despite what our team\u2019s doing, and just kind of focus more on ourselves (is what is different this year),\u201d said Bryan Rust<\/a>. \u201cI think it has made me able to handle things like (teams playing defensive) more because every team plays different ways, they are going to defend different ways, and all these things. So I think the ability to focus more on ourselves, I think, helps make us successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Rust mentioned the plan, Blake Lizotte used a buzzword that the team lacked over the last couple of seasons: Identity. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think (energy) is part of our team identity that\u2019s kind of been instilled. You know, you never quit,\u201d said Lizotte. \u201cI think just at the end of the day, you\u2019re not going to have it every night, but if you bring as much energy as you can, you\u2019re going to put a decent product on the ice. So I think most of our guys bought into that.\u201d<\/p>\n

As one player in the locker room admitted that frustrations from coaches may have spilled over onto the bench last season, creating a negative situation.<\/p>\n

The words from players about the situation, even in December when the team was winless in eight and had blown leads in several different ways, were that experience became a learning one, not a crushing one. <\/p>\n

Defenseman Ryan Shea also used a few of former coach Mike Sullivan\u2019s buzzwords to describe what the team lacked and what the team has now. <\/p>\n

\u201cJust our mindset has switched, and it\u2019s kind of just the swagger and confidence that we\u2019re playing with right now\u2013and I think that\u2019s when we\u2019re at our best, is when we\u2019re on top of it, playing our game,\u201d Shea said. <\/p>\n

The Turnaround<\/p>\n

Mindset. Identity. Plan. Those are all things for which the head coach is responsible.<\/p>\n

The starting point for the Penguins\u2019 turnaround has been a refreshed atmosphere, especially on the bench. PHN can confirm that some felt a heavy negativity from the coaches in times of stress last season. A real frustration. The new changes have allowed players to refocus and retrench during games.<\/p>\n

A primary example would be Rust\u2019s goal in the first minute of the third period on Wednesday against Calgary. The Penguins were not very good in the second period. In postgame conversations, most players referenced the malaise during the second period, and with three seconds remaining in the period, Caglary scored to close the Penguins\u2019 lead to 2-1.<\/p>\n

Rather than repeat the mistakes of the past, the Penguins repeated the recent successes. Their best players made a course-correcting play, and the game was then safe.<\/p>\n

The Penguins did the same against Edmonton, even as Connor McDavid<\/a> and Edmonton star players altered their game\u2013like cherrypicking\u2013to get back in the game. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe guys, they came ready to play. I really liked the offensive execution, and a lot of things we were doing on the defensive side,\u201d said coach Dan Muse said after the Penguins\u2019 second win in two days. \u201cJust the way the guys were working, just the overall team game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s playing the same way, whether up goals, down goals, a tie game, because we have a certain blueprint for success,\u201d Rust said. \u201cThe more we can continue to try to follow that\u2013there\u2019s ebbs and flows and bounces in games, and guys may not have their best nights, kind of here and there, it\u2019s the nature of the season\u2013but to be able to continue to stick to our foundation and our blueprint despite whatever else, is what I think is key.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of subtext in Rust\u2019s explanation. Over the last few seasons, how often did former coach Mike Sullivan and the players in the locker room admonish themselves after a game in which they gave up a goal immediately after scoring? Or lament their lack of pushback? <\/p>\n

Shea has nearly three times more points in 50 games this season (18) than he did in his 70 previous NHL games (6). He also leads the team with a plus-18 rating.<\/p>\n

Parker Wotherspoon<\/a> is in his fourth NHL season. He has many points in 49 games this season (16), as he did in 108 games over the three previous seasons combined.<\/p>\n

While Lizotte is not yet approaching career numbers, linemate Connor Dewar has already tied his best. And the Penguins\u2019 fourth line with Lizotte, Dewar, and Noel Acciari has been counted on to play\u2013on average\u2013about nine or 10 minutes per game at even strength, and each gets more minutes on the penalty kill, in total averaging over 13 minutes per game.<\/p>\n

Muse likes to roll four lines almost exclusively, though he demurred when PHN asked about his effort to keep four lines going. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a situation that\u2019s worked, you know \u2026 There are some games where I feel like it isn\u2019t maybe as spread out, I think it\u2019s dictated by the flow of the game. You know, a lot of times in that third period, that\u2019s when you can see things you know, maybe really sway one way or the other,\u201d said Muse. \u201cYou look at the lines, you hope you\u2019re getting contributions from everybody, and I think on a lot of those nights, that\u2019s what you\u2019ve seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there are some benefits to it, too. You know, when you\u2019re able to have that, and you\u2019re able to keep guys fresh, and keep guys involved in the game, and get contributions from all four lines, and with this team, that\u2019s a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belief in players. All of his players. Another Muse difference. <\/p>\n

That increased ice time has meant increased productivity for many. Muse has also updated his fourth-line usage, increasing their offensive zone starts, too.<\/p>\n

But the extra ice has also kept top-line center Sidney Crosby<\/a> healthy and fresh this season. Crosby\u2019s three-game multi-point streak ended Wednesday when he had a mere assist.<\/p>\n

Sheesh!<\/p>\n

Plenty of coaches look smart when good players play well. But the 2025-26 Penguins were not thought to have that many good players. <\/p>\n

Buying into a foundation, an indentity and being given an opportunity in an encouraging situation is making a difference.<\/p>\n

It surely seems a lot of players are reaching their potential because of the atmosphere and the support of the Penguins\u2019 head coach.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a credit to Dan Muse. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags: Dan Muse<\/a> Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> <\/p>\n

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